FansidedPierce is a defensive-minded coach who helped engineer an elite unit for the Philadelphia 76ers prior to joining the Hawks. But in the absence of the overwhelming defensive talent he had in Philadelphia, Atlanta ranked 27th in defensive efficiency last season. Collins has thus far struggled to provide adequate rebounding and rim protection as a center, while Young may have quite literally been the worst defender in the NBA as a rookie. The Hawks can mask some of their defensive shortcomings, but those remedies would likely come at the expense of shooting and dynamism at other positions. The only configuration in which Atlanta’s most promising players can eventually share the floor requires Collins to play as the lone big, and those lineups will likely continue to struggle on defense this year.
Even in an ideal long-term scenario, it’s unclear whether Atlanta can protect the rim at a sufficient level unless Collins blossoms into a more reliable anchor. While he has the bounce to challenge shots, react quickly and cover for mistakes, he simply doesn’t put those tools to use frequently enough. He limited opponents to 55 percent shooting at the rim last season, but Collins’ block and steal rates plummeted after an encouraging rookie season and the Hawks hemorrhaged points when he played without a center beside him.
Pierce says he plans on using his young big primarily at power forward this season — a perfectly justifiable approach given his flimsiness at center — and while a statistical defensive improvement would be welcome, he simply wants to see more investment on that end.
“All of our guys understand that was the knock on us last year,” Pierce said. “We know we can score. We have some capable scorers. For us to advance, for us to progress, it’s going to come down to how we approach the games defensively.”Spoiler:
How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
“Consistency is a keyword, and we’ll use that, and the approach is important for all our guys,” Pierce said. “I don’t want any of our guys thinking we’ve accomplished anything just yet. And so yes, defense is at the forefront of this training camp, but we have to maintain the same mentality we went into last year with. It’s easy for any young player offensively to buy in and to play at the effort they want. We have a lot of versatile and skilled offensive players. But for us, to make any steps, it’s going to be on the defensive end, and it’s definitely going to be with our effort on both sides of the basketball.”
Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
The AthleticHow the Hawks can get better on defense
The Hawks were a disaster on the defensive end [last season]. They gave up the most points per game and finished with the third-worst team defensive rating. Pierce said the team hasn’t touched pick-and-roll defense and has only taught a little transition defense. It’s a long process, but Pierce said he has to teach the basics, reteach the basics and give the players an opportunity for success and failure before they can move on to step two.
Mastering defense is going to take time with this group, and it sounds like a major improvement on that end of the floor is still far away from happening.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
Complicated! Personally, I have never realized how much there is to learn in the NBA to have an elite defensive team. Lloyd Pierce now informs all of us how much more this current Hawk team must learn. And, they must react without thinking about it. Just do it. The good news is, they are young enough to learn this. Apparently, all season long, this young Hawk team will now be asked to improve their defense.
Knowing how to and knowing when to is all part of it. Effort is required. Basketball IQ comes into play. We can do this !!
Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
UproxxRobby Kalland wrote:The Hawks Quest For A Defensive Identity Will Determine Their Success
The Hawks are high on the list of likely lottery teams worth watching as often as possible, but with a win total projection of 36 and expectations of fans in Atlanta high after a strong close to last season, how good they’ll actually be is hotly debated. Offensively they have questions to answer.
Defense is a much bigger question mark, and one that coach Lloyd Pierce is well aware of. The roster turnover they saw this offseason creates a lack of continuity, and, coupled with the team’s youth, makes for a steep learning curve. Pierce is quick to note that every team has to effectively start over every year on the defensive end because, whether it’s one player or nine, replacing anyone on a team requires everyone to adapt and grow accustomed to new rotations and lineups.Spoiler:
For this Hawks team to succeed, they need a defensive identity which means that even if their potential stars aren’t ever going to be elite on that end, in order for the team as a whole to create that identity those two have to show that defense is important to them. With Young in particular, an increase in effort level has been noticeable.
The roster construction this year leaves plenty of reason for skepticism that even with an improvement in effort, the Hawks can’t be much better than a bottom-third defensive team in the NBA. However, that ceiling still leaves room for a significant step forward from the 27th ranked defense (113.9 DRtg, per Basketball-Reference) in the league a year ago. It’s not just the only way they have a chance at topping their Vegas win total for this year, but also the only way this season can serve as a legitimate stepping stone to eventual playoff contention.
Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
Talent scores points. Defense is all about effort. Tony Allen had a long career not because he was talented but because he worked his tail off on defense.
Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
In Game One, we were able to make some serious halftime adjustments...or tired legs from a B2B finally benefited us.
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It's early, but this is encouraging for JC.
Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
From the article above:
Defensively, it appears the Hawks are in fact improved in the young season, despite losing veterans and top defenders from the 2018-19 roster in Kent Bazemore and Dewayne Dedmon over the summer. The change in personnel is not the sole purpose for the apparent improvement. The in-house development is something to note that is perhaps flying under the radar, specifically the play of third year big man John Collins. The club, specifically Lloyd Pierce, has been hesitant to call Collins a center, but he’s playing a fair share of his minutes as at the 5, even with all three of the Hawks’ other centers healthy and available. At 6’9, he is not the ideal size for a center even in today’s NBA and he’s probably more likely to succeed individually as a power forward, but for the first time in his career, we can correctly hybridize him when labeling his position because of how he is being deployed defensively in certain lineups.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
Basketball InsidersBiggest Surprises – Southeast Division
Big D in the ATL
In these first few weeks, we’ve seen the future of the Atlanta Hawks. Unfortunately, after a hot 2-0 start, led by Trae Young and his ridiculous 38.5 point, 7.0 rebound and 9.0 assist stat line, the Hawks lost their star point guard to a nasty ankle injury. Of course, the offense has taken a hit as they rank just 25th in scoring and 24th in offensive rating.
But, the major surprise has been their defense.
Atlanta boasts the 9th best defensive rating in the NBA and they rank seventh in opponent points allowed. The Hawks’ strong play on the defensive side of the court has been a group effort, with rookies De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish proving major contributors; the strong, athletic wings have struggled to find their place in the offensive hierarchy, but the duo has proven themselves immediate impactors on defense.
Throw in John Collins, the defensive-minded DeAndre’ Bembry and others, and head coach Lloyd Pierce has a wealth of defensive weapons at his disposal.
While he hasn’t been on the floor that much because of the injury, Atlanta has done a fantastic job surrounding Young with big, athletic bodies that allow him to be his best on offense. Collins, Hunter, Reddish and Kevin Huerter feature some serious size — each of them stand 6-foot-7 or taller — and have proven the perfect foil to Young’s 6-foot-2 frame. Alex Len and Bruno Fernando have brought some more size, as the two have filled their own roles quite nicely as well.
If they can keep up the defensive intensity, the Hawks could prove one of the biggest surprises in the NBA, not just the Southeast, when Young can return and get the offense back on track.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
The hawks are going to be a bad defensive team for as long as Trae Young and John Collins are around. They ranked as the worst defenders at their respective positions last season.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2822874-metrics-101-exposing-the-nbas-worst-defender-at-every-position.amp.html
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2822874-metrics-101-exposing-the-nbas-worst-defender-at-every-position.amp.html
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Neither of them have been all that bad this season. We are still a young team learning to play ball at the pro level night in and night out. We got killed by missed rotations mostly against Sacramento. We just need experience and a better option at the center position.Jason3442 wrote:The hawks are going to be a bad defensive team for as long as Trae Young and John Collins are around. They ranked as the worst defenders at their respective positions last season.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2822874-metrics-101-exposing-the-nbas-worst-defender-at-every-position.amp.html
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EazyRoc wrote:Neither of them have been all that bad this season. We are still a young team learning to play ball at the pro level night in and night out. We got killed by missed rotations mostly against Sacramento. We just need experience and a better option at the center position.Jason3442 wrote:The hawks are going to be a bad defensive team for as long as Trae Young and John Collins are around. They ranked as the worst defenders at their respective positions last season.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2822874-metrics-101-exposing-the-nbas-worst-defender-at-every-position.amp.html
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It's a good thing this is a new season and players habe the opportunity to get better. Both Trae and John were decent on defense to start the season. Now JC is gone and the defense took a hit with Parker, he is bad, slow to rotate and close out, something JC did well, but alas he's gone for another 22 games. Trae started good, has struggled a bit since coming back from the ankle, he actually played the passing lanes well last night racking up 5 steals.
Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively?
Hawks have fallen from top-8 in defensive rating to middle of the pack at 15...in about a week.
Offense hasn't improved in that time either. It'll be interesting to see what adjustments the staff makes to help us become competitive again.
Offense hasn't improved in that time either. It'll be interesting to see what adjustments the staff makes to help us become competitive again.
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Jamaaliver wrote:Hawks have fallen from top-8 in defensive rating to middle of the pack at 15...in about a week.
Offense hasn't improved in that time either. It'll be interesting to see what adjustments the staff makes to help us become competitive again.
Agreed. And thanks for posting these. I'm curious to follow how our defense does and wasn't sure where to look for relevant measurables. Guess you're finally pulling your weight as a mod. 'Bout time.
I think our defense will be impacted mightily by the 1 and 5 positions.
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kg01 wrote:Jamaaliver wrote:Hawks have fallen from top-8 in defensive rating to middle of the pack at 15...in about a week.
Offense hasn't improved in that time either. It'll be interesting to see what adjustments the staff makes to help us become competitive again.
Agreed. And thanks for posting these. I'm curious to follow how our defense does and wasn't sure where to look for relevant measurables. Guess you're finally pulling your weight as a mod. 'Bout time.
I think our defense will be impacted mightily by the 1 and 5 positions.
Len's defense has actually been pretty good. Parker on the other hand, straight doodoo. His individual defense and team defense - atrocious. Simple trap on a PnR he struggles with.
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jayu70 wrote:kg01 wrote:Jamaaliver wrote:Hawks have fallen from top-8 in defensive rating to middle of the pack at 15...in about a week.
Offense hasn't improved in that time either. It'll be interesting to see what adjustments the staff makes to help us become competitive again.
Agreed. And thanks for posting these. I'm curious to follow how our defense does and wasn't sure where to look for relevant measurables. Guess you're finally pulling your weight as a mod. 'Bout time.
I think our defense will be impacted mightily by the 1 and 5 positions.
Len's defense has actually been pretty good. Parker on the other hand, straight doodoo. His individual defense and team defense - atrocious. Simple trap on a PnR he struggles with.
True. Len has been so bad on offense though that I looked, multiple times, and thought he might be playing with boxing gloves on. Like, "How did you fumble that perfect pass?!"
king01