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How do the Hawks get better defensively?

Moderators: dms269, Jamaaliver, HMFFL

What needs to happen to fix the defense?

Better Effort
10
24%
Better Coaching
6
14%
Better Players
26
62%
 
Total votes: 42

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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#121 » by Jamaaliver » Fri Nov 15, 2019 4:20 pm

The Hawks wanted to get much better defensively when they drafted De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, and so far both have been key factors in the improvement we’ve seen.

Defensively, Hunter has been as good as advertised coming out of Virginia. Pierce has said multiple times that he isn't a “rookie,” meaning that Hunter is just advanced beyond his level of experience. It shows on defense. His pick-and-roll defense is already elite. He’s holding opposing players to 37 percent shooting in pick-and-roll situations.

Reddish has been great defensively. He ranks in the 75th percentile on that end of the floor and has been an excellent spot-up defender.

“Defensively, nothing is going to show up, but I think he’s doing a tremendous job,” Pierce said. “I think he’s contesting shots, altering shots and making it tough for guards to score over him because of his length. He’s going to start getting into passing lanes and getting deflections from just being in the right spot and using his instincts. It’s coming (his shooting getting better). It’s definitely coming. His confidence with the group is more important to me because that’ll translate on the court.”


Bembry is the team’s best and most dependable defender, according to Pierce. I’m of the opinion that the Hawks should try to re-sign him because of the energy and defense (despite what the advanced analytics say) he provides. Bembry reminds me of Boston’s Marcus Smart. They’re not going to overwhelm you with their stats in the box score, but they always seem to have some positive impact on the game.

Young has taken a step forward defensively this season. Collins was excellent defensively to start the season. Len has taken a big leap defensively, and the rookies already have established themselves as good defenders. It’s a very, very small sample, but the Hawks were dominant when they rolled out a lineup of Young-Reddish-Hunter-Collins-Len. The Hawks had a net rating of 16.4(!) in the 35 minutes this group shared the floor. That group had a ridiculous defensive rating of 84.9.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#122 » by Jamaaliver » Sun Nov 17, 2019 4:55 pm

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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#123 » by Jamaaliver » Mon Nov 18, 2019 7:43 pm

The Hawks have been letting go of the proverbial rope a little bit lately, but it couldn’t be that bad, right? The defense is getting obliterated lately. Atlanta gave up 121 at home to Sacramento. It gave up 124 in overtime in Portland, 121 in an overtime victory in Denver, and then 128 in Phoenix before the Clippers debacle.

The Hawks getting shredded by the Lakers the next night isn’t surprising, but it can’t happen the night after giving up 150 in the same building. The Hawks are young and they’re going to have some high highs and some low lows. That’s part of being a young team and trying to compete in the NBA. Giving up 122 to the Lakers and 272 in Staples Center over the weekend without being competitive in either game just means this long road trip has been far too taxing for their inexperience to overcome.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#124 » by jayu70 » Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:04 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:
The Hawks have been letting go of the proverbial rope a little bit lately, but it couldn’t be that bad, right? The defense is getting obliterated lately. Atlanta gave up 121 at home to Sacramento. It gave up 124 in overtime in Portland, 121 in an overtime victory in Denver, and then 128 in Phoenix before the Clippers debacle.

The Hawks getting shredded by the Lakers the next night isn’t surprising, but it can’t happen the night after giving up 150 in the same building. The Hawks are young and they’re going to have some high highs and some low lows. That’s part of being a young team and trying to compete in the NBA. Giving up 122 to the Lakers and 272 in Staples Center over the weekend without being competitive in either game just means this long road trip has been far too taxing for their inexperience to overcome.
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To answer the OP....not start Parker. I was an advocate of starting Vince at PF once JC was suspended. I just thought he'd fit with and could help our 2 rookies more than Parker. He's all about offense.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#125 » by jayu70 » Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:57 pm

He always seems out of position and unaware.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#126 » by shakes0 » Thu Nov 21, 2019 11:32 pm

jayu70 wrote:He always seems out of position and unaware.
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From what I've seen this season, he is probably the dumbest player in the entire NBA. I would expect nothing less than for him to be out of position and unaware at all times. I also expect him to miss 1.5 dunks per game by throwing it hard off the back of the rim.

And all that said, he's still our best option at center.


TS failed this team big time not getting a competent center.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#127 » by jayu70 » Thu Nov 21, 2019 11:37 pm

shakes0 wrote:
jayu70 wrote:He always seems out of position and unaware.
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From what I've seen this season, he is probably the dumbest player in the entire NBA. I would expect nothing less than for him to be out of position and unaware at all times. I also expect him to miss 1.5 dunks per game by throwing it hard off the back of the rim.

And all that said, he's still our best option at center.


TS failed this team big time not getting a competent center.

He may lack BBIQ and awareness but I'd give the dumbest to Javale McGee.
Len's struggles is the biggest culprit. He ended the season strong, unfortunately it didn't carry over to this season.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#128 » by shakes0 » Thu Nov 21, 2019 11:54 pm

jayu70 wrote:
shakes0 wrote:
jayu70 wrote:He always seems out of position and unaware.
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From what I've seen this season, he is probably the dumbest player in the entire NBA. I would expect nothing less than for him to be out of position and unaware at all times. I also expect him to miss 1.5 dunks per game by throwing it hard off the back of the rim.

And all that said, he's still our best option at center.


TS failed this team big time not getting a competent center.

He may lack BBIQ and awareness but I'd give the dumbest to Javale McGee.
Len's struggles is the biggest culprit. He ended the season strong, unfortunately it didn't carry over to this season.


yea I was just referring to his lack of BBIQ and court awareness. And would someone please teach him how to catch a ball without bringing it down to his knees?

Len is friggen terrible. He's absolutely killing this team. TS needs to answer for that.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#129 » by Jamaaliver » Tue Nov 26, 2019 1:36 pm

yikes...

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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#130 » by Jamaaliver » Mon Dec 2, 2019 2:54 pm

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Hawks Defense Is Bad, Starting With Their Superstar Trae Young

The NBA is picking on Trae Young. The point guards for Atlanta’s opponents are taking the ball right at Young, the Hawks second-year point guard. Fred Van Fleet of the Toronto Raptors said the idea is to make the Hawks wizard play defense to try and wear him down so he can’t so easily go for 40 points, or create for his teammates.

When you look at this seven-game losing streak by the Hawks, you should factor in the 25-game suspension for starting forward John Collins, and then look at what Young’s defense costs the Hawks. It is not insignificant.

Three times in a recent loss to the Toronto Raptors, PG Fred Van Fleet left Young flat-footed and a 104-100 lead became a 110-100 lead and Atlanta never recovered. One lapse was just egregious. Young saw Van Fleet run out and watched, then started running, and Van Fleet had an easy bucket.

For De’Andre Hunter, the Hawks rookie swing forward, this is an entirely new culture on the floor he has walked into. The 6-foot-7 Hunter was an ace defender for Virginia, the defending national champion. Now he is in a culture of bombs away, 3s flying, chucking and ducking. The Hawks are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA (29th in Defensive Rating of 30 teams). Virginia was one of the best—if not the best—defensive team in college basketball in 2018-19.

“You have to work on it every day and be dedicated to it,” Hunter said. “I think we can be one of the best teams in the league on defense because we have a lot of guys who can guard multiple positions.”

If Hunter says thinks so, well, maybe it’s worth paying attention to. He certainly knows what good defense looks like. You can see him strain on most possessions to be the lock down guy he was in college.

But defense starts at the top, the ability to protect against the run out and recover from turnovers. The Hawks are 23rd in the league in allowing fast break points and 27th in allowing points after turnovers. Atlanta is 27th in allowing second chance points.

There is skill in defense, and the Hawks just don’t have those skills right now. It is a culture that is going to drag them down and keep them down.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#131 » by Jamaaliver » Wed Dec 18, 2019 3:05 am

It's officially a train wreck:

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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#132 » by Jamaaliver » Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:17 am

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...there is zero excuse for why the team has shown almost no effort multiple times this season, and it has been publicly acknowledged by head coach Lloyd Pierce and the players. How can a team continue to look so flat? A team that already has given up more than 150 points twice in 28 games, a team that already has suffered through a 10-game losing streak somehow showed up to the arena Tuesday night and was embarrassed by arguably the worst team in the NBA and wasn’t ready to play.

One of the biggest problems the Hawks have in their locker room is the lack of leadership from outspoken veterans.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#133 » by Jamaaliver » Tue Dec 24, 2019 6:00 am

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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#134 » by King Ken » Tue Dec 24, 2019 7:07 am

Trae defense is awful these days. The effort he had early in the season is gone outside of spurts and his hunting for fouls really does a number to our offense. Trae is an exceptional offensive talent, one of the best I've seen but he needs to become a better team player and PG or Ls will be common regardless of his stats.

Cam in the 4th showed everyone what impact looks like. Stops after stops. Covering a **** load of ground. Looking to play his role. Kevin was on fire in the 2nd half. Why is Bembry the one who's feeding the hot hand in Hunter early on? We need Trae to get it together. His defense is a big part of the problem. But worse, his offense can be the other team's best defense.

We can't be so flawed in the half court set with Young if the PnR ain't there. Transition shouldn't be the only time our offense looks unstoppable
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#135 » by jayu70 » Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:19 pm

King Ken wrote:Trae defense is awful these days. The effort he had early in the season is gone outside of spurts and his hunting for fouls really does a number to our offense. Trae is an exceptional offensive talent, one of the best I've seen but he needs to become a better team player and PG or Ls will be common regardless of his stats.

Cam in the 4th showed everyone what impact looks like. Stops after stops. Covering a **** load of ground. Looking to play his role. Kevin was on fire in the 2nd half. Why is Bembry the one who's feeding the hot hand in Hunter early on? We need Trae to get it together. His defense is a big part of the problem. But worse, his offense can be the other team's best defense.

We can't be so flawed in the half court set with Young if the PnR ain't there. Transition shouldn't be the only time our offense looks unstoppable

When Trae does that, it leads to turnovers.
With his offensive burden reduced with JC back, he really needs to dig in on defense.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#136 » by leo7 » Tue Dec 24, 2019 5:54 pm

I agree about Trae. But I'm not sure if he will ever be adequate at defense with his small frame and wingspan.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#137 » by King Ken » Tue Dec 24, 2019 6:07 pm

leo7 wrote:I agree about Trae. But I'm not sure if he will ever be adequate at defense with his small frame and wingspan.

He was adequate eariler this year. His issue is, he needs to put all his energy into winning and not to get these numbers.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#138 » by jayu70 » Tue Dec 24, 2019 6:18 pm

leo7 wrote:I agree about Trae. But I'm not sure if he will ever be adequate at defense with his small frame and wingspan.

He will always at a disadvantage with frame and wingspan but he can be at least passable in other areas. He can't be total arrse cheeks all the time.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#139 » by Geaux_Hawks » Wed Dec 25, 2019 2:43 pm

jayu70 wrote:
leo7 wrote:I agree about Trae. But I'm not sure if he will ever be adequate at defense with his small frame and wingspan.

He will always at a disadvantage with frame and wingspan but he can be at least passable in other areas. He can't be total arrse cheeks all the time.

Which is why we need an interior presence to help cover for where Trae lacks. Steven Adam's just scream perfect fit for us.
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Re: How do the Hawks get better defensively? 

Post#140 » by King Ken » Wed Dec 25, 2019 2:50 pm

Geaux_Hawks wrote:
jayu70 wrote:
leo7 wrote:I agree about Trae. But I'm not sure if he will ever be adequate at defense with his small frame and wingspan.

He will always at a disadvantage with frame and wingspan but he can be at least passable in other areas. He can't be total arrse cheeks all the time.

Which is why we need an interior presence to help cover for where Trae lacks. Steven Adam's just scream perfect fit for us.

Not offensively. A perfect fit to me is Myles Turner. All of these guys have flaws that will effect us

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