Reflections on the Hawks’ first 11 games of the season
The Hawks have gotten through a tough stretch at the beginning of the season.
Though the season doesn’t get easier from here, they’ve weathered a tough stretch where they played six of their first 11 games on the road, which also included seven games in an 11-day stretch.
But the Hawks went 7-4 in those first 11 games, winning five of their last six games.
The first 11 games have not looked pretty, by any means, as their depth in the frontcourt has been tested. The Hawks had to bounce back from a three-game losing streak that included back-to-back losses to the Rockets followed by a loss to the Heat. Then they fell to the Pelicans in a blowout loss three days later.
But the Hawks have won four straight games, all of which included them fighting through opposing rallies or mounting a comeback.
The Hawks moved to fourth place in the Eastern Conference after they downed a short-handed Pacers team on Monday. They’ve held onto that spot after wins in their next three games. They sit behind the 76ers, Celtics and Pistons.
But the Hawks still have room for improvement.
“I love that we’ve won a couple in a row, but I’m also, it’s early in the year, and we just want to keep getting better,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We do that and win at the same time; that’s the best scenario. So I feel like having a chance to play a really difficult schedule to learn from some of those games, whether it’s playing against a team like Houston that squishes everything off the ball, and we applied that tonight.
“Team that does more of that, seeing different coaches, having a few guys out where guys have started really to come together. The thing about our team is everybody’s got a role, and roles change not just in the game; they can change during the course of the game. And for us to be valuable with one another allows us, I think, to play to our strengths, adjust some of that responsibility.”
Through their first 11 games, the Hawks have plenty to figure out on both sides of the ball. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks rank 14th in offense, averaging 114.7 points per 100 possessions. They rank 18th in defense, allowing their opponents to average 113.5 points per 100 possessions.
As the Hawks move forward, they have some tough matchups ahead, including Monday’s meeting against Luka Doncic and the Lakers. Then they head on the road for a three-game, seven-day road trip, which begins with an NBA Cup matchup against the Bulls on Friday and ends with a meeting against the Thunder on Nov. 18.