The Hawks’ frontcourt was wounded entering Monday’s contest against the Bulls. Center Clint Capela was out with a left adductor strain, while Bruno Fernando returned after missing a game with an illness, leaving Onyeka Okgonwu as the lone big man at full health.
This wasn’t the best-case scenario for the Hawks, especially facing the Bulls’ front court led by Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. Vucevic was coming off a 26-point, 17-rebound performance versus Orlando, and Drummond dropped 24 points and 25 rebounds on the Hawks the last time the teams met.
The Hawks’ collective rebounding effort paid off, though, as they outrebounded the Bulls 49-43. However, it wasn’t enough to contain Chicago’s points in the paint, as the Hawks’ perimeter defense struggled to stop Chicago in isolation, pick and roll, kick-and-drives and more, leading to a 136-126 loss.
“We’ve all got to be better guarding the ball,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Some of it was pick and roll or getting rejected. … Once you’re in a close-out situation, it’s a long close out, and they do a good job of driving the ball after those situations.”
Opponent points in the paint have been a concern for the Hawks, who are surrendering the third-most per game in the NBA (56.0 after Monday’s play). But Snyder hasn’t placed all the blame on his last line of defense, emphasizing the importance of the perimeter defenders. He mentioned during the pregame press conference that he wanted to “defend collectively” where the big men aren’t forced to help as much.
The Hawks’ defensive struggles didn’t pop up until the Bulls’ second-quarter surge to end the first half. The Hawks also were outscored in the paint 24-14 in the third – none from fast-break opportunities.
Even though Okongwu played all but one minute and 10 seconds in the quarter, he couldn’t contest every shot attempt. This was illustrated at the 2:06 mark by Dalen Terry’s up-and-under layup.
Following Drummond’s screen on forward Bogdan Bogdanovic, forward Jalen Johnson who was guarding Terry, stepped up to stop Ayo Dosunmu’s drive into the lane. Dosunmu then dished the ball out to Terry at the left wing, and he drove into the lane as Johnson couldn’t recover in time. Trying to guard Drummond and Terry, Okongwu couldn’t completely contest Terry’s layup, leading to the basket.
“They played like the more experienced team,” Bogdanovic said. “They run a lot of pick-and-rolls on the side. They were attacking the middle, rejecting us. We had a lot of and-ones. … That’s how teams gain confidence.”
The Hawks weren’t outrebounded in any quarter, but Chicago still was efficient from the field, shooting 55.4% overall and 46.4% on 3-point shots. The Hawks continued to struggle in the fourth quarter as well, when they were outscored 22-16 in the paint.
The Hawks’ chances to stop the Bulls at the rim hardened at the 3:58 mark when Okongwu subbed out, forcing Johnson to guard Vucevic. Chicago attacked the mismatch, allowing Vucevic to score with ease.
Snyder revealed that Okongwu hurt his toe on the previous possession and needed to exit the game. The team is waiting to see the severity of the injury. If Okongwu misses the Hawks’ game Wednesday against the Hornets, Fernando currently would be the only big man available.
With the All-Star break approaching, Snyder looks forward to his players using the time to get fresh and healthy. But similar to Bogdanovic, he understands that everyone has work to do.
“We miss Clint, but I always say, ‘it’s an opportunity for other guys,’” Bogdanovic said. “It happens to every team that guys are going down and they’re not there for a certain amount of time.”
