SAN FRANCISCO — When midnight struck and rang in the new year, the Hawks made the resolution to get better each game. But one game into 2023, they have fallen victim to the same mistakes that haunted them.
In Monday’s loss to the Warriors, the Hawks (17-20) struggled to contain the ball on the glass down the stretch. They also had trouble making some of their shots, which compounded the issues on the boards.
The Hawks gave up 23 offensive rebounds to the Warriors, with seven of them occurring in the fourth quarter. Six of those offensive boards occurred in the final two minutes of regulation.
The final Warriors offensive rebound produced the points that tied the score and sent the game into overtime.
The Hawks’ struggle to contain rebounds followed them into the second overtime, as they gave up another five offensive rebounds. The last two ended up costing the Hawks the game.
Of course, the Hawks have played without Clint Capela for seven of their past eight games. Capela has been dealing with a right calf strain, and his absence has shown how much the team has relied on his presence and size in the paint.
On the season, the Hawks rank 13th in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game. But since Dec. 16, the last time Capela was a consistent fixture in the rotation, the Hawks have given up 15.9 second-chance points per game. That is the fifth most in the league.
Overall, the Hawks have not been totally lost on the boards in the absence of Capela. Since Dec. 16, they’re the top defensive rebounding team in the NBA, but they’re the seventh-worst offensive rebounding team.
The Hawks have played in a number of competitive matchups this season, including three over the past five games. On Dec. 28, they lost to the Nets 108-107 at the buzzer after they failed to knock down a 3-pointer off the fast break.
But last Wednesday was not the only time the Hawks have struggled to knock down their baskets in “clutch time.” The NBA considers any game in clutch time when there are five or fewer minutes left in the game and the score is within five points.
In their past three close games, the Hawks have gone 0-3 after making only 34.3% of their overall field goals, despite putting up the second-most attempts (11.7) and third-most points (13).
“Well, you know, it comes down to, most of these games are going to come down to making plays,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said following the loss to the Warriors. “And, you know, making plays or getting stops, getting rebounds, you know, making shots. And, (the Warriors) made the plays down the stretch, and overtime, big plays.
“We had opportunity to rebound the basketball, gain possession of that. We didn’t do that. They hit a 3, which goes into overtime. A couple loose balls at the end of the last possession game, (Kevon) Looney gets a tip-in. You gotta get that rebound. So it comes down to making plays, and they made more plays than we did.”
McMillan has talked about the team needing to execute the little things throughout the game and particularly down the stretch.
This season, nine of the Hawks’ games have been decided within the final 10 seconds. They’ve gone 4-5 in those.
But with the Hawks looking to find their rhythm and make their push into the postseason, they’ll need to continue to find ways to make plays as a team.
About the Author
