NEW YORK — The Hawks return to Barclays Center on Saturday afternoon for a matinee rematch against the Nets.
On Thursday night, the Hawks allowed the Nets, a team that entered the evening shooting 36.2% on 3-point shots, to get comfortable early. The Nets, particularly forward Cam Johnson, were able to take several uncontested shots early.
Johnson went 3-of-4 from long range in the first quarter and ended the night 7-of-11, with his makes coming on uncontested baskets. When the Hawks rotated out in time to contest a shot, he missed.
“A huge percentage of their shots were uncontested early, and actually when we did contest, it was always the case, the make is (low) percentage,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder at practice Friday. “So that was one thing defensively that allowed them to get off on the run that they did.”
The Hawks have contested a number of 3-point shots this season and rank eighth in the NBA in average contested 3′s per game. They average 17.6 contested 3′s per game, which ranks up there with some of the league’s top defensive teams.
Of course, they will look to make adjustments on the offensive end, as well. The Hawks struggled to get out in transition and put themselves in a position to have to create plays against a set defense. They averaged only 93.3 points per 100 possessions that began in the half court with 77.% of their plays occurring against a set defense, per Cleaning the Glass.
“Offensively, watching us in the half court versus (Nic) Claxton’s switching, we didn’t attack that well,” Snyder said. “But to be honest with you, we probably had our worst game of the year in transition. We were like .86 per possession, which would be at the very bottom of the league. The prior two games were very, very good. So, you factor that in that you’re not taking advantage of the open court, then you’re being forced to be even more efficient in half court.
“We haven’t seen, without Trae (Young), that and Claxton is one of the best players in the league at switching. What happens is, you get stagnant, the ball stops moving, and there’s nothing wrong with Claxton, attacking the big.”
Despite 44.4% of their plays coming off of live rebounds, the Hawks simply couldn’t capitalize because they struggled with getting down the floor. When they faced the Nets defense, they didn’t attack the basket and often let it dictate their shots.
They were a minus-0.8 in points added per 100 possessions in plays that came off of live rebounds.
They also struggled to capitalize on their takeaways, after forcing three steals. They averaged 66.7 points per 100 transition plays that came off of steals.
As the Hawks take on the Nets, they’ll look to keep attacking the basket because that worked for them as they collapse the paint before finding shooters in the corner.
Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic has been battling through a jammed thumb, which occurred in the first half of the team’s win over the Jazz. Bogdanovic went 4-of-13 from floor and 1-of-5 from 3. Following practice on Friday, Bogdanovic continued to put up shots to find some comfort, but the thumb still looked swollen when he showed it to reporters.
But the Hawks will, of course, need more than Bogdanovic to find ways to split the Nets defense.
The Hawks and Nets tipoff at 3 p.m. Saturday.
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