When it comes to their end-of-game execution, especially of late, the Hawks have lots of room for improvement.
They must do more than compete and be close at the end of games.
The Hawks have worked on their communication, particularly in pick and roll defense and getting into late shifts, and staying in front of their man defensively. In both of their last two games, the Hawks have been within one possession when games go in clutch time in the final five minutes. In Wednesday’s game against the Nets, a 114-113 loss, the Hawks were within one possession throughout the fourth quarter and to the final buzzer. On Friday against the Sixers, a 125-114 loss, the Hawks had a three-point lead with 5:03 left but they went cold. The Sixers finished the game on a 19-5 run.
The Hawks have found themselves in clutch situations before. Through their first 21 games of the season, the Hawks have played 12 games that have gone into clutch time, but have won just four.
“Our coaches and staff, they give us a great game plan every day,” Hawks forward Saddiq Bey said after Wednesday’s loss. “They grind, watch a lot of film, scout and stuff like that. We just got to execute. The Nets had a lot of 3s. They shoot a lot of 3s each game and they make 40% of them. So we got to be better on that end and we got to get stops for us to play in transition.”
The team bumped Bey into the starting lineup with Jalen Johnson sidelined with a left distal radius fracture. Bey has had to adjust to the starting group but over the last two games he found a rhythm shooting 40.5% from 3-point range.
But Johnson’s absence and Bey’s elevation to the starting group has shown that the Hawks have very little room for error when it comes to executing the game plan. On Friday, it was Johnson’s absence, as well as that of Trae Young (illness), that showed just how precise the rest of the team needs to be down the stretch.
“We obviously got to figure it out to be consistent and be a good to great team.” Hawks guard Dejounte Murray said Friday. “But you start somewhere. Obviously, missing Trae tonight, there’s adjustments there, figuring things out, multiple ball handlers,. So I think at the end of the day, we played a great game and we fought and then just that last five minutes we didn’t execute or they got to the free-throw line and things like that.”
The Hawks had just eight turnovers through the first three quarters of Friday’s game. But they went 2-of-13 from the field in the last five minutes and had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter alone. The 76ers jumped on them and showed why they regularly make appearances in the postseason.
As they move forward, the Hawks know that they have to focus on what they can control. For example, they may not be able to control what happens to the ball after it leaves their hands on a 3-point attempt, but they know that they can throw bodies at the glass to give themselves a chance at getting the rebound.
They also understand that they have to keep up a next-play mentality so that they can get back in transition and communicate with each other to be a stronger defensive team. They’ve watched the film and Hawks coach Quin Snyder has been on them about the mistakes they’ve made.
“I just think if you want to be a good defensive team, you’ve got to talk,” Hawks forwad De’Andre Hunter said. “You’re not gonna be a good defensive team with no communication. And we haven’t been a good defensive team for that reason. So that’s like a point of emphasis for us is just talking to each other, any kind of way possible. So it just heightens your senses, throughout the game, you’re more in the game, and you’re more in tune on defense.”
The Hawks are 9-12, with three straight losses. and hold the 10th spot in the Eastern Confernce standings. They host the defending NBA champion Nuggets on Monday.
