The Hawks understand that they’re far from having the best defense in the NBA. So, they know they have to make impactful plays and stops every chance they get.
While forcing opponents to miss a shot, then grabbing the rebound remains a priority for the Hawks, they’ll still take those stops anyway they can get. One of those ways includes drawing a charge off of an opponent.
Through the first 19 games of the season, the Hawks rank eighth in the league in charges drawn, averaging .68 per game. They seem to have found their groove for drawing offensive fouls last month, averaging .71 in November. But in the past two weeks, that number increased to .86 charges drawn per game, which put them at fourth in the league behind the Thunder, Magic and Warriors.
This season, Hawks coach Quin Snyder and his staff have made drawing fouls a point of emphasis for the team. When players can successfully draw them, it means that they have the ability to get into the right place at the right time.
Hawks guard Trae Young drew a game-deciding charge in the team’s win over the Spurs on Thursday. He stopped Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan after he picked off a sideline pass from Hawks forward Saddiq Bey and looked to score a bucket in transition with .3 seconds to go.
Five minutes earlier, Hawks center Clint Capela, who ranks 16th in the league, drew an offensive foul off Spurs center Zach Collins after he looked to get to the rim.
A game later, Capela got into the right spot again. This time he drew a charge off of Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first quarter before drawing another off of Bucks center Brook Lopez in the second.
“I just think that I’ve always been pretty good at taking charges my whole career,” Capela said Monday. “So I like to, I like to block shots and take charges. So I know when I play Giannis, I’m going have at least one. I also had one in San Antonio. So I always, always take pride in that, and it’s part of protecting the paint, also.”
Capela then had help from De’Andre Hunter, who drew another off Antetokounmpo before Garrison Mathews drew one off Damian Lillard.
“I think they say a lot,” Snyder said following Thursday’s game. “One, you have to be in the right place from a help standpoint. So it’s indicative of being aware within a team concept, and then you’re sacrificing your body, someone’s running into you. And that’s not something that we all walk around trying to do.”
The Hawks have worked on it plenty this season, and it’s paying off. They’ve created situations in practice to try to simulate moments to help the team recognize when and where to draw one. The next step is for that recognition to become instinctive.
“Those things evolve, whether it be drill work, film, where we first have an understanding of where we need to be and then the habits that go along with that where not only do you know consciously but then instinctively,” Snyder said following practice Monday. “That’s where you get to be good as things become instinct.”
Like Capela, the other Hawks have taken pride in trying to draw offensive fouls. Young has looked to make big strides on defense and has hustled on that end of the floor. He draws on average .17 charges per game, and it’s something he’s worked on, especially when he was younger.
Young shared a story of winning best defensive player at a basketball camp at Southwestern Oklahoma State University basketball camp.
“It’s like I’ve always been good at like being sneaky and taking charges,” he said Tuesday. “It’s about timing, and as I’ve gotten older, obviously guys are bigger, and so it’s like you got to know when and who to take a charge on. So that’s been a thing, but I’ve always been good at that.
“And as I’ve gotten older, obviously Clint takes a lot of charges. Me and him may or may not have something going on when it comes to that this year. But we just, this is something that I know is gonna help our team if I’m more locked in on defense and doing little things here and there like taking charges it only helps our team.”
Injury update
The Hawks have been without Jalen Johnson for the past four games after he left their game in Washington with a left distal radius fracture. The team has ruled him out for at least three to four weeks before further evaluating him.
Following practice Tuesday, though, Johnson could be seen among the players putting up shots after. The 21-year-old took several shots wearing a lighter brace than the one he wore in the days following his injury.
Snyder praised the Hawks’ health-performance group and shared that Johnson’s splint allows him to have as mobility without compromising the healing process.
“Our health-performance group does a great job,” Snyder said. “Not just with those evaluations initially but being able to bring guys guys along. He’s got splint that allows him as much mobility as possible without compromising the healing process. So it’s good to get him back out on the court there’s obviously things he can’t do. But conditioning, just being around the game.”
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