The Hawks look to move into the New Year building off of the things that worked while learning from their mistakes.
Despite inconsistency still plaguing the team, they have executed some of the good habits that Hawks coach Quin Snyder has preached. Through the first 32 games of the season, the Hawks have moved the ball well, and seven players are averaging double-digit scoring.
The Hawks have been able to thrive in the pick-and-roll game, forcing plenty of coaches to center their game plans on limiting that as an option.
In the first 32 games of the season, Hawks guard Trae Young leads the NBA in points per game as the pick-and-roll ballhandler. He averages 13.3 points per game while averaging 1.03 points per possession. Roughly 9.3 field goals have been attempted with Young as the pick-and-roll ballhandler, which is the second most in the NBA behind Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
Ahead of the Hawks’ matchup against the Wizards on Sunday, opposing coach Wes Unseld called Young’s pick-and-roll game lethal.
But Young knows he’s got to better.
Despite scoring 30 or more points and dishing out 10 or more assists in seven of the past 11 games, he knows that the Hawks have plenty of room for improvement after going 4-7 in that same span.
So, he knows that some of that improvement starts with him and taking better care of the ball. In those 11 games, he’s averaged five turnovers per game, including a season-high eight turnovers Dec. 15.
“Yeah, I want to continue to be better,” Young said Tuesday. “I was doing a really good job early on of taking care of the ball. I think here recently I’ve gotten a little bit more turnovers here than I felt like I should have, and for me, that’s where I can be better for my teammates and just making sure we get a shot up. And sometimes I’m trying to get them the ball, and sometimes it’s a turnover, and sometimes I’ll live with it. But there’s a few turnovers here and there these last few games I feel like I can be better at, and that’ll help our bigs, too, just getting them the ball, making sure they have a touch. So that’s where I can be better for them.”
He’s continued to have a strong connection with center Clint Capela, who had a strong December and has averaged 14.5 points per game over his past 11 outings.
Young also has showed a burgeoning connection with Jalen Johnson, who returned to the rotation last week after missing a month with a fractured wrist.
But most of all, Young and the Hawks will look to continue improving on their communication throughout the game to prevent some of those lulls when opposing teams make major runs. On top of that, it will continue to allow the Hawks to reap the benefits of Young’s passing and avoid giving up possessions.
“Oftentimes, I’ll get back to more specifically you, if you’re trying to communicate, if there’s a language that you don’t know or speak, it’s difficult to, just to talk,” Snyder said. “So, hopefully, that’s something as we become more and more trained in our habits, we know where we’re supposed to be, what we want to accomplish that begets more communication.”
Snyder pointed out that there is a fine line when it comes to Young because of his ability to make plays, especially because of his understanding of time-and-score situation and whether making that type of play is worth it.
“He’s so good moving people with his eyes,” Snyder added. “He’s so good with ball fakes. And, you know, can he keep his feet on the floor and play in the lane more. There’s lots of little things that he’s talked about (improving).
“As you look at kind of what you want to accomplish as a goal, I think it’s important to see the things that lead up to that that help you accomplish the goal. And, that’s really where our focus is as a group as well. He just happens to have the ball a lot. So with that great freedom, because we do want him to, to be who he is, and comes responsibility.”
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