The Hawks win with defense.
Make no mistake.
Atlanta remains second in the NBA in defensive efficiency (99.0) and sixth in points allowed (99.2). Those statistics have gotten increasingly better as the regular season nears its conclusion. The Hawks have now held eight straight opponents to a shooting percentage of under 45 percent, including Tuesday night’s 91-84 victory over the Jazz. They have held five of those opponents under 40 percent. In addition, they have held five of the past six opponents under 100 points.
The offense has lagged behind – sometimes far behind – during what can fairly be described as an up-and-down campaign. However, that’s starting to change. The pace and space offensive attack predicated on ball movement is starting to catch up. It’s not quite there, but better.
“We feel like it’s probably still lagging but we feel like it is changing,” Paul Millsap said of the offense following the latest win, the Hawks’ fifth in the past six games. “We feel like if we do things a little bit harder and do things with pace, our offense will be all right.”
The Hawks (36-28) have 18 games remaining in the regular season. A five-game road trip ends Thursday night against the Raptors. The Hawks are 3-1 on the trip, with the only loss coming in overtime to the Warriors (albeit without two of their top players). Not many thought such success was possible during a tough portion of the schedule. Following the important conference matchup, 10 of their remaining games will be at home. Coaches and players have talked about wanting to be playing their best basketball heading into the postseason.
“We are cooking now,” Kent Bazemore said. “What better time?”
The Hawks, and fans, have been frustrated at times this season. The success of last season’s 60-win campaign have not been duplicated. An inconsistent offense has been the main culprit and the reason for the troubles have been several. Players have said that the Hawks are not sneaking up on anybody this season. Al Horford reiterated the point.
“It’s just been different for us because, I feel like, teams really know what we’re trying to do,” Horford said Tuesday. “Last year, we caught a lot of teams off guard. For us this year, it’s been trying to make adjustments offensively, trying to figure out how we can score the ball.
“I feel like it is getting better. We are starting to play with more pace and we are really starting to figure things out.”
Point guard Jeff Teague has elevated his play on the current road trip. He has played a central role as the Hawks overcame double-digit deficits in two straight wins over the Clippers and Jazz.
Teague had a game-high 24 points against the Jazz. In the past six games, which began with wins over the Bulls and Hornets before the road trip, Teague averaged 15.7 points, 7.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He has scored in double figures in 48 games, including 15 20-point efforts.
“We keep talking about it,” Thabo Sefolosha said of Teague. “As long as he is aggressive, we have all the trust in the world in him. He has to trust himself and just play. When you have the ball in your hands that much, you are going to mess up, you are going to have turnovers. We can live with those as long as he stays aggressive.”
