All Hawks

Breaking Down Five Plays from Hawks Loss in Boston

The Hawks fell flat last night.

Pat Benson

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
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Following last night's disappointing loss to the Celtics, Hawks forward Bogdan Bogdanovic had this to say. "When you're up 15, and they lose one of the top two guys on the team, and if you're not able to win that game, you're not a good team." I agree with 'Bogi.' Let's review five plays that highlight the Hawks' problems.

De'Andre Hunter

Entering the season, Hawks fans had high hopes for De'Andre Hunter. His production has regressed across the board. Last night felt like the exclamation point to a bad season for Hunter, who shot 0-8 from the field and looked lost on defense. To be fair, Hunter is coming back from a wrist surgery and an illness. But watch the sequence below and tell me if this is the same player from last season.

Kevin Huerter

Speaking of regression, Kevin Huerter is averaging fewer points, rebounds, and assists than last season. His shooting percentages have increased, but he hasn't made the expected step in his fourth season.

Check out the play below. Danilo Gallinari brings the double-team but completely fails to contain Jayson Tatum. Huerter plays equally ineffective defense, and Capela can't leave Robert Williams III alone on the block. This isn't winning basketball.

Trae Young

Watch as Bogdanovic calls out Williams' incoming down-screen on Young. Williams went through the motions and failed to even make contact with Young. Nevertheless, Young got beat on the play by Derrick White. After the and-one call, Young looks back at his teammates, but that defensive breakdown was on him. Perhaps it was just frustration, as Young was forced to put the team on his back yet again last night.

Danilo Gallinari

Gallinari is going to get the blame here because he failed to put his foot on the baseline and push Tatum into the double-team with Bogdanovic. But watch the total confusion on the weak side of the floor. 

Capela calls out Al Horford before picking up Grant Williams. Delon Wright points Huerter in the direction of the paint, but 'Red Velvet' appears confused. Just a total breakdown on defense.

Clint Capela

There's no nice way to put it, but De'Andre Hunter was getting cooked last night. Guarding Jayson Tatum isn't easy. The All-Star forward makes the best defenders in the league look silly.

This is the second half of the sequence highlighted at the beginning of the article. But this time, watch Clint Capela. The big man could have done a better job of hustling to the paint and helping out the overmatched Hunter. Capela is hanging out around the perimeter on Williams, who has attempted just one three-pointer all season. 

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As I've written many times before, the Hawks do not resemble the same hungry team as last year. They look like Rocky at the beginning of Rocky III. Let's just hope it doesn't take a Clubber Lang knocking them out for them to wake up out of their trance.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the Atlanta Hawks for Sports Illustrated's All Hawks. He has covered the NBA for several years and is the author of "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)".

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