Four Keys to Hawks Winning Tonight Against Pistons

The Atlanta Hawks must improve in four areas to beat the Detroit Pistons tonight.

David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks got back on track with a road win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. It was not always pretty for the Hawks. In fact, they resembled last year's squad at times.

Nevertheless, the Hawks have one more game in Detroit before traveling to Milwaukee for a Saturday night matchup. Below are the four keys to victory for the Hawks.

Defense

The Hawks played much better defense on Wednesday night compared to their previous game against the Charlotte Hornets. However, it still wasn't a good defensive performance. The team had a defensive rating of 113, three points worse than the league average.

Stopping Cade Cunningham from getting downhill has to be the top priority. Additionally, the perimeter defenders cannot allow Bojan Bogdanovic to have another 33-point performance.

Outside Shooting

Atlanta's front office sacrificed outside shooting for playmaking and defense over the offseason. The tradeoff is acceptable, but with Bogdan Bogdanovic out, the team has very little floor spacing.

Currently, the Hawks are next to last in three-point attempts and makes (27th in 3PT%). Not only do the Hawks lack shooters, but Trae Young has struggled so far this season, shooting 22.9% from three. The good news is that trend will not hold for long.

Shot Diet

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan has gotten onto his team before for settling on offense. Not only are the Hawks near the bottom of the league in outside shooting splits, but they are at the top in midrange attempts. Additionally, the Hawks shot a high free-throw percentage but are middle of the pack in free-throw attempts.

Rebounding

It is a small sample size, but the Hawks are 23rd in rebounding percentage through four games. John Collins is averaging 10.5 rebounds per game (10th in the NBA), while Clint Capela averages 8.8 boards per game (29th in the NBA). However, the rest of the team needs to crash the glass harder.

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