Three-Point Play: Hawks Snap Losing Streak in Orlando

Defensive adjustments and bench scoring stood out in Atlanta's first win since December 8.

Down their best player and most central offensive force, the Hawks snapped a 10-game losing streak Monday night in Orlando, recording their first win since December 8. Trae Young did not play against the Magic, but Atlanta still overcame an 18-point deficit to claim a 101-93 behind a 54-36 second-half push.

Here are the three most pressing takeaways from the win:

Atlanta’s on-ball defense improved in the second half

Atlanta couldn’t contain Orlando’s ball-handlers for most of the game, an issue that resulted in a constant stream of layups, open 3s, and free throws in the first half. The Hawks struggled getting over screens and simply staying in front of the ball off live dribbles, which put additional pressure on Atlanta’s help defenders to slide over and patch mistakes. More often than not, the Hawk bigs either failed to rotate on time or had to abandon their man to help corral free ball-handlers. Orlando built up and 18-point lead and scored more than 1.12 points per possession in the first half on the strength of several uncontested layups. The Hawks, shorthanded and disadvantaged as they are, can’t afford to take an entire half to solve D.J. Augustin and Evan Fournier.

They corrected some of their on-ball issues in the second half, playing more engaged and connected defense both on and off the ball. Atlanta’s defenders looked lighter on their feet and more committed to keeping the ball out of the paint, and ultimately held Orlando to under a point per possession for the game. After feasting at the rim in the first half, the Magic finished the game just 12-of-21 at the rim.

“It was the entire group,” Pierce said. “Our guys switched the matchup after the half. De’Andre Hunter ended up on Fournier a little bit, he took the challenge. I just thought they did a good job of just making them work. And it slows the game down because they’re playing deep into the shot clock, our execution was deep into the shot clock, so fewer possessions. We were way into their bodies and trying to deny them, and every shot was contested, every shot was tough.”

Without Young, the Hawks have little choice but to adopt a defensive identity and embrace a tough, physical style. That toughness is measured, largely, by a team’s defensive effort at the point of attack. Once the Hawks bought into that idea, there was little the Magic could do to counter.

Brandon Goodwin changed the game off the bench

Goodwin, a two-way player from Norcross, Georgia, had scored five points in four games this season prior to Monday night, but exploded for a team- and career-high 19 points and five assists in 21 minutes. Goodwin hit seven of his 10 shots from the field against the Magic and served as Atlanta’s primary facilitator for most of his time on the floor.

Goodwin had played sparingly to this point of the season, but after Young’s injury was pressed into heavier duty as a backup point guard. He might already be Atlanta’s best on-ball defender, which earned him early minutes as the Magic routinely drove into the lane and created open shots in the first quarter. His defensive energy seemed to permeate the rest of the team, which coincided with the Magic going cold in the minutes Goodwin was on the floor and earned Pierce’ trust for the rest of the game.

“I got in a couple times last game and I just couldn’t see a shot go in, but I thought I played pretty well,” Goodwin said. “As long as I do all the little things like guard my man, help my teammates out, and just do all the little things I was gonna be alright.”

That he began hitting shots was a bonus, but turned into the lifeblood the Hawks offense late in the second and third quarters. The Hawks made a meaningful dent in Orlando’s lead over the final minutes of the first half and cut the Magic lead to just two by the end of the third. When the Hawks took the lead in the fourth, Goodwin – not Cam Reddish – closed the game with the rest of the starters. “We had a big lapse that gave them that 18-point lead,” Pierce said. “But again it was Brandon who gave us a little cushion, and little comfort. For him to knock down two 3s in that stretch and then just kind of ignite us and get us back in the game and settle us down a little bit.”

As much as his shooting line – 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3 – it was Goodwin’s decision-making that impressed on offense. He finished with six assists and just two turnovers, consistently making correct decisions within the flow of the offense. Even his moments of questionable shot selection were retroactively justified as the ball splashed through the net.

In addition to Goodwin’s production, Alex Len notched 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and the Hawks’ second unit outscored Orlando’s 52-24 for the game. “Alex has done that. He’s come in and give us a really big punch off the bench,” Pierce said. “He just put it together in a big stretch in that third quarter for us.”

Len is clearly Atlanta’s best center and has been playing the bulk of the minutes in the middle since Bruno Fernando moved into the starting lineup. Fernando’s development is important for this team, but if he continues to struggle as he has lately, Pierce might consider just starting Len and closing with him or John Collins at center.

It’s unclear if Goodwin will remain a part of Lloyd Pierce’s rotation once Young returns, but even with their point guard back in the lineup, the Hawks could absolutely use Goodwin’s ball-handling and on-ball defense. His shooting on Monday may be an outlier performance, but he isn’t competing with Kyle Korver for minutes on this team.

Opponents should fear Jonathan Isaac

It can be easy for Isaac’s impact on the game to go unnoticed. Save for a few highlight plays each game, most of his work is subtle – a well-timed rotation here, a disciplined shot contest there – and his per-game numbers relatively pedestrian. But opponents do not miss the way he affects the game. They feel him, second-guess decisions because of him, and, at times, fade to the background because of him.

John Collins, who finished with 10 points, four turnovers, and just nine shot attempts, knows the feeling. Isaac largely smothered him – and the rest of Atlanta’s offense – in the first half on his way to 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Isaac impacted the game in nearly every possible capacity, soaring in for putback dunks, erasing shots as a help defender, and flying through passing lanes. Isaac’s shot doesn’t always fall (he air-balled an open 3 from the top of the key late), but his motor never stops running.

After the Hawks’ win over the Magic in October, Pierce called Isaac “an All-League defender,” and that characterization has proven accurate in the time since. The forward belongs in the conversation for the most versatile and terrifying defenders in the Eastern Conference. Collins and the Hawks experienced why on Monday, and somehow still had enough to overcome it.