Three Takeaways for the Hawks after loss to the Knicks

Atlanta is now 0-2 after their 126-120 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday night

The Atlanta Hawks are now 0-2 in this NBA season and some of the same issues have shown up in the first couple of games. 

Last night against the Knicks, Atlanta recovered from a slow start on offense to get going against a usually tough New York Knicks defense, but the defense could not get a stop. Guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray struggled to shoot and score the ball and some late-game mistakes allowed the Knicks to get to 1-1 with a win in Atlanta's home opener. 

So what are the takeaways from last night's loss?

1. De'Andre Hunter had a nice bounce-back game

De'Andre Hunter scored 27 points against the Knicks last night / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

I wrote in my takeaways from the loss to Charlotte that Hunter had to be better going forward. He was invisible for large parts of the game against the Hornets, not rebounding well or hitting his open shots, things that he did well during the preseason. 

Last night was a completely different story. 

Hunter shot the ball very well (8-13 from the field, 3-7 from three) and looked confident when shooting the ball. Hawks Head Coach Quin Snyder left Hunter in after two early fouls and that proved to be the right decision: 

"As a general rule, different people have different philosophies and I don't... In an NBA game, six fouls, whether it is two early in the first quarter or three early in the second, I felt like you let guys play and adjust a little bit and that is not always the case. Like I said before, but you can adjust the matchup to help him have success, but I thought he was locked in and competing and I wanted to keep him in his rhythm and leave him in the game."

He was not perfect, but this was a good sign for De'Andre Hunter and hopefully, for the Hawks, he can keep that type of play going. 

2. The guard play from Murray and Young this season is far below their standard

Both Young and Murray are struggling with their shot so far this season. Murray did look more assertive last night when driving to the rim, but still finished 8-17 and did not hit a three. Young was 4-16 and 2-5 from three while dishing out 12 assists. Young also had his struggles on defense as well. 

This was something that I talked about after the loss to Charlotte and while they were both not as bad as they were in that opening game, it was still a subpar performance from the Hawks All-Star backcourt. I don't think it is time to panic, but this team is not build to win when they are not playing well. 

After the game, Young talked about his struggles and what he has to improve upon going forward. 

"For me, I just have to continue to be better in every area, I have not started... I am getting assists but I mean I am turning the ball over and some of that is playing through contact and the refs not calling that and that is leading to bad shots that are going off the glass that I am getting fouled but not getting the call, I just have to play through that. I have to continue to get better in all areas not just one so I have to do that first and then the rest of the team, we are going to get better if we just listen to Quin and just continue to get these reps up and our offense I feel like... our offense is affecting our defense right now to be honest with you I think our defense has been really good but our offense maybe is... sometimes I will go up and I won't get the call and I will shoot a layup under the basket and then they are in a five on four that way so that has not been putting our team in good position so for me, I have to do better in those positions and I will and I will help my teammates out and we just have to continue to trust this process and we will be all right I believe."

I think Young is still a great player and will be fine, but this team is built around him and his ability to create on offense and score the ball. 

3. The defense did not give the offense a chance to win the game

The Hawks's offense started slow, but they got going and they shot the ball well. The difference was that Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett kept hitting shots and not letting the Hawks take the lead. Whether it was closing out on shots or losing guys, the Hawks did not show a high enough level on defense to give themselves a chance to win and they did have a few chances. The Knicks finished the game with 20 three-pointers and shooting 47.8% from the field and 45.5% from deep. 

After the game, Snyder talked about how the Hawks need to improve on that end of the floor: 

 "Well, I mean, there is some when you are in help situations that guys are going to get some looks but regarding the ball, we have our hands down, just simple things like that and we have to have the discipline and there were stretches where we started doing it and they made some of them but you have to do everything you can to make that shot harder and I think our guys are aware of that and they know that we need to change and we want to. Again, execution is a funny thing. Sometimes you are not able to do it and the other team sometimes makes it hard but it has to be in the front of your mind and you have to be focused on doing it."

Atlanta is not going to be a top five defense in the NBA, but they should not be as woeful as they were last night. Credit the Knicks for hitting some tough shots as well, but the Hawks did not play well on that end of the court. 

Follow Jackson on X here: @jackoncaudell

Follow Hawks coverage on Facebook here: All Hawks

More Atlanta Hawks Related Content:

Everything from Quin Snyder Following the Loss to the Knicks

Knicks nail 20 Three Pointers and Spoil Hawks Home Opener 126-120

Quin Snyder Says he is not Surprised in the Slightest at Jalen Brunson's success with the Knicks