Transition Offense and Offensive Rebounding are two Areas of Success for the Hawks So Far

The Hawks are one of the top teams in the NBA when it comes to transition offense and offensive rebounding

The Hawks are off today and are back in action tomorrow night against the Detroit Pistons. They had a long road trip that ended with a thrilling game in Mexico City against Orlando and then they produced a dud performance at home against a very short-handed Miami. With the team off today, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some things the Hawks are doing well nine games into the season and how they are playing in their first full season under head coach Quin Snyder. 

Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta has not ranked in the top ten of points added per possession through transition play since 2015-2016, when they ranked 4th. They have also not ranked in the top five of points per possession off of steals since that same season. It is early in the season, but this is one of the things that it looks like Snyder is trying to implement and I think that is smart. Atlanta does not have the personnel to be one of the top defenses in the NBA and I think creating turnovers and getting out in transition is going to be crucial to this team. Atlanta ranks 7th in the NBA in steals per game at 

Another area that Atlanta has seen success in this season is offensive rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks currently rank 4th in offensive rebounding percentage and if that holds, that would be their highest mark in that area since 2006-2007. Atlanta ranks 5th in offensive rebounding this season, averaging 13.2 per game. 

Atlanta is one of the top teams when it comes to transition offense and offensive rebounding / Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

So what are the reasons for this hot start to these areas this season? 

It does not all come down to Jalen Johnson taking a big leap, but he is a huge difference-maker. His ability to run the court in transition, whether he has the ball or not, has been one of the biggest additions to the Hawks on the court this season. 

Johnson saw a big leap in playing time when Quin Snyder took over as the head coach last year when Nate McMillan was fired and you could start to see the talent that Atlanta had. Johnson was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school but fell to the Hawks in the latter part of the draft for various reasons. He had the talent to be a much higher selection and it was almost a no-brainer to take him when he fell in the draft.

After not playing much during his rookie year, Johnson saw a sizeable increase in playing time under Snyder when he took over and that rolled into this preseason. Johnson was one of the most impressive players in the NBA the entire preseason. He runs the floor well, has good perimeter defense, and shoots the ball well from the floor. He seems to be the perfect running mate for Trae Young on offense and someone that the Hawks had been missing the past couple of seasons. Johnson is fourth on the team in offensive rebounds and second on the team in total rebounds. I think he is a better rebounder than John Collins and helps this team in this area more. 

Clint Capela needs to be recognized in this area as well. Capela is 10th in the NBA in rebounds and per Cleaning the Glass, he is in the 94th in offensive rebounding percentage (15.4%) and in the 92nd percentile in defensive rebounding percentage. Johnson is in the 81st and 91st percentile in both of those categories. Inserting Johnson into the lineup has no doubt made the Hawks a more dangerous team in transition and a better team on the glass. 

There are certain areas that Atlanta needs to improve upon this year, but I think when you look at the transition offense and how they are doing on the glass, those are things that should be encouraging. 

Atlanta hits the road for their next game against Detroit at 7:30 on Tuesday and that will be the Hawks's first game in the NBA In Season Tournament.

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