The Atlanta Hawks returned home against the Chicago Bulls after a tough loss to the Detroit Pistons last night.
In the early goings of the game head coach Quin Synder made several early substitutions because of the heavy legs on back-to-back games as well as the Hawks playing their fifth game in seven nights. The Hawks again continue to play without Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, Kobe Buffin and Vit Krejci.
Dyson Daniel has continued his strong work on defense for the Hawks as he leads the NBA with 3.0 steals. He also leads the league with a total of 25 steals. He added to that total with six steals tonight after having seven the night before against the Pistons. Daniel has active hands and plays very physical while fighting through screens with extreme intensity during games.
Daniels was primarily matched up with his fellow Austrian team mate Josh Giddey. Daniels held Giddey to 13 points, almost exactly his season average of 13.6 points per game. Daniels also chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Clint Capela had his best first quarter of the season as he had 10 points and four rebounds. Capela was 3-for-4 on field goals and an even 4-for-4 on free throws. Capela was scoring with his right and left hand as he dominated the paint. He finished the first half with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Capela ended the game with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Trae Young was magnificent in the early going as the Hawks had seven field goals and Trae assisted on six of them by 6:25 left in the first quarter.
More impressive was that Young only attempted one shot in the game with 7:35 left in the first half and the Hawks led by 10. Young controlled the game for the Hawks as he finished the half with 10 assists and eight points. The ball placement was very good as he made it really easy for his teammate, and it was a major reason why the Hawks scored 70 points in the first half.
Tonight was Young’s 214th double-double of his career as he is now sixth on the Hawks all-time list. Young ended the game with 14 points and 16 assists.
The Hawks scored 37 points in the opening quarter on 57% shooting. Onyeka Okongwu started the second quarter with a three-pointer in the second quarter. Onyeka was 2-for-13 on three-pointers before making his third shot on the season.
Zaccharie Risacher continues to play aggressive as he took 14 shots on the night. The rookie does an excellent job of attacking the game even if he is not scoring which makes him a threat all game. He was fouled on a three-point attempt midway through the second, however, he made 2-of-3.
The rookie seems unfazed by all the pressure of playing in the NBA as has been a huge spark with all the injuries. He leads all rookies in scoring with 11.5 points per game. Risacher finished the game with 17 points.
Jalen Johnson has been a man playing against boys recently as he was a couple rebounds shy of producing 20 points and 10 rebounds or more this week. Johnson was the team second leading scorer with 13 points at halftime. He finished the night with 20 points and six rebounds.
Johnson did a good job in transition tonight as he was the reception of lobs for Young on several occasions tonight. He continues to show why he was deserving of that huge contract before the season started. The Hawks average 26 free throws a game and they almost surpassed their average in the first half with 21 as they attacked the Bulls and not settle for free throws.
The Hawks were successful in the early goings tonight because of their ability to score in the paint and close out of the Bulls three point attempts. Fatigue begins to settle in as the Hawks would blow a 17 point in the fourth as the Bulls took control in the second half.
The amount of games in a short amount of time along with injuries ran its course tonight as the Hawks didn’t have enough energy to finish the game. The Hawks only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter while the Bulls scored 35. The Bulls out-rebounded the Hawks tonight 47-39 as they used that to their advantaged to outscore the Hawks in fastbreak points 23-12.
The Hawks will play games counting towards the NBA Cup next week. There are five teams in each group seedings. The Hawks are in East Group C featuring the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards.
The games will start with the Celtics on November 12, November 15 vs Wizards, November 22 vs Bulls and November 29 against the Cavaliers.
The NBA Cup is the same as last season, meaning if you win your group, you are in, and then there will be a wildcard. So in total, there will be four teams in the east and west respectively. The last four will be played in Las Vegas as they will play 83 games including the championship. The teams that don’t make it will have one or two games rescheduled.
