Five Takeaways from Hawks Loss to Hornets

Sunday evening's game against the Charlotte Hornets did not go as planned for the Atlanta Hawks. Despite being ten-point underdogs and without two starters, the Hornets ran the Hawks out of the gym by a score of 126-109.

It is important to remember it is a long season, and there will be plenty of head-scratching losses for every team. The Hawks just cannot afford too many performances like last night. Below are our five biggest takeaways.

Defense

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan summed up the obvious on Sunday night, "We didn't play f****** defense." The always unflappable coach finally lost his cool for a moment. It is surprising that it came just three games into the season.

But if you watched the game, you cannot blame him. The Hawks surrendered 82 points in the second and third quarters. Before the Hornets game, the Hawks had the third-best defensive rating (99.0) in the league. Now they are down to 11th (107.5).

Shooting

The Hawks made up for their porous defense by not shooting the ball well. The team shot 41.1% from the field and 22.9% from deep. The team's two centers both converted at high rates - Clint Capela (6-8) and Onyeka Okongwu (4-6). Excluding garbage time, every other player struggled offensively.

Turning nothing into something pic.twitter.com/PinUZqEURy
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 23, 2022

Trae Young

Trae Young got off to a hot start and was rolling on Sunday evening. Through 9.5 minutes, Young scored 9 points on 66.7% shooting with three assists for good measure.

Then came Young's third foul. Like several other moments during the game, it was a questionable call. As a result, Young played less than six minutes in the second quarter and was unable to get back into the groove. Following the game, Young eluded to the officials acknowledging their mistake but stopped short to avoid a fine from the league.

Bench Play

Outside of Okongwu, the Hawks did not get much help from their bench. Aaron and Justin Holiday shot a combined 1-11 from the field. Second-year player Jalen Johnson could not provide much offense and struggled to rebound the ball. The Hawks sorely miss Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is still rehabilitating his right knee.

AJ Griffin

AJ Griffin cracked McMillan's rotation late in the fourth quarter. The rookie was the tenth man off the bench and hit the first shot attempt of his career. After the game, McMillan said he wanted to give Griffin a chance to provide some much-needed energy and outside shooting.

First-career 3 for AJ! pic.twitter.com/uf8XagfrNI
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 23, 2022

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