Five Takeaways from Hawks Win Over Pistons

It was not always pretty, but the Atlanta Hawks escaped Wednesday night with a 118-113 win over the Detroit Pistons. It was the Hawks first road win in Detroit since October 24, 2019.

The Hawks improved to 3-1 and are back on track. Before we shift our focus to Friday night's rematch in Detroit, below are our five biggest takeaways from last night's game.

Defense

The Hawks defense was markedly better against the Pistons compared to their previous game against the Charlotte Hornets. Unfortunately, that is not saying much because the team defense on Sunday was so bad it got Nate McMillan to curse in a post-game press conference.

The Hawks defensive rating was 113 last night. The league average is 110. The Pistons shot a blistering 43.8% from deep. Bojan Bogdanovic and Cade Cunningham pushed the Hawks defense to the brink.

Clint Capela

Hawks center Clint Capela is not a big stat sheet stuffer, but his impact on the game is undeniable. Capela only had six points and ten rebounds, but he finished the game with +22 On/Off. No player on either team came close to Capela's impact.

CC block springs Trae for 2 pic.twitter.com/jueJQjIKfO
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 27, 2022

Trae Young

For the second consecutive game, Trae Young got off to a hot start. However, Young was able to keep it rolling against the Pistons. The All-NBA point guard scored a season-high 35-point performance. Even more impressive, Young did it on 1-7 three-point shooting.

Turnovers

Fans can pick on the Hawks for plenty of the team's shortcomings. However, the Hawks do a great job of limiting turnovers. Despite the frantic pace, the team only turned the ball over 12 times against the Pistons.

Four of the Hawks 12 turnovers came from John Collins. Other than some sloppy ballhandling, Collins had an excellent night, tallying an efficient 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Shot Distribution

The Hawks shot diet is not currently healthy. The team shoots too many mid-range shots. The Hawks are top-four in the league in shot attempts between 5-19 feet from the rim. Currently, the Hawks are next to last in three-point attempts per game and bottom-five in three-point percentage.

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