Four Keys to Atlanta Hawks Beating Portland Trail Blazers
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The Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers are two teams that desperately need a win to improve their postseason odds. Additionally, the NBA trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and almost every player on both rosters is fighting for their job.
Tonight's game between Atlanta and Portland does not tip off until 10:00 p.m. Eastern. While it will be tough for fans on the east coast to stay up that late on a Monday night, it is worth the while, given all that hangs in the balance for both teams. Below are our four keys to victory for Atlanta tonight.
Defense
Not only must Atlanta worry about Damian Lillard, but his entire supporting cast. Portland has the seventh-best offensive rating in the NBA. They capitalize off free throws and three-pointers, often the recipe for success in the league.
To further complicate matters, Atlanta surrendered 120+ points in six of their last seven games. For context, the Sacramento Kings lead the league with 119.5 points per game. Atlanta's defensive rating has fallen to 19th, a clear indicator of what they must improve upon to win.
Tempo
Hawks head coach Nate McMillan always harps on his team's needs to establish the tempo, and he is correct. Atlanta's pace has slowed down to the tenth-fastest in the league, and this team's half-court offense is too clunky to settle into early in the game.
Portland plays at a much slower, more methodical pace. They are bottom-ten in pace and next to last in possessions. Atlanta needs to come out of the gates running and not slow down.
Outside Shooting
Barring a move at the trade deadline, Atlanta is not constructed to space the floor. A lack of outside shooting is unthinkable in the NBA, but that's the predicament Atlanta finds itself.
Atlanta ranks bottom-five in every outside shooting metric, which is not good enough. Trae Young needs to attempt more threes. He has only exceeded his already-low 6.3 attempts per game once in the past eight games. Atlanta needs Young to let it fly from deep.
Dejounte Murray
Young is not the only player that needs to produce more for Atlanta. Dejounte Murray has had three consecutive rough shooting nights. Of course, Murray will snap out of his mini-shooting slump sooner rather than later, but it would help Atlanta's chances if it happened tonight.
Additionally, Murray will have the important task of picking up Lillard and Anfernee Simons for most of the game. These sorts of matchups are why Atlanta traded so much for Murray this past offseason.
