Hawks vs. Nets Game Preview

In a roundabout way, the Hawks’ game against the Nets in early December was the impetus for perhaps the most drastic decision Lloyd Pierce has made this season. After being destroyed by the New York Knicks to push Atlanta’s losing streak to five games, Pierce yanked Jabari Parker and Damian Jones from the starting unit in favor of a smaller, younger group that included Cam Reddish and Bruno Fernando in their stead. The team’s struggles undoubtedly influenced the move, but Pierce traced going smaller back to Atlanta’s first game against Brooklyn.

“That was just predicated by the Brooklyn game more than anything, and this was just an opportunity to do so headed into the next Brooklyn game,” Pierce said on Thursday. “I just felt like we missed an opportunity with De’Andre [Hunter] being out and Allen [Crabbe] being out, we were forced to have Jabari on the floor chasing those guys around and Vince [Carter] on the floor chasing those guys around. And I just knew, we have Brooklyn on Saturday, we’re going to do it then regardless.”

Game Time: Saturday, December 21, 2019, 6:00 p.m. ET

Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

TV: FOX Sports Southeast, YES Network

Streaming: NBA League Pass, FOX Sports Go

Consider Pierce’s hand tipped regarding who the Hawks will start on Saturday. The Nets play an extremely small unit, with former Hawk Taurean Prince at power forward, which gave Atlanta’s defense problems the first time the teams matched up. Prince (23 points on 9-of-15 shooting) was one of four Nets to score at least 20 points, and he stretched the Hawks thinner than they could manage with his shooting ability. By playing three wings rather than two, Atlanta should be better equipped to track shooters like Prince, Joe Harris, and Garrett Temple on the perimeter, and switch screens between like-sized Nets while Fernando stays attached to Jarrett Allen inside.

That could hurt the Hawks on the defensive glass, where they have struggled mightily this season and Allen thrives against slower, less active bigs. The afroed center rakes in over 13 percent of his team’s misses while on the floor and inhaled seven offensive boards against the Hawks on December 4. Fernando gives Atlanta a slightly better chance of keeping up with Allen due to his agility strength, but the rookie wanders out of position often. He’ll have to be judicious about when to challenge shots at the rim and when to stay down and box out Allen instead.

Both teams will likely switch screens on and off the ball, though Atlanta will probably avoid switching Trae Young onto Prince or Allen. Neither is a dominant post player, but lesser players turn into giants when posting up Young. The Hawks may even try switching the relatively nimble Fernando onto guards because of Allen’s lack of post scoring, and minimizing Brooklyn’s separation at the point of attack could help prevent lobs above the rim, where Allen is an elite finisher.

Brooklyn’s injury report for Saturday is extensive, and without Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Caris LeVert, much of the offense will run through Spencer Dinwiddie. The sixth-year guard is averaging 22 points and six assists per game, but hasn’t been efficient enough to carry the Nets’ offense above league-average efficiency. The Nets have weapons like Harris (shooting 43.7 percent from 3), Prince, and Temple to complement him, but when possessions stall, they don’t have a surefire avenue toward creating an efficient look.

Brooklyn’s defense revolves around Allen’s ability to protect the rim. They’ll switch on the perimeter, but the Nets aim primarily to funnel the ball toward the rim, where Allen seemingly always lurks. The big man doesn’t often follow his man out to the perimeter, instead playing a drop coverage in pick-and-roll and sagging into the lane to help on drives. That will likely leave the floater open for Trae Young, who shoots 48 percent in that range. If Fernando hits a 3-pointer or two early, it could lead Brooklyn to reconsider their coverage.

The first game between these teams came down to rebounding. If Atlanta doesn’t make a more concerted effort on the defensive glass, Saturday may well hinge on the boards as well. Now that Pierce has downsized his starting lineup, it will become all the more imperative that the Hawks bring the requisite effort level on defense to prevent a recurrence of what happened last time they played the Nets.