Stephen A. Smith Rips Into Atlanta Hawks Defense Against Luka Doncic "No Wonder Yall Stink!"
In last night's game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Atlanta Hawks, Luka Doncic had one of the most prolific nights in NBA history, scoring 73 points on 25-33 shooting. It was the most points scored in an NBA game since Kobe Bryant dropped 81 on the Toronto Raptors.
While it was a historic night for Doncic, it was also an embarrasing night for the Atlanta Hawks. The effort level on the defensive end of the floor was just embarrassing from the Hawks last night. They took way too long to try and double-team Doncic and trap him at halfcourt, even when they were supposed to double him, they were late with their rotations and just let him get whatever he wanted.
Prior to this afternoon's game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith ripped into the Atlanta Hawks for how they played defense last night:
"The Atlanta Hawks... no wonder why yall stink! Did you see how they played defense last night? I mean, this is not, this is not Joel Embiid who played bully ball because you have a thin Victor Wembanyama on you, we understand that, we expect that, this is not a situation where Karl Anthony-Towns dropped 58 in the first three quarters and then just disappeared, but the 58 points in those first three quarters, a lot of those points, he was being challenged, this is not that.
What transpired last night in Atlanta was disgraceful, it made me feel like, you don't have to play defense, you can just play offense, you don't have to play defense, that is what the hell took place in Atlanta last night, there is a difference. Don't tell me anybody wants that, no, you don't want to change it and go back to old times, but in the same breath, you don't mean for it to resemble the first three quarters of the NBA All-Star Game, which is what happened last night in Atlanta."
You can watch the video below to see his comments.
Luka deserves all the credit in the world for having the night that he did. It was one of the best scoring nights in NBA history and should be celebrated. For as much as it should be celebrated though, the Hawks should be ridiculed. This is how the Hawks have been playing all season. They don't get back in transition defense, they don't do much at the point of attack, and for lack of a better term, the effort is just severely lacking at all times. Last night it just resulted in one of the best players in the NBA getting 73 points.
Last night it looked like the Hawks were a team that is ready for the trade deadline on February 4th. With upcoming games against the Raptors, Lakers, Suns, Warriors, and Clippers, it might get even worse before it gets better.
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