Three Takeaways From Hawks 124-97 Win Over the Utah Jazz
The Hawks are now on a winning streak.
For the second straight game, the Hawks held their opponent to under 100 points and the game was never really close. The Utah Jazz never led in the game and the Hawks cruised to a needed victory.
So what are the biggest takeaways for the Hawks in their win last night?
1. The defense was really good again
Much has been said about how bad the Hawks's defense has been this year (and it's been bad), but they have played very well in the last two games.
The first game might be easy to dismiss against an Orlando team that was missing their best player, but the Jazz are a pretty solid offensive team and they could not get anything going against the Haws. The Hawks defense held Utah to 37% from the field and 29% from three and Utah star Lauri Markkanen only had 11 points. Utah scored 0.90 points per possession. Rookie guard Kobe Bufkin had another solid performance on defense as well and his contributions should not be understated.
After the game, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder praised his defense for how they played:
"I think other than we had some stretches where particularly live ball turnovers, but when we got settled, I thought we did a better job of staying in front of the ball and our bigs came over and contested shots and got rebounds. It is playing through a whole possession and I think we are helping each other more."
Is this a trend for Atlanta? It is still early to say but their defense has been good the past two games.
2. Jalen Johnson had a monster performance
There are not a lot of new things that can be said about the way that Jalen Johnson is playing, but he still should be getting plenty of love for his emergence. With Trae Young out, Johnson was going to be asked to do a lot on offense, as well as being their top perimeter defender and he has responded.
After a near triple-double on Sunday, Johnson almost had one again last night. He finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and six rebounds while shooting 9-14 from the floor. He looked comfortable running the floor on offense and his transition game is already among the best in the NBA. Johnson is one of the most improved players in the NBA and he is only getting better.
Feb 27, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots against the Utah Jazz in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
3. De'Andre Hunter had another 20-point game off the bench
For the fourth time in the last five games, De'Andre Hunter has scored 20 points coming off the bench. I think it might be safe to assume that this is the role Hunter is going to be in for the rest of the season and he is excelling at it.
Hunter finished with 20 points on 6-10 shooting and five rebounds last night and was the second-leading scorer on the team. Hunter has also been a good defender in this stretch and his emergence off the bench has been notable. He is quicker with his decision making and that has been one of the most notable things when watching under over the past month.
