Hawks Offense Falls Flat vs Cavaliers in Cleveland

The Hawks are now 0-2 without Jalen Johnson.

Not all of Atlanta's problems can be traced back to the absence of Johnson, but some things that he provides just can't be replaced and that was again amplified, much like it was in the Sunday night loss to Boston. The rebounding was not very good and the defense was worse than usual.

With the loss tonight, the Hawks are now 8-9 going into their Thursday night matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.

There were no changes to the starting lineup tonight for the Hawks. Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, De'Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, and Clint Capela. The Cavaliers started Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, and Jarrett Allen.

It did not start off as a bad night for the Hawks though. Atlanta led 33-29 after the first quarter and Capela (eight points and three rebounds), Murray (8 points), and Young (6 points and 2 assists) were off to good starts. Coming into the game, Cleveland was not a very good three-point shooting team and they only shot 14.3% in the first quarter, which led to the Hawks grabbing an early lead.

In the second quarter, Hunter injured his finger and had to leave the game, which led to the Cavaliers making a run. With Johnson hurt, Hunter is by far the best wing defender that the Hawks have and when he is off the floor, the Hawks's already poor defense is a lot worse. Atlanta's double-digit lead disappeared with Hunter off the floor and the offense stuck in the mud.

The Cavaliers grabbed the lead 64-61 at halftime. Atlanta was shooting 42.9% from the field and 36.4% from three. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 13 points and Capela and Hunter both had 10 points. The Cavaliers were shooting 54.3% from the field and 24.4% from three.

The second half was one of the worst halves of the season for the Hawks. Atlanta was outscored 64-44, Young could not buy a basket, and the defense was poor. It was just an all-around poor half and the only good thing that came from it was Hunter came back into the game and was not seriously hurt.

Atlanta would lose 128-105. They would finish the game shooting 35% from the field and 30.2% from three. Young had 13 points and shot 3-14 from the field. Murray was 5-14.

Cleveland was led by Mitchell, who scored 40 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Garland had 19 points and Mobley had 17. The Cavaliers shot 53.8% from the field and 36.1% from three. The Hawks were outrebounded 55-44.

This was a dismal loss for the Hawks, but one they need to move past quickly. They have to figure out how to play without Johnson, particularly on defense. Saddiq Bey particularly is playing poorly on defense.

Analyst Believes Hawks Should Have Traded For Pascal Siakam in the Offseason

Follow Jackson on X here: @jackoncaudell

Follow Hawks coverage on Facebook here: All Hawks