Takeaways from Warriors' Loss to Hawks: Curry, Butler Need More Help

The Golden State Warriors (21-19) were easily dispatched by the Atlanta Hawks (20-21) by a final score 124-111 on Sunday at Chase Center.

Stephen Curry had a game-high 31 points, and Jimmy Butler added 30.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had a team-high 24 points for the Hawks, and Jalen Johnson starred with 23 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal.

Here are three takeaways from Sunday's game.

Warriors Whole Roster Flops Outside of Curry and Butler

Curry and Butler combined for 61 points on 21-of-40 shooting. The rest of the Warriors shot 21-of-50, including 5-of-25 from three.

Woof.

The Hawks did something that not many teams do. They rarely double-teamed Curry or Butler when they had a mismatch. That allowed Curry and Butler to score more, but there were fewer wide-open shots for the rest of the Warriors as a result.

Overall, the Warriors were 10-of-42 from three. Credit the Hawks for some of that, but the Warriors need to shoot the ball better than that even if the opposing defense is playing great.

This is my obligatory reminder that trading for Michael Porter Jr. would make nights like this one much less frequent.

Taking Wiseman Over Okongwu Comes Back to Bite the Warriors Again

Back in the 2020 draft, the Warriors took James Wiseman with the second overall pick over a handful of dynamic players such as LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey. But part of the reason they went with Wiseman was their need for a center. Though there have been reports that they liked Haliburton, my guess is they weren't that close to taking any guard.

At some point in the process, the Warriors must have considered taking Onyeka Okongwu. He was the only other center with the talent to be a top-two pick.

He ended up falling to sixth overall, and on Sunday, he reminded Warriors fans why that was a mistake.

Okongwu had 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight (!) assists.

He made three three-pointers. He had two steals. He had just one turnover.

Okongwu was raw coming into the NBA, just like Wiseman. But he's worked on his game to the point where now he's a legitimate starting center.

Meanwhile, Wiseman is currently a free agent. Ouch.

Hawks Might Be Better Off Without Trae

I was pretty blown away by the Hawks' performance on Sunday. After trading Trae Young, I was expecting at least some disorganization on offense, but they seemed even more potent.

Dyson Daniels was essentially their point guard, and he had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and nine assists.

Johnson, Alexander-Walker, Okongwu and Luke Kennard (22 points) starred, and though Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum weren't outstanding, they both fit right in while playing for the Hawks for the first time.

To tie this back to the Warriors, the comparisons between Young and Curry were always forced. Curry is a much better shooter and scorer, while Young is better at getting into the paint and creating for his teammates.

In all, Curry is the more impactful offensive player, but Young deserves his due on that end.

But the gap is even bigger on defense.

Curry is serviceable on the less glamorous end, whereas Young is awful. The Hawks were better on defense without Young on the floor in seven of his eight seasons, including this year, in which the Hawks entered Sunday 15.6 points per 100 possessions better with Young off the court, per Cleaning the Glass.