Atlanta Hawks: 4 Observations from Nets Game

The Atlanta Hawks struggled in the first half against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at Philips Arena, but an excellent propelled the team to a victory and a fifth consecutive win and their fifth straight regular season victory over Brooklyn.

The Atlanta Hawks now stand at 4-1 on the young season, and despite some glaring issues on the court, have found a way to win over the past week. The team has played sloppy at times, playing out of control on offense and not boxing out on defense. This was once again the case on Wednesday against the Nets, who took a 43-41 lead over the Atlanta Hawks to the locker-room at halftime.

Abysmal shooting in the first half led to the Atlanta Hawks deficit going into the break, as the team shot under 40 percent. However, once the third quarter began, the Hawks looked like a different team and put together a great second half run, scoring 60 points in the second half. Inspired defense by Kent Bazemore and Paul Millsap kept the team afloat, while Al Horford and Dennis Schroder led the second half charge in scoring.

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Now having won 5-straight games, the Atlanta Hawks have shown they are a resilient team and are capable of coming back in games where they are not playing their best. Here are four observations from the Atlanta Hawks latest victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

1. Dennis Schroder Bounces Back: After a rough couple of games, the Atlanta Hawks point guard bounced back in a big way on Wednesday against Brooklyn. With Kyle Korver sitting out, Schroder started the game for the Atlanta Hawks. He scored 20 points on the night, including 13 points in the second half. Schroder also recorded his best game shooting three-pointers on the night, and shot 6-8 from the field during the game. It’s imperative that Schroder continues to have games like this — especially now when Kyle Korver has yet to fully recover from his offseason ankle surgery.

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2. Justin Holiday Gets the Call: Lamar Patterson saw extensive minutes last week coming off the bench to spell Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore off the bench. Patterson played well, but over the course of the last two games has seen his minutes significantly diminish because of Justin Holiday. On Wednesday, Holiday played 29 minutes while scoring 6 points on 3-9 shooting. It’s unclear why all of the sudden Holiday is seeing playing instead of Patterson, but Holiday got important minutes down the stretch for the Atlanta Hawks. His length makes him a great asset on the defensive end for the team, as he put that on display on Wednesday.

3. Tiago Splitter‘s Presence Makes a Difference: Though Tiago Splitter is now a reserve for the Atlanta Hawks, the value he brings to the team cannot be understated — especially against teams like the Nets who possess a size advantage. Splitter only scored 8 points in 20 minutes of court time on Wednesday, but was a team high +21 when he was on the floor. His defense and rebounding ability make the Atlanta Hawks a better team, and it showed against Brooklyn. Even when paired with both Al Horford and Paul Millsap, Splitter’s value is derived from the presence he brings to the team, not necessarily his offensive output.

Next: Atlanta Hawks Defeat Nets 101-87, Move to 5-1

4. The Atlanta Hawks Defense is Pretty Good: When DeMarre Carroll departed for Toronto in free agency, many analysts believed that the Hawks’ defense would suffer the most from his exit. So far though, Atlanta’s defense looks just as good, if not better than last year’s team. Kent Bazemore had 2 blocks and 3 steals on Wednesday, while Paul Millsap added a 2015-2016 league high 5 steals on the night. As a team, the Hawks had 10 blocks and 15 steals against the Nets. On a night where the Atlanta Hawks were shooting poorly, their defense carried them to victory.

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