Atlanta Hawks: The Good, Bad and Ugly vs Detroit Basketball

The Ugly

The First Quarter

The Detroit Pistons jumped on the Atlanta Hawks early, out scoring them 40-20. This outburst meant the game was basically over before it started. Unacceptably, this is the sixth time the team has allowed 40 or more points in a quarter. That’s an NBA high amount.

Andre Drummond scored 12 points, Reggie Bullock ten and Glenn Robinson III eight, to lead the Pistons first quarter explosion. It’s understandable for an All Star talent like Drummond to explode for 12 points in a quarter, but the Hawks can’t allow two journeyman wings, that aren’t big time scorers to torch them like that.

Ken Bazemore in particular must do a better job on a guy like Bullock. Defense is supposed to be his calling card, and should be a major focus for him. Too often this year, Bazemore has given up big first quarter numbers to the guy he is defending.

Give coach Pierce credit for trying to stem the tide. With just under seven minutes left in the quarter, he subbed out the Hawks remaining starters. Trae Young, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Waller-Prince, and Omari Spellman all sat at once. The strategy backfired though and the Hawks’ deficit grew.

Three Point Defense

Three point defense has been a problem for the Atlanta Hawks for many years. It was certainly an issue throughout the entire Coach Bud era. It was again an issue against the Detroit Pistons.

The Hawks allowed Detroit, one of the worse three-point shooting teams in the NBA, to shoot 42.6 percent from downtown. The Pistons who came into the game shooting 30.5 percent from outside, made 20 of 47 threes versus Atlanta. Langston Galloway made 5/9 off the bench.

The Hawks must fight their tendency to over help on drives and post touches. They must recognize who the ball handler is, and not over help against players that aren’t deadly scorers. The Hawks need to play good one on one defense against role players, and live with the results.

Three Point Shooting

Besides struggling to defend the three, the Atlanta Hawks also had a difficult time making three-point field goals. They came out frigid from the beginning, making only 1/10 first quarter three-ball attempts. For the game, the Hawks made just seven threes and bricked 21.

The good news is, the Atlanta Hawks are 3-0 when they shoot a higher three-point percentage that their opponent. The bad news is, they are 0-9 when they don’t. On the offensive side of things, the Atlanta Hawks need to focus on making the extra pass and taking better outside shots. That will lead to better looks and a higher percentage.

What’s Next?

The Atlanta Hawks need to focus on making the mentioned adjustments, as they head out on a brutal West Coast road trip. They will face the Lakers, Warriors, and Nuggets. That’s a team featuring LeBron James, and also the two best teams in the West record wise. They Hawks visit the Staples Center on November 11 at 9:30 EST.

After the three Western Conference games, the Hawks will head to Indiana before returning home.

The season is young and so are the Hawks. With any young team there will be ups and downs.

If Lloyd Pierce and his staff run more sets for Taurean Prince and Trae Young, figure out a strategy against trapping defenses, and enforce proper defensive principles against the three, the Atlanta Hawks are certainly capable of putting together a winning streak sooner than later.

What adjustments should the Atlanta Hawks make? Leave your adjustments in the comments below. Atl All Day will continue to provide up to date analysis and opinions on the Hawks and all of you favorite Atlanta area sports teams. Please download the FanSided app and favorite All Atlanta Sports. We appreciate our readers.