Atlanta Hawks: Shorthanded Hawks Demolished by Denver

The Atlanta Hawks missing two starters, got off to a slow start and were blown off the court 93-138 by the Denver Nuggets.

Taurean Prince was a late scratch due to a sore Achilles and John Collins continued to sit with a sprained ankle. The were sorely missed, as the Atlanta Hawks were demolished in Denver. The Hawks came out sluggish and trailed 0-13 to start the game, and 23-35 at the end of quarter one.

Atlanta gave a spirited effort on the offensive end, in the second quarter, in an attempt to get back into the ballgame. They scored 38 points in quarter number two. Kent Bazemore scored 11 of his 14 points in the quarter. Rookie Trae Young added four points and two assists in the period.

Unfortunately the Hawks defense let them down once again. They nearly allowed another infamous 40 point quarter, giving up 38 points in the second stanza. The Atlanta Hawks trailed by 16 points at the half.

The third quarter woes showed their ugly face once again, as the Atlanta Hawks were outscored by 20,16-36 in the third, giving the Nuggets a commanding 36 point lead. The game was never in question after that, and the result was a 45 point thrashing.

According to Mike Conti of 92.9 the game, the Atlanta Hawks suffered their largest margin of defeat in 14 years, and the fourth worse loss in franchise history.

The Atlanta Hawks were frigid from the field, shooting just 35 percent. Once again they were off target from behind the three-point line, making just nine threes on 21 percent shooting. They turned the ball over 19 times as well. The Hawks were pounded on the glass 43-56.

Defensively Atlanta allowed an unacceptable 138 points and a scorching 56 percent shooting from the floor. They allowed 13 made threes, on 41.9 percent shooting, an area that has long been a problem for the Hawks defense. They also forced only 15 turnovers, four less than they committed.

Backup point guard Jeremy Lin led the Hawks in scoring off the bench for the second time in four games, this game scoring 16 points. He made 4/10 field goals, 3/7 threes and 5/7 free throws. He also chipped in five rebounds and five assists. The only drawbacks are  he had four turnovers and five fouls.

Forwards Alex Poythress and Vince Carter each scored 11 points off the bench for Atlanta. Poythress made 5/8 shots. He recorded four rebounds and four assists as well. Vince Carter shot the ball very well in the contest, knocking down 4/6 shots and 3/5 treys.

Rookie shooting guard Kevin Huerter played 28 minutes off the bench, scoring in double figures with 10 points on 4/10 shooting. He made 2/6 three-pointers.

Fellow rookie Omari Spellman achieved a double-double with ten points and ten boards. However he was off the mark offensively. He confusingly attempted a team high 15 shots, making just four. He was unable to make any of his seven attempts from long distance.

Speaking of being off, Trae Young had a second straight horrible game shooting the basketball. He hit just 2/11 shots and missed all four tries from downtown, scoring only six points. In the last two games combined, Young has scored only ten points, and made only 4/23 shots from the field. He is 0/9 from three during that stretch.

Against Denver, Trae Young did have five assists, two rebounds, and a steal. However he also turned the ball over five times, a team high.

Former Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap scored 18 points, snatched nine rebounds, dished out five assists, and swiped four steals for Denver. Forward Juan Hernangomez topped Denver with 25 points and nine rebounds. Center Nikola Jokic added 12 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and four steals.

After the blowout loss to the Nuggets, the Atlanta Hawks have now loss six games in a row, and are 0-4 on the road trip. They will face Indiana Pacers and All Star guard Victor Oladipo Saturday November 17 at 7:00 PM EST. Indiana is currently third in the East with an 8-3 record. Atlanta is 3-12 and sits at 14th in the conference.

There is a decent chance that second year power forward John Collins will make his season debut against the Pacers.

The Atlanta coaching staff needs to do something to help Trae Young back on track offensively, particularly shooting the ball from three-point range. Defenses are keying on him with traps and switching long athletic wing defenders onto him.

The coaching staff needs to run screens for Trae Young off ball, to free him up for open shots from long-range. Similar plays have been run for Taurean Prince to help him break out of a slump.

For this reason I continue to advocate Kevin Huerter replacing Kent Bazemore as a starter. Huerter will give the Hawks a good secondary ball handler and willing passer. He can also make teams pay for trapping, with his ability to shoot from long-range. Bazemore and DeAndre’ Bembry are too erratic as ball handlers for the role.

The margin of defeat is embarrassing, but nothing to be too concerned with going forward. Every team falls flat from time to time, especially when road weary. Combine that with the fact that the Hawks were short-handed, and a disastrous recipe for a blow-out was in place.

This team is a work in process. One of the things that young players struggle with most is consistency. We won’t truly know what this team is capable of, until all of the pieces are healthy and playing. If John Collins and Taurean Prince are able to go against Indiana, we just might get our first glimpse.

Congrats are in order to Dewayne Dedmon on the birth of his son. He is expected to return to the club after the game vs the Pacers, when the team returns home. Congratulations from the Atl All Day family!

Dedmon announced the birth by way of his Instagram page:

What changes should the Atlanta Hawks make? Leave your ideas in the comments below. Atl All Day will continue to provide current information and analysis on the Atlanta Hawks and all of the Atlanta area sports teams.

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