The Hawks finally got affirmation for the increased effort they have shown as of late. On Wednesday, the Hawks handed the Timberwolves a 126-102 loss, which allowed them to avoid an eighth consecutive loss.
They had some help, with veteran center Kristaps Porzingis returning to the lineup after a 10-game absence. The Hawks benefited from the additional spacing Porzingis provided, as well as his ability to impact shot trajectory.
While Porzingis’ return gave the Hawks a much-needed boost, the team collectively put up their best defensive performance since their loss to the Pistons on Dec. 1.
According to Cleaning the Glass, the Hawk ranked in the 97th percentile among teams that played on New Year’s Eve in points allowed per 100 possessions. It’s the first time since Dec. 14 that the Hawks have not given up 120 points to an opponent.
The good
After struggling to get rebounds against their opponents this season, the Hawks got the best of them. In Wednesday’s action, the Hawks attacked the glass, putting bodies on the Timberwolves to fight them for the boards.
It killed possessions and allowed the Hawks to win the possession battle for the first time since their Dec. 23 loss to the Bulls.
The Hawks outrebounded the Timberwolves by only three, but they held them to 87 field-goal attempts, while being a plus-17 in their own overall shot attempts.
The better
Because the Hawks were more effective in killing the Timberwolves’ possessions, that allowed the Hawks to keep the T-Wolves out of the paint.
The last time the Hawks held an opponent to scoring under 40 points in the paint was when they allowed 38 while defeating the 76ers on Dec. 14. They allowed 38 paint points. But in the ensuing games the Hawks gave up 50-plus, until Wednesday’s game when they spotted the Timberwolves 38.
The Hawks are 12-3 this season when they hold opponents under 50 points in the paint.
The bad
Wednesday’s victory snapped a seven-game skid, but the Hawks have struggled with consistently deploying their game plan for the full 48 minutes.
The schedule over the next month does not let up for the Hawks, who are looking to make up ground from their slide in December.
The Hawks sit three games back from the top six in the Eastern Conference. But of their next 10 matchups, five of those opponents rank among the top five in their respective conferences. Three of those teams have offenses that rank among the top 15 in the NBA over the past two weeks, according to Cleaning the Glass.
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