The Hawks did their best to make things interesting at the end with their poor free throw shooting, but they got their third win of the season over the Wizards today and snapped their four-game losing streak.
Atlanta got the win because of huge performances from their starting lineup. Trae Young had 40 points and 13 assists, Dejounte Murray had 32 points, Jalen Johnson had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Clint Capela had 11 points and 17 rebounds. They survived a strong start from the Wizards and were able to hang on at the end to move to 13-19 this season.
So after the win, what are the big takeaways for the Hawks?
1. The Hawks dominated the glass
Coming into the game, the Wizards ranked 30th in the NBA in offensive rebounding and the Hawks were among the league’s best in that categeory. From the moment the game started, you could tell what kind of day that it was going to be on the glass for both teams.
Atlanta outrebounded the Wizards 58-42 and most of the starting lineup had a good day on the glass. Capela (17), Johnson (13), and Bey (11) all finished with double-digit rebounds and Washington could not keep the Hawks off the glass and that was instrumental in their victory.
2. Jalen Johnson Continues to Impress After Coming Back From His Injury
Johnson’s absence was felt for the month that he was out and it is a part of the reason the Hawks are a disappointing 13-19. What he gives to the Hawks on both ends of the floor can’t be overstated and he had a huge day on the glass and an efficient day scoring. Johnson scored 24 points on 9-12 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. He continues to play at a high level since returning from injury.
3. The Hawks bench struggled
The Hawks are still short handed with De’Andre Hunter out and Onyeka Okongwu missing today’s game with an illness, so it is understandable that the bench struggled today, but it almost cost the Hawks.
Bogdan Bogdanovic played 27 minutes and shot 5-19 and finished with 12 points. Patty Mills, Bruno Fernando (who got the backup center minutes with Okongwu out) and Garrison Matthews all played and scored zero points. Atlanta has to have more from their bench, but they are shorthanded in that area. Normally Bey would be coming off of the bench when Hunter is healthy and Okongwu would play 20+ minutes, but that is not the reality right now.
Bogdanovic has been fantastic this season, but has stuggled in recent games shooting the ball. He is one of the most important players on the Hawks and against better teams (like the Thunder on Wednesday), he can’t afford to keep having poor shooting games like this.
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