National Basketball Association

Atlanta Hawks Show Signs of Elite Defense to Come

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Atlanta Hawks opened up the 2016-17 season with a win over the Washington Wizards in a familiar formula of success: elite defense.

With all of the player movement this offseason in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks moved on without two of their cornerstone players in Al Horford and Jeff Teague. There were many questions surrounding this team if whether or not Dennis Schroder could handle the keys to the offense and if Dwight Howard would ruin the flow of the motion offense that has been head coach Mike Budenholzer’s staple for years.

One part that was not in question however, was how good Atlanta would be defensively. The loss of Horford threw a wrench in terms of how they would scheme pick-and-roll coverages since Howard isn’t one to constantly switch like Horford can, but what the Hawks gained was an elite shot-blocker that they’ve been missing for the last decade or so.

Howard made sure to have a debut that his hometown Hawks fans would be excited about, finishing with 11 points, 19 rebounds, and three blocks. His 19 rebounds are the most ever for a player in a Hawks debut.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Hawks leading the Washington Wizards 81-80. Assuming based off the first three quarters, the final winner would be determined off who had the final run. The two teams continued to put their own 6-0 runs together to change the dynamic of the game, but the Hawks were able to suffocate the Wizards when it mattered most.

The Hawks outscored the Wizards 33-19 in the fourth to pull away with a 15-point victory. However it wasn’t Howard blocking shots that sparked the run. It was the perimeter defenders such as Tim Hardaway Jr. (21 points) and Thabo Sefolosha‘s (13 points) perimeter defensive pressure that made the Wizards turn the ball over multiple times. The Hawks were excellent in turning those turnovers into point at the other end to extend the lead.

Sefolosha finished the game with five steals.

The Hawks turned up the intensity in the fourth quarter when it mattered most , and they did so the way they have for so many years on the defensive end. Questions of Howard’s ability to sustain his production throughout the 82-game season will continue to surround this team, but one a question that will go away swiftly is whether or not they can continue to be atop of the league in defensive categories.