The Hawks didn’t play the right way on Saturday.
“We know how we want to play,” guard Dyson Daniels said. “We know what it feels like when we play the right way, and tonight, we didn’t play the right way.”
The Grizzlies jumped on the Hawks from the start and they never fully recovered, falling 128-112 at State Farm Arena.
Here are five observations.
1. It did not help the Hawks’ cause that the Grizzlies shot the lights out of the ball early. They knocked down 13 3s in the first half, including eight in the first quarter allowed them to jump out and score 43 points.
Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane hit two in the first two minutes before the rest of the team caught fire with Scotty Pippen Jr., Marcus Smart and Santi Aldama making five 3s in a two-minute span.
The Hawks could not contain the ball on the perimeter, allowing the Grizzlies to get into the paint. As a result, the Hawks collapsed their defense, leaving Grizzlies shooters wide open for 3 on the perimeter.
With 43 seconds to play in the first, Jaren Jackson Jr. dribbled into the paint. Though the Hawks disrupted his handles, he recovered enough to kick the ball out to Jake LaRavia in the corner. LaRavia’s 3 fell as he tumbled out of bounds and the shot clock buzzed.
“We didn’t do a good enough job containing the ball,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “But a lot of times those drives weren’t necessarily for finishes. They were kicked back out and we were over helping a space and cut and got some good looks and made them.”
2. The Hawks’ defense rebounded in the second half. They held the Grizzlies to 55 points and with their stops, they got out and ran.
Dyson Daniels’ defense continued to pop off the page. On an inbound pass to from Zach Edey, Daniels grabbed the ball away and buried a triple. On the next possession, he poked the ball away from Jackson and scored a layup. Then he picked off Pippen.
Daniels finished with 15 points, three rebounds, six assists, one block and six steals.
3. This season the Hawks have used their defense to generate their offense. But with their defense languishing in the first half, they were slow to get out and run. It affected their pace.
Though they exceeded their season-low in points, the Hawks just could not match the pace that has won them games this season. Prior to garbage time the Hawks averaged just 95.6 points per 100 possessions.
The Hawks scored just 49 points in the first 24 minutes and had several scoring droughts when the Grizzlies jacked up the score. The Grizzlies went on a seven-minute 22-9 run between the first and second quarters then another five-minute 15-6 run in the third quarter.
“We gave away too many tonight,” Daniels said. “We didn’t get enough stops, so we couldn’t get out and run as much as we wanted to. And give credit to them. They made shots. They made it tough on us. But, I think it starts with that defense. And come ready to play.”
4. They looked out of sorts to start the game, particularly with the absence of guard Trae Young from the rotation. The Hawks ruled Young out with a right heel contusion and they continued to handle playmaking by committee.
Wing Vit Krejci started the game, while two-way guard Keaton Wallace came off the bench after they transferred him from the Skyhawks on Friday.
With Krejci and Wallace in the rotation, the Hawks used some new lineups to try and optimize spacing, as well as inject some defensive energy. One lineup included Wallace, Daniels, rookie Zaccharie Risacher, forward David Roddy and center Clint Capela. The Hawks also tried a lineup of Wallace, Daniels, forwards De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson, as well as Capela.
5. The Hawks got another big night from Hunter, who continued to flourish off the bench. Hunter scored 26 points and had a season-high four assists.
Hunter extended his streak of scoring 15-or-more points to 11 straight games to continue setting a franchise record for most consecutive games off the bench with 15-plus points.
Stat to know
Daniels has his fifth outing of the season with at least six thefts, the most such games by a Hawk in an entire season since 1996-97 (Mookie Blaylock: 6).
Quotable
“They play chaos ball, and they just move the ball, drive the ball and find whose open.” -- Daniels on the Grizzlies
Up Next
The Hawks face Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves on Monday at State Farm Arena.
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