The NBA season is far from over, but the Hawks have little room for error as they try to make their claim for a spot in the postseason. With Wednesday’s matchup against the Bucks, the Hawks will reach the halfway mark of the season.
“Every game is important,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said at practice Tuesday. “That’s the thing we just talked about. We got 42 games remaining. And we’re sitting in the (ninth) spot. Every game matters, home and away, and you just take it one game at a time, focus on trying to get that game, which is Milwaukee for us tomorrow. But every game matters throughout the season, certainly when you can see the second half approaching.”
The Hawks returned from a West Coast trip in which they split the four-game test after competitive matchups against the Warriors, Kings and Clippers. They got off to a slow start against the Lakers that proved too much for them to come back from.
So, the Hawks will have to find the consistency that has eluded them for the first half of the season as they move forward.
In four of the past six games, the Hawks’ matchups have come down to the wire. Though they recognize that that is a regular part of the NBA, they also understand there are things that can be done to make finishing games a little easier.
The Hawks have missed the presence of Clint Capela on the glass in 11 of their past 12 games. In their past four matchups, the Hawks have averaged 15.3 offensive rebounds and 15.8 second-chance points.
So, while they have optimism that Capela may return to the rotation soon, they know it will take a team effort to limit opponents on the boards.
“It’s a team effort,” the Hawks’ De’Andre Hunter said after Sunday’s win over the Clippers. “We got to help (Onyeka Okongwu). He’s a little undersized, especially with (Ivica) Zubac (in Sunday’s game), but it’s a team effort. We all got to come in to help. We also got to be better in the third quarter. I feel like that’s a lot of times where we kind of lose the game, is in the third quarter. We just got to be better.”
The Hawks have averaged 28.6 points in the third quarter in the games that they have lost this season. Part of that comes down to them straying from what worked for them in the first half, such as sharing the ball and having patience in setting up their action. The other part includes slow reactions to their opponents’ adjustments during halftime.
On Wednesday, the Hawks face the Bucks for the final time in the regular season. The Hawks have the opportunity to end the season 3-1 over the Bucks after winning their two previous meetings. The Bucks will have Jrue Holiday and Pat Connaughton back in the mix after they both missed the previous meetings between the teams.
The Bucks have dropped from second in the East to third and sit 2.5 games behind the conference-leading Celtics. They’ve won three of their past six games after enduring a brutal four-game losing streak right before.
The Hawks, however, have not won consecutive games since Dec. 19 and, like the Bucks, are looking to get back on track. They are 9.5 games behind the Celtics and are within 3.5 games of the Pacers, whom they face Friday, for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
The team knows that January will be important for finding the rhythm needed for a good run to the playoffs.
But, with a one-game-at-a-time mentality, the Hawks have their focus on the Bucks and keeping them out of the paint. They understand with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the rotation, the Bucks will look to attack the rim.
So, with Capela still a question mark for Wednesday, it will be up to Okongwu, John Collins and the rest of the frontcourt to keep Antetokounmpo out of the paint. Then, it’s up to the rest of the team to shut down the other Bucks on the perimeter to limit the 3-pointers.
“The other big key with guarding them, or playing against them, (is) offensive rebounding,” McMillan said. “They do a great job of spreading the floor, stretching the defense and then rebounding the basketball. So, really, the keys are the same as they’ve been in all games, defend the paint, keep the ball in front and rebound the basketball.”
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