In his debut game, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was well on his way towards winning over his new team’s fans Wednesday night at State Farm Arena when a clothesline from Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton helped accelerate the process.
On a fast break four minutes into the fourth quarter, Claxton swung his left arm into Daniels’ upper chest as he rose up for a layup, sending Daniels sprawling into the base of the basket. Claxton’s momentum carried him into the aisle between the first rows of seats behind the basket. Daniels’ spunk took him there, too, where he stood chest to chest with Claxton. Daniels seemed composed enough that it did not appear the confrontation would escalate, but he defiantly stepped up to Claxton, a former Georgia Bulldog.
“You don’t hit someone like that when they’re in there,” Daniels said. “I was just letting him know not to do it again. I’ve got two brothers – I miss fighting with them.”
Daniels’ unwillingness to back down to Claxton, who was ejected, did not go unnoticed by his teammates. Or, for that matter, unappreciated.
Not to mention by Hawks fans, whose team was short on the sort of fire that Daniels (and others) put on display in Wednesday’s season opener, a 120-116 win over the Nets.
“I know Dyson is from Australia, so a lot of tough people are coming from there,” guard Bogdan Bogdanović told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I know he’s going to back up for himself and for his teammates, too. It didn’t surprise me.”
Welcome to Atlanta, Dyson Daniels, where sticky, active defense and a won’t-back-down attitude are always welcome.
Daniels inserted himself into a second scuffle not long after, when Nets guard Cam Thomas meted out a hard foul on Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter on a fast break.
“We’re not going to take (guff) from nobody,” Daniels said. “If one of us gets hit, goes down, we’re all going to be in the battle. That’s important. We’ve got to stick up for each other.”
You might not be surprised to learn that before basketball, Daniels played Aussie rules football.
“Center half forward was my main position, but put me anywhere, I can run amok,” he said.
It was the season opener. It was the NBA debut of first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. It was also the 3,000th consecutive game for Hawks broadcaster Steve Holman. And center Onyeka Okongwu, after missing much of the preseason recovering from a toe injury, set a career scoring high with 28 points. And guard Trae Young lit up the Nets with 30 points and 12 assists.
But it sure was hard not to focus on Daniels, received by the Hawks this offseason in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. He was a less noticed aspect of the deal, as the headline of the deal was the Hawks unloading guard Dejounte Murray after two seasons of his failed pairing with Young.
A defense-first guard who was a backup in two seasons with the Pelicans, Daniels was acquired to help the Hawks become something more than a defensive sieve.
And, from the jump, he delivered for coach Quin Snyder. Assigned to the high-scoring Thomas, Daniels was in his chest, preventing him from driving to the basket and challenging shots. He used his length to create deflections and steals without getting out of position. He played the sort of defense that the Hawks have not been accustomed to in recent seasons.
While it doesn’t tell the whole story, he finished with five steals and a blocked shot along with 15 points and five rebounds, including 2-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.
“I thought he did a good job,” Snyder said of Daniels’ defense of Thomas. “He made him work for everything. I think everybody in this league knows what a tremendous offensive player (Thomas) is.”
Thomas’ final stat line doesn’t remotely reflect the work that Daniels did, as he ended the night with a staggering 36 points on 14-for-27 shooting, including 7-for-13 from 3-point range.
But, at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, Thomas had scored 19 points on 7-for-19 shooting. He caught fire as the Nets were trying to close a nine-point gap, one that closed to two points in the final five seconds but that also never felt in jeopardy. Also, not all of the points were scored on Daniels.
Leave no doubt that Daniels made an impression on the game and on his team.
“I think anytime you see someone guarding with both a combination of being able to contain and also being able to make plays and not get out of position, to see a teammate doing that, you’re forced to kind of raise your level,” Snyder said.
And, as the scuffles proved, it was more than just tough defense. This is a team that was brought down last season by selfish play and a lack of toughness. If the Hawks can rise above that mess this season, it won’t all be Daniels’ doing. But he’ll undoubtedly play a significant part. It’s a role he welcomes.
The emphasis of training camp was on the defensive end.
“We know we can score,” Daniels said. “We know we’ve got a bunch of offensive talent, and the past couple of years, we’ve struggled on the defensive end. So that’s something I really plan on implementing myself and holding each other accountable when we’re not in the right position and stuff. That’s what’s going to win us games, being able to buckle down and get stops.”
It was just one game, and it was also just the Nets, a team that a sportsbook assigned an over/under win total of 19.5. (The Hawks’ total was 36.5.)
But it looked and sounded like a promising start. For the first time in a while, the Hawks have a defensive stopper on the perimeter who can run amok if he needs to.
