Buddy Grizzard of Hawks Hoop: “With the Hawks sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference after Sunday’s win over the visiting Denver Nuggets, those who predicted a strong season for Atlanta might be tempted to pat themselves on the back. However, in light of the fact that the Hawks have played by far the easiest schedule to this point, it might be time to pump the brakes. While the Hawks are having an amazing season offensively, the team is among the league’s worst in rebounding and opponents’ at-rim FG%. What follows is an overview of what the Hawks are doing well and what areas need improvement. First, the good news. If you go through NBA.com’s player tracking data, you will see that the Hawks are at or near the top in almost every offensive category. The Hawks lead the NBA in catch-and-shoot effective FG% (57.2) and points per game (34.3), are eighth in PPG off drives (31.4), are second only to the Warriors in PPG created via assist (59.8) and are fourth in the league in overall effective FG% (53.1).”
Chris Vivlamore of the AJC: “Adreian Payne will play for the Austin Spurs in his latest NBA Development League assignment. The Hawks’ first-round pick will go to Austin, the affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs, after being the first player to go through the newly created flexible assignment system.”
Brad Rowland of Peachtree Hoops: “The Atlanta Hawks entered Monday night’s game in Indiana looking for a seventh straight win, and the result was never really in doubt. Atlanta led by 20 points or more on multiple occasions, and that lofty margin was more than enough to hold off the Pacers by a final score of 108-92. It was yet another positive start during this seven-game streak for Atlanta, as the Hawks scored the first 5 points of the night, on the way to a 24-14 advantage in the early going. The first quarter finished with a flurry (after Indiana responded a bit), and the good guys held a 10-point advantage after twelve minutes.”
