The Atlanta Hawks walked into Chicago riding a four-game winning streak and sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference. They walked out with a second straight loss, and this one landed harder than most. The Bulls were missing rookie phenom Caleb Wilson and came into the night with the worst net rating in the NBA, but Atlanta still couldn’t finish the job in an eight-point defeat that felt like a wasted chance before tougher games against the Thunder, Pistons, and Celtics.
The biggest problem was obvious from the outside line: the Hawks simply did not shoot the ball well enough from deep. Atlanta went 8-for-40 from three, while Chicago buried 20 of 50 attempts.
Patrick Williams added four triples despite coming in at just 12% from beyond the arc. That kind of gap is almost impossible to survive, especially when the other side is piling up 36 more points from three.
And yet the Hawks did enough damage inside to keep themselves in it. They won the paint battle 66-46, which normally gives a team a real path to victory. On this night, though, that edge never translated because the perimeter shooting was so far off.
Jalen Johnson’s stat line included a triple-double, but the night still felt uneven. His season hasn’t quite matched expectations, even if the numbers don’t look disastrous, and against Chicago he was not a major reason Atlanta lost. He finished at +2 in a game the Hawks dropped by eight, but the shooting wasn’t there and the turnovers piled up.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had an even rougher outing. He has been one of the league’s better guard scorers and shooters this season, but this was a brutal night for him: 1-for-11 from three, three turnovers, and a -14 in his minutes. Several open looks went begging, and the Hawks paid for it.
Atlanta still had a clean chance to steal the game in regulation. With the score tied at 110-110, the Hawks had the ball and a chance to avoid the kind of loss that stings for days.
Quin Snyder drew up a strong out-of-bounds play designed to get the ball to Aaron Wiggins near the rim for the winning layup. Wiggins was exactly where he needed to be and had a good look, but the ball slipped through his hands, and that was that.
Lu Dort also had an off night that hurt the flow of the offense. He finished as a -10 in 19 minutes, and his shot selection became part of the problem. More than once, he settled for mid-range looks with plenty of time left on the clock, possessions that stalled Atlanta instead of stretching Chicago.
Snyder’s rotation choices came under the microscope too. The four-man group of Dort-Alexander-Walker-Wiggins-McCollum had already posted a -19.6 net rating coming into the game, yet Snyder still used that unit for 11 minutes against the Bulls. It responded with a -29.3 net rating, and the coach’s habit of sticking with struggling groups too long showed up again.
There were also defensive issues down the stretch that made the finish harder than it needed to be. Dyson Daniels started the game on Josh Giddey, which made sense, but when Norman Powell caught fire, Snyder waited too long to move Daniels onto him. Alexander-Walker stayed on Powell while also dealing with a poor shooting night, and he couldn’t slow him down either.
Jock Landale’s minutes were another problem. He struggled in space, and Chicago found success attacking that weakness.
Landale finished at -10, and the Hawks posted a 130.0 defensive rating while he was on the floor compared with 94.8 when he sat. If that trend keeps going, Snyder may have to consider giving rookie Zuby Ejiofor more run to help stabilize things on that end.
In Other News...
Kingston Flemings Is Giving The Hawks A New Point Guard Debate
Kingston Flemings has quickly turned an early-season opportunity into something the Hawks have to take seriously. After stepping into the starting point guard role, he has given Atlanta a steadier presence in the backcourt over his first 11 games, showing a blend of passing, efficient scoring and defensive upside that fits neatly into what the team needs around its core.
The bigger question now is what comes next, because Flemings is no longer just filling in and his play is creating a real lineup conversation. Atlanta has seen enough to know the rookie can handle the job in stretches, and his recent stretch has only sharpened the debate about how permanent this arrangement should be as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Get A Big Opening In Pace Battle With Short-Handed Bulls
The Bulls arrive in Atlanta already trying to piece together a difficult start, and their latest setback only adds to the challenge. Rookie Caleb Wilson had surgery on his right hand and will be sidelined for at least a month, leaving Chicago to navigate its 1-9 record without another young piece it hoped could help stabilize the rotation. For a team that wants to play fast, losing a developing contributor like that changes the look of the roster in a hurry.
Atlanta, meanwhile, gets a matchup that should suit its own pace and energy, with both teams expected to push the tempo. The Hawks have their own reasons to like the style of game that could unfold, but Chicagos shorthanded front still leaves room for its other young players to be tested in a hurry. How well they handle that responsibility may end up shaping whether the Bulls can keep this one from getting away early. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Still Have One Defensive Problem Without Mo Gueye
The Hawks interior defense has been a work in progress for much of the season, and the absence of frontcourt help has only made the issue harder to hide. Mo Gueye has been part of that equation, and Atlantas latest update at least offers a sign of movement: he is getting closer to on-court work as the team tries to steady its rim protection and patch together minutes inside.
For now, though, the wait continues. The Hawks said Gueye will be re-evaluated in about four weeks, which leaves them planning to defend the paint without him for at least another month while they keep searching for answers around the basket. How long that stretch lasts beyond the next check-in will matter just as much, because Atlantas defensive ceiling is tied to getting healthier in the frontcourt. [Read more 🡒]