Biggest takeaways from the Hawks’ 121-119 loss to Washington

The Atlanta Hawks are going through their first difficult period of the season after their loss to the Washington Wizards. After starting 2-0, the Hawks lost their first game of the year to Oklahoma City on Sunday, but there’s no shame in that as the Thunder is one of the top teams in the NBA and currently the favorite in the Western Conference. The loss to the Wizards, however, was a different matter. Washington is projected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA and has looked terrible in the first two games.

So what are the most important conclusions from yesterday’s match?

1. Hawks injuries are starting to pile up

Look, losing to the Wizards is a bad thing, and I’m not here to say it isn’t, but the Hawks lost five top-tier players, including two backup point guards/ball handlers. Atlanta was without Kobe Bufkin, De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu, then lost Vito Krejci to injury in the second quarter. Even against a team like Washington, missing five players is difficult. This wasn’t the only reason for their defeat, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

2. The Hawks need to understand the backup point guard situation

At the beginning of the year, one of the biggest question marks for the Hawks was who would be the backup point guard and handle the ball while Trae Young was on the court. Dejounte Murray had previously dealt with this, but it was something that remained in question. The player who was supposed to step up in this role was second-year defenseman Kobe Bufkin, but he is struggling with an injury. Krejci then took over the team before he was injured last night, but even before the injury things were mixed.

If the Hawks want to make the playoffs, this is something they need to consider. However, it won’t be easy given the options available.

3. Trae Young had his worst game of the year by far

Young has been amazing this season, but last night was tough. He scored six points and made two shots in the opening minutes of the game, but missed his last 13 shots, including the winning one. Young finished the game with 14 points and 13 assists on 2-15 shooting, including 2-10 from three. He didn’t make a single two-pointer and seemed to be struggling with Bilal Coulibaly all night long. No player is immune to a bad game, and the Hawks are asking Young to do a lot in the absence of subs, but it wasn’t a good performance.

4. Jalen Johnson finally looked like himself

Johnson has had a slow start to the season, but he put in a monster effort last night. Johnson scored 29 points on 11-17 shooting, plus 12 rebounds and seven assists. On a night filled with evil, Johnson stood up for the Hawks, and for their sake, they need him to continue that trajectory.

5. The Wizards had an incredible three-point shooting night

The Hawks have one of the strangest defensive profiles in the NBA. They rank 9th in overall field goal percentage allowed, but are dead last in the NBA in three-point percentage allowed, 30th in three-point field goals allowed per game, and 29th in three-point field goals allowed. In every game this year, the opposing team has shot well from three, and last night was no exception. Washington finished the game 21-44 (48%) from three and led 13-25 in the second half. Whether it was Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole or Corey Kispert, the Hawks were unable to slow down the Wizards’ three-point attack and it cost them last night.

6. The third quarter is when the game is lost

Down seven at halftime, the third quarter was a disaster for the Hawks. In the third quarter they led 30:22. The Hawks shot well, but the Wizards were 8-16 from three and the Hawks had 10 turnovers. It was a bad quarter that helped the Wizards win.

7. Zaccharie Risacher still has problems in attack

Risacher does a lot of little things right, like defending, rebounding and being in the right position. However, he is currently not shooting well and was 1-8 from the floor and 1-4 from three. He had a chance to tie the game late in the game, but three of his shots bounced off the board, leading to Jordan Poole making a three-pointer. Risacher should be able to do just fine, but things aren’t going well when it comes to shooting.