WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Hawks’ rematch against the Wizards on Wednesday at Capital One Arena did not go according to plan. With the absence of five of their nine key rotational players, the Hawks looked like they ran out of gas in the second half and fell to the Wizards 133-120.
Prior to tipoff, the Hawks ruled out Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring tendinopathy), Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation), Dyson Daniels (right hip flexor strain), De’Andre Hunter (right knee injury management) and Vit Krejci (right adductor strain).
Here are five observations:
1. The shorthanded Hawks looked at the absences of key players as a chance to play through adversity. Though they led 64-57, making almost 50% of their overall field goals, the Hawks were stifled by the Wizards in the second half.
The Hawks (2-3) kept their starters in despite the Wizards being up 127-112, with the Hawks failing to hit shots and defend in transition. They made just 7-of-18 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter, going 2-of-7 overall in the last six minutes, all while giving up 40 points to the Wizards in the final period.
2. After a rough outing on Monday where Trae Young struggled with his shooting, the Hawks guard looked far more at ease in Wednesday’s rematch. Young poured in 24 of his 35 points by the end of the first half. He made 60% of his 15 field goals and sank 3 of 6 shots from deep.
In the second half, though, the Wizards double-teamed him, cutting off his looks at the basket and allowing him to make just three of his 13 shots. They also forced him into taking rushed shots over the top.
“Each of us (has) got to just figure out how to find more within ourselves and give more,” Young said. “And it’s not just going to be one person that can take us over the top. We got to do it together. So we all just got to give a little bit more.”
3. The Hawks allowed the Wizards to score three triples, two of which came in transition, in an 80-second span.
“They’ve got some guards that we had a hard time staying in front of, consistently,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s hard when the ball’s driven into the paint. It’s hard to get rotations and get the shooters. The thing that we have to really be mindful of, some of those things that we have more control over. Whether it’s getting back on defense, those are consistent things for us that I think we care about and we’re working on.”
With 11:39 to play, Bub Carrington grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed it ahead to Corey Kispert who pulled up and buried the open 3. Then the Hawks left rookie Alex Sarr wide open in the corner. Then Keyshawn George picked off a pass from Young and found Kispert for another wide-open triple.
The Hawks just could not take care of the ball and they could not corral offensive rebounds, allowing the Wizards to average 158.3 points per 100 transition plays that come off of live rebounds.
4. Without Bogdanovic, Bufkin and Krejci to help handle the ballhandling duties when Young went to the bench, the Hawks turned to two-way guard Keaton Wallace. He played well in the first extended minutes of his career. He scored eight points and had two assists.
He scored a big 3 that slowed the Wizards’ onslaught in the second half with 1:27 to play in the third. He also found Young for his lone 3 in the second half that kept the game within 92-91 in the third quarter.
“I knew if I drifted, that I would get the ball back, because we’ve had a few moments in training camp,” Young said. “We haven’t got a lot of reps up with each other in training camp, but a few times we did. I know he’s a smart point guard. He can pass and just score. He can pass too. So I was playing off him, and I knew he was gonna come back to me.”
5. The Hawks have struggled to take care of the ball, especially as their legs got heavier. They had just six turnovers in the entire first half but had nine in the second.
Stat to know
209 -- Trae Young has 209 career double-doubles, the seventh-most in Hawks franchise history.
Quotable
“I feel amazing. He hit me with a wide-open pass. So I knocked the shot down, kind of off of that.” -- Keaton Wallace on his first career bucket.
Up next
The Hawks return to State Farm Arena on Friday night to host the Sacramento Kings.
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