Make it 2-0 this season for the Atlanta Hawks. Unlike the game against Orlando on Wednesday, there was never a doubt about the outcome of this game.
While Charlotte was missing both Coby White and Kon Knueppel, I don't think it would have mattered all that much. The Hawks led by 13 after the first quarter, by 25 at halftime, and by 35 at the end of the third quarter. The Hornets never had a chance and now the Hawks have two road wins against divisional opponents in two tries.
When looking at this result tonight, what are the biggest Hawks takeaways for this game?
1. Defense dominated
This whole offseason has been about getting a deeper, tougher, and more physical team. Atlanta wanted to build a defensive identity for the upcoming year after getting run off the floor in game six of their first round series loss to the Knicks and after an up and down performance vs Orlando, Atlanta flexed the kind of defensive might that they have at their disposal.
One of the keys to winning this game was going to be holding the Hornets to a reasonable percentage from the three-point line and creating turnovers. Last season, Charlotte was one of the most turnover prone teams in the NBA and they had 20 in their season opening win over Brooklyn. The Hawks were active in stealing the ball and just gave the Hornets no room to get back in the game.
All in all, the Hawks forced 25 turnovers from the Hornets while only committing 12.
2. Dyson Daniels performance
Daniels is off to a great start this season and this game tonight is why he continues to be so undervalued across the NBA.
Daniels finished the game tonight with 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and seven steals. Daniels ability to steal the ball helped earn him a second-place finish in defensive player of the year voting two seasons ago and he continues to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He shot 5-for-10 from the floor and was not under any pressure to shooting from three.
If Daniels keeps this up, the Hawks are going to be a tough team to beat on any given night.
3. Another Strong Aaron Wiggins performance
The Atlanta Hawks have had two players win the NBA's Most Improved Player Award in two straight seasons, and they might be working on their third.
Aaron Wiggins had a tremendous debut with Atlanta on Wednesday against Orlando, but tonight was even better. Wiggins tied CJ McCollum for the game high with 19 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from three. He was effective on defense and continues to be one of the best most impressive bench players so far this season in the NBA.
4. Kingston Flemings makes an impact
While the scoring is still a work in progress for Kingston Flemings, he finds ways to make an impact on the game and much like he did during the preseason, he looks very comfortable in his role and should only continue to grow.
Flemings was not the Hawks best player tonight by any means, but he finished the game with five points, six rebounds, eight assists, and one steal. He played very good defense and consistently found the open man for the easy basket. The scoring will come eventually and Flemings will be an even better player.
5. Corey Kispert makes the most of his opportunity
Corey Kispert is not a part of the main nine-man rotation for the Hawks, mostly because of his defense, but he can shoot the ball well and he made the most of the nine minutes that he got to be on the floor.
Kispert finished the game with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor and 3-for4 from three. The game was well out of hand and the Hornets deep bench was in, but this was impressive from Kispert against Charlotte.
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