Posted by Kevin Arnovitz
Not since Tree Rollins was patrolling the paint and Mike Fratello pacing the sideline have the Atlanta Hawks been regarded as a "defensive team," in the popular sense. Last season, the Hawks traded away their most effective interior defender in Shelden Williams. And during the offseason, they lost their best overall defensive player in Josh Childress.
So what gives?
Last night, Atlanta stifled New Orleans to go 3-0 for the season. Chris Paul got his points, but the Hornets could never gain their footing offensively. Peachtree Hoops takes a look at the Association's second-best -- for the time being -- defensive squad:
At what point does one believe that this is a good defensive team? For the prudent it'll take more than three games but my goodness these Hawks are presenting a compelling case for believing in them.
At Orlando, home to Philadelphia, and at New Orleans, the Hawks have yet to allow an opposing team to score one point per possession. Opponents are averaging 93.3 points per 100 possessions through three games. By comparison, the 2007-08 Hawks allowed 108.9 points per 100 possessions. The 2007-08 Hawks after acquiring Mike Bibby allowed 112.8 points per 100 possessions. The 2007-08 Boston Celtics lead the league by allowing 98.9 points per 100 possessions.
Deep breath.
I'm sure lots of teams have excellent three-game defensive stretches so I'm trying to remain reluctant to read too much into these three games but I'm certainly enjoying the pleasant surprises; last night's game serving as the most impressive example thus far.
The Hawks couldn't really guard Chris Paul so they chose to play off him a bit, tried to limit his passing lanes, and harassed any other Hornet once he caught the ball. Paul finished with 22 points (making more than half his shots), 11 assists, and 2 turnovers. He's one of the two best basketball players in the world. Full credit to him. Credit to David West as well who worked awfully hard for his 15 points on 13 shots.
The game plan worked as the rest of the Hornets struggled. Tyson Chandler couldn't get the ball in positions to score. Everyone not named Paul and West combined to miss 11 of their 15 three-point attempts. Most importantly, in a slow-paced game where the Hawks were not getting many easy buckets themselves (or getting to the free throw line), Atlanta dominated the defensive glass. New Orleans only grabbed 20% of possible offensive rebounds.
