The Hawks lost their second straight game this afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets 116-104. During the fourth quarter, the Hawks outscored the Nets 22-8 and a large part of that was due to the rebounding of rookie forward John Collins.
Before coming out of the game with five fouls Collins secured the first double-double of his career with 14 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes of play. The Nets would close the game on a 15-3 run capped by two three-pointers by guards Allen Crabbe (20 points on 7-12) and D’Angelo Russell (16 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds).
The Hawks were outrebounded 51-48 on the afternoon but won the battle on the offensive boards 16-13. Collins led the way with six offensive boards (Ilyasova, who played one more minute than Collins, had one.)
In order for the Hawks to maximize their winning potential, especially if Dennis Schroder might miss either of the next two games with an ankle sprain, head coach Mike Budenholzer is going to have to have his best five on the floor. Collins at a 25-30 minute clip gives the Hawks the best chance to compete, in particular against the Heat, the Hawks next opponent, who does a good job rebounding.
Collins finished the first half of tonight’s game with four points (1-6 FG) but made a major impact on the team with eight rebounds (four offensive), Ilyasova, a better shooter from beyond the three-point line, was 1-5 from beyond the arc and 3-10 from the field.
The reasons to continue starting him over Collins, veteran forward, good three-point shooter, et al, are running out and we’re only three games into the season.
Notes:
1 – Marco Belinelli shook off a rough shooting night in Charlotte on Friday with a 19 point game this afternoon. However, he was 5-13 from the field (6-6 from the free-throw line).
2 – Dewayne Dedmon attempted three three-point shots (1-3). That’s more or as many three-point attempts as Bazemore (0-3), Taurean Prince (1-1), Mike Muscala (0-1) and Malcolm Delaney (1-1).
3 – Thirteen Hawks played a minute or more this afternoon including newly signed two-way player Isaiah Taylor who played a minute, Josh Magette (1 minute) and Tyler Dorsey (3 minutes).
4 – Hawks were 33-36 from the free-throw line as a team.
