The Atlanta Hawks are on a three-game losing streak, with two close-fought losses after the All-Star break pairing with a one-point, overtime loss prior to the hiatus. In fact, Atlanta's trio of losses came by a total of 12 combined points, so it is not as if the Hawks have been scuffling too badly in recent days. However, the Hawks slipped to the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference, and Atlanta is operating with a shorthanded roster, headlined by the season-ending injury to Jalen Johnson.
On top of those realities, the Hawks are in the midst of a difficult stretch of their schedule. Atlanta's remaining schedule is not terribly taxing overall, but the next seven games for Quin Snyder's team come against teams currently occupying playoff spots. That brings a sense of urgency to the table, and below are three things that the Hawks need to do to pick up some much-needed victories.
Protect the rim
The sample size (six games) is not enormous, but Atlanta's defensive numbers near the rim are troubling since the trade deadline. The Hawks are 3-3 in the six games, but opponents are shooting 75.4 percent at the rim and 49.7 percent from floater range (per Cleaning the Glass) over that sample. Broadly speaking, Atlanta is doing a good job at allowing the shots they want to allow, but opponents are having an easier time than they should in converting those shots.
Granted, the Hawks are below-average in both shooting percentage allowed at the rim and from floater range for the full season, but Atlanta's post-deadline numbers dipped into the bottom five in both categories. Some of that can be traced to the small sample and facing opponents like New York, Orlando, and Detroit, but the Hawks will need more rim protection, particularly from new starting center Onyeka Okongwu. Of note, Johnson's absence is meaningfully felt in this area, as he is the team's best secondary rim protector.
Keep opponents off the free throw line
Over the full season (57 games), the Hawks are above-average in opponent free throw rate (0.245). Atlanta does allow more than the league average in raw free throw attempts (22.2 per game), but some of that is simply due to the team's sky-high pace. Unfortunately for the Hawks, opponents are shooting a league-best 80.0 percent at the free throw line against Atlanta, something they have little control over. And, in a troubling trend, opponents have been finding the free throw line more often in the month or so.
Since MLK Day, Atlanta is No. 26 in the NBA in opponent free throw rate (0.277). To make matters worse, opponents are shooting a blistering 82.7 percent from the line over that 16-game sample, which leads to the Hawks giving up a league-high 20.3 points per game at the free throw line. While the accuracy is something that is hard to be upset about, the Hawks need to shore up their defense to at least take away either the rim accuracy (see above) or remove some of the free throw attempts.
Make their free throws
On the positive side, the Hawks are in the top three of the NBA in free throw attempt rate (0.265) and free throw attempts per game (24.4) this season. Even with shaky accuracy at the line, it is better to get to the charity stripe than not to get there, but Atlanta has fallen on hard times in terms of accuracy.
Over the last 14 games, the Hawks are shooting just 73.6 percent at the free throw line, and that brings Atlanta's season-long mark to 76.9 percent. That isn't completely dire, but it is well below-average, and the shortcomings at the line are magnified as the Hawks lose close games. In fact, Atlanta missed 30 free throws during the last three games, shooting only 69.7 percent, and as noted previously, those games were decided by only 12 combined points.