Hawks have one goal in NBA draft: Get bigger
Jared Greenberg, NBA Insider for Turner Sports, joined The Steakhouse on Wednesday morning to go around the Association and also talk about what the Hawks need to address this offseason.
The Atlanta Hawks have a size problem.
Of the players who appeared in 30 or more games last season, only one player on the roster came in over 6-foot-9. In the starting five, the average height of 6-foot-5 was well below the NBA average of 6-foot-6.5. Lacking that size, and the defensive chops to back it up, has cost the franchise down the stretch in recent seasons.
Jared Greenberg, NBA reporter and sideline analyst for NBA on TNT, joined The Steakhouse Wednesday to discuss those deficiencies.
"Right now, we're seeing [that] defense matters and the big man is back," Greenberg said about what trends he's seeing within the Association nowadays. "That big man may look a little different than Shaq, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, or Hakeem Olajuwon from 30 years ago, but the big man matters."
While lacking on the defensive end of the court, Indiana is still a physically imposing team. Their opposition in the East, the Boston Celtics, will soon be adding a seven-footer back into the mix when Kristaps Porzingis makes his return. Meanwhile in the West, there are two more big-bodied rosters in Minnesota and Dallas.
"What Minnesota and Dallas look like on the court often times resembles a prototypical lineup from maybe 20 years ago," Greenberg said. "You have a seven-footer on the court at all times and he doesn't come off when the other team goes small or because they get caught up in a mismatch. We're seeing a total shift right now in the way basketball at least looks to the fan."
Between Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu at center, Jalen Johnson and Sediq Bey at the power forward, and DeAndre Hunter on the wing, the Hawks just don't have a roster that can match the physicality of this postseason.
"This is something that the Hawks are going to have to address," Greenberg finished. "And Atlanta basketball fans, who are so well versed in the national scene, are noticing [that]."
