The Atlanta Hawks are 2-2 through their first four games for an even .500 record on the young season. If you can take anything from their first four games, it’s that they still cannot play defense, primarily on the perimeter. The Washington Wizards put up 44 three-point shots Monday night, and landed 21 of them.
In Sunday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Hawks gave up another 16 3s off of 40 attempts. While Zaccharie Risacher was drafted by the Hawks to bring his defensive prowess to the team, he is only four games into his NBA career, and his defense is still under development.
The Hawks do have an improved team over last year, although you wouldn’t be able to tell that on the defensive end. If they plan on playing themselves into playoff contention, they are going to have to learn how to defend the perimeter.
