To start the year, Atlanta suffered a quite humiliating loss to the Toronto Raptors. The eye-popping 86 points in the paint that they allowed to the Canadian side on opening night was the most the Hawks have allowed in the last twenty seasons.
The Hawks followed the dismal loss to Toronto with a categorically dull blown victory to the Chicago Bulls, where the same ugly trend of allowing points in the paint reared its head once again.
After this pair of embarrassing losses, hopes for a dominant defense were dwindling. Who wouldn't call into question the team's effort and ability to protect the interior, particularly after two such dismal performances, and considering they allowed these losses to the theoretically rebuilding Raptors and Bulls?
If the Hawks couldn't get it done against what was once deemed the easy lower-tier competition of the Eastern Conference, how could they hope to contend with the upper-echelon, tried-and-true contenders such as the Knicks or the Cavs?
Fortunately, this troubling trend has completely flipped over the last six games.
Atlanta's recent stretch of games has been defensively dominant
Immediately after the brutal loss to the Bulls, the Hawks followed up with nothing short of a complete response to the blaringly loud call-to-action for the rest of the squad, especially apparent after Trae went down early against Brooklyn in game 5 of the year.
Throughout these last six games (10/29 vs. Nets to 11/8 vs. Lakers), the Hawks have been able to lock down the interior completely. The only three teams allowing fewer points in the paint across this six-game stretch? The Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Across this stretch, Atlanta's 4th-best 42.3 points in the paint allowed per game represent a complete 180-degree turn from their beginning woes. While there will certainly come a game where they concede a barrage of interior looks (similar to what we saw against Toronto) at some point, the overall trend of defensive effort has looked worlds better in this span.
The interesting wrinkle to consider is the correlation between Trae Young and the team's defense.
While Young no doubt offers some of the most creative, flashy, stellar offense (as well as some of the greatest consistency in the entire league as far as playmaking), his defensive ability has always been commonplace amongst critics of his game.
Are the Hawks better off (at least defensively) without Trae? So far, the answer is yes. While the team eagerly anticipates his return on the offensive end, something to look out for upon his arrival will be their overall defensive prowess - specifically, how easily he gets beaten en route to the rim.