NEW YORK — The Hawks haven’t panicked.
They believe the chemistry of the team will take time, and injuries to three starters over the team’s first four games have hindered a faster start to the season.
And just when it looked like the Hawks would get the chance to let their roster jell, they took another hit. All-Star guard Trae Young left Wednesday’s game because of a right knee sprain toward the end of the first quarter.
So, the Hawks adjusted, putting the ball in the hands in their secondary playmakers, who combined for 33 assists on 44 made field goals.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Hawks’ 117-112 victory over the Nets on Wednesday at Barclays Center.
The good
After shooting 33% from 3-point range in the first four games this season, the Hawks found the right spacing. They shot 39.4% on 3-pointers against the Nets, thanks to an aggressive night from guard Luke Kennard, who has been adjusting to his new teammates and felt comfortable when he had more wide-open shots.
“Just real game actions, certain game situations, I don’t know, just allows me to continue to get more comfortable and figure it out,” Kennard said. “But it’s been a pleasure just being around these guys, man. They want to win and get better. And, obviously, we’ve had a tough start to the year, but nobody’s panicked, and, yeah, it’s been OK.”
The bad
The Hawks have dealt with foul trouble early in the season. On Wednesday, the Hawks had three of their bigs get into foul trouble.
Center Kristaps Porzingis fouled out of the game with 3:16 left. Porzingis’ early exit opened the floor for the Nets, who went on a 6-0 run to cut the Hawks’ lead to 3.
Along with Porzingis’ early exit, the Hawks had to navigate the game with Onyeka Okongwu playing with five fouls and Jalen Johnson with four.
“I mean, sometimes, you just get tough calls, tough breaks sometimes, and I think that was kind of the case tonight, more specifically,” Johnson said.
The ugly
Basketball is a game of runs, but the Hawks will have to figure out how to maintain their leads without Young, who will likely miss several games.
“Whether it was Luke or Nickeil (Alexander-Walker) Dyson (Daniels), JJ,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “The key thing when playing that way is everybody’s got to be willing to play with the pass and try to get advantages that way. But obviously, it’s something we’ll have to keep working on, depending on where Trae is with his health.”
The Hawks led by as many as 17 points in the game and 10 in the fourth quarter. But the Hawks’ offense stagnated, at times, and the Nets, a team still looking for their first win, chipped away until it was just a 3-point game.
The Hawks moved the ball well enough, but they’ll have to figure out how to do so against better defensive teams in the league.
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