The Atlanta Hawks have had to reinvent their offense due to the absence of Trae Young, and for the most part, they've been able to make it work with what they have. On the other hand, teams have made adjustments to their defense when playing the Hawks, and one of the things has been putting a center on Dyson Daniels.
Daniels is shooting 19.2% from 3 this season, after shooting a career-high 34% last season. Not only is he taking fewer attempts this season, but when he is taking them, they're just not going on. That allows teams to put centers on Daniels, and they sag off of him so they can roam around and guard the interior.
It can throw off the Hawks' offense at times, but when Daniels is aggressive and going to the rim, it negates what the opposing team is doing.
Jalen Johnson has experience with centers daring him to shoot, and he knows that Daniels is going to be okay.
“Obviously, it's just about finding ways for Dyson just to continue to be himself,” Johnson said. “Obviously, that can throw you off your game a little bit. I remember when they used to throw fives on me and dare me to shoot. He'll be alright.
“It's obviously just a learning curve and just in that aspect for him just figuring out ways because you know that 5s can't guard Dyson, so he just has to see that and recognize that more often. He'll be alright. He'll figure that out.”
Over the past few games, teams have started to do it more often, which means that Daniels might just have to keep shooting until he gets his groove back from the perimeter.
Dyson Daniels trying to get back his 3-point rhythm
Daniels has been picking up his 3-point volume over the past few games, and he knows what he needs to do to make defenses pay when they're sagging off him when he's on the perimeter.
“You know there are a lot of ways to work around that when they're dropped off like that,” Daniels said. “It's just about exploiting that match-up, but, yeah, for me, it's about getting in the gym, making sure that can become more comfortable shooting those threes, so they do have to respect me more out there. But, yeah, l've also got to take them with confidence and knock them down.”
With Young out, it makes it a little hard to exploit those kinds of coverages, but it's good that the Hawks have to figure it out with him not on the court, so they'll be good when he does return.
