Depleted Hawks utilized zone defense in loss to Celtics

In Tuesday’s home loss to the Boston Celtics, the Hawks had only two true frontcourt players available: Damian Jones and John Collins. After that, 6-foot-7 shooting guard Kevin Huerter was the team’s next tallest active player.

With the depleted line-up, coach Lloyd Pierce decided to experiment on defense, switching to zone in the second quarter and using it periodically to try and disrupt the Celtics’ offensive rhythm. Although the Hawks gave up a whopping 66 points in the paint, Pierce felt that his team executed the new defense well.

“I thought we did a good job,” Pierce said. “We gave up a three on the first play, but just like anything, there was inappropriate help on that play. But the…