The Atlanta Hawks are 7-4 and 4th in the Eastern Conference despite one of the weirder wins they've had all season.

For the Hawks, their success lay in 3% of their effort. They trailed for 96% of the game and the defensive effort was flat-out embarassing. The Nets are a more competent team than the record would indicate - as I suggested in the game preview - and they looked better than the Hawks through a sizable chunk of the game. They held a double-digit lead for practically all of the first half until the last minute of the second quarter.

CJ McCollum got the Hawks going with a timely bucket in the paint off a Dyson Daniels assist, which set up a 10-0 run for Atlanta. It set them up with a four-point deficit at half and Atlanta refused to go away. A sloppy third quarter didn't do the Hawks any favors, but they still kept themselves within ten points and seperated with a stunning sequence of half-court offense over the last three minutes. Jalen Johnson's return was huge for them - he had 12 points in the fourth quarter and he drew 10 free throws in a three-point win. Most importantly, his halfcourt offense looked noticeably better and it was a solid step forward in what's been a rough season for him thus far.

A - Aaron Wiggins

Aaron Wiggins looks like "the man who saved basketball" right now.

Considering that he was basically an end-of-rotation player in OKC last season, he's living up to every part of that moniker he earned during his time with the Thunder. Wiggins was excellent again last night, dropping 20 points and dishing out six assists while hitting five of his thirteen attempts from deep. He has a 58.4 TS% this season and he's taking a whopping 7.2 attempts from deep. He's been absolutely essential in almost all of Atlanta's wins this season and he did it again versus Brooklyn by keeping the Hawks in the game.

B - Dyson Daniels

Dyson Daniels didn't really shoot the ball well, but per usual, he contributed in practically every other part of the game. He grabbed 10 boards, dished out seven assists and had a whopping six steals on the night. He played a key role in the Hawks' frustration of Julius Randle on the night, who turned it over six times. Daniels punished lazy passes from Randle and Porter Jr, kept Atlanta's defense barely afloat and went toe-to-toe with Day'Ron Sharpe and Noah Clowney on the boards.

It's another all-around effort from a player who's done everything he can to help the Hawks in spite of his shooting.

C - Jalen Johnson

It might seem strange to put Johnson here when he had 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists while being critical to Atlanta's offense down the stretch. However, my main problem with Johnson's performance is that his defensive effort just continues to lag behind where it needs to be. NAW's stepped up on offense and Daniels is in the 85th percentile among point guards for assists while turning it over 1.3 times per game. They've relieved some of the scoring and playmaking duties that he single-handedly took on last season. Theoretically, that should free him up to give more energy on defense.

D - Zuby Ejiofor

I am not trying to pile on Ejiofor, but tonight wasn't a great performance for him against a pretty weak Brooklyn center rotation. He had seven points and six rebounds while also hitting a three, but the defense wasn't there. Atlanta was a -15 in his minutes and he almost got stripped when he was going for the transition dunk.

He was awesome against Washington, though, and I do expect him to push Landale for the backup center job. He gives the Hawks a different look and his passing is legitimately very helpful on most nights. It didn't really pop tonight - he had zero assists and turned it over once.

F - Lu Dort

Dort had a nice game on Friday, but he's been bad in the role that he's playing and hasn't really made the defensive impact the Hawks were hoping for. Their defense is 12.4 points better when he sits and it sure looked like it tonight. He barely impacted the turnover and defensive rebounding battle on a night where Atlanta could have used both.

He made a three-pointer, but that was his only made basket of the entire night against a Nets team that doesn't exactly have a lot of lockdown defensive options. Considering that he played 20 minutes, this wasn't a good game for him at all. Hopefully, the eventual return of Mo Gueye will help free Dort from the role of backup 4.