Booming: How Dyson turned killer as Jock fuels revival

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• Dyson Daniels ties career-high as Hawks rout Warriors

Australian centre Jock Landale’s faith in Boomers at Atlanta Hawks teammate Dyson Daniels’ ability to shoot the ball booms loud and clear.

“For me, it’s recognition that shooting threes isn’t everything, and for Dyson, it should be the same,” Landale said.

“I think that he’s starting to feel that now — that he doesn’t have to rely on his three-point shot to be a player on the court for us.

“He does so much in terms of creation, getting downhill. He’s one of the best defensive guys in the league, and I think that’ll start to sink home as his career goes on, and the pressure will come off that.

“There’s been a lot of emphasis on what’s going on with Dyson shooting this season, and I think that when he kind of disconnects and realises that it’s not everything, things will go right. Because he can shoot.

“You ask anybody in this gym — can Dyson shoot? Do you want him shooting? Everyone says yes. It’s just, you know, the power of the mind is a crazy thing.

“He’ll get through it. We’ve got confidence. Whether it’s before playoffs or in the offseason, he’ll get in the gym and play pickup and see it go through the net, and he’ll wake up one day and be like, “What was all that about?”

“So I’m not worried about it at all. He’s a great shooter. I’ve seen it on the Boomers. I’ve seen it playing against him. Last year, he shot 36%. You don’t go from 36 to whatever he is now and not be able to shoot the ball. So it’ll happen.

“We’ve done a lot of sitting down and looking at each other in the face — looking at each other in the mirror — and I think there’s a realisation of what works for us that’s starting to stick.

“We’ve done it against some not-the-best competition — I never want to say anyone’s bad because every team’s good — but it’ll be interesting to see if it sticks when we start playing the good teams.

“But I think just our defensive pressure, cleaning up the glass, putting pressure on the offensive boards ourselves, has really trickled into the ball kind of popping around and moving.

“When our team plays in transition, runs hard, shares the ball — we’re a tough team to beat. That’s been the emphasis, and I think we’ve all realised that.”

That time spent looking in the mirror culminated with Daniels pouring in an equal career-high 28 points against the Golden State Warriors in a 126-110 win on Sunday, March 22, 2026. He went 12-for-17 from the field and 2-for-5 from deep.

The Hawks have won 13 of their past 15 games and are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference, a lock spot for the 2026 NBA playoffs.

But it hasn’t just happened. Daniels’ shooting splits have improved since Landale, 29, arrived, and the Hawks acquired explosive wing Jonathan Kuminga from the Warriors.

basketball-reference.com data shows Landale stabilised Dyson while Kuminga unleashed him.

Segment                         G   FG     FGA    FG%    3P    3PA   3P%    2P    2PA   2P%    eFG%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before (Opening Night – Feb 7)  54  267    544    .491    6     62   .097   261    482   .541   .496
After (Feb 11 – Mar 20)         12   74    124    .597    6     31   .194    68     93   .731   .621
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change                          —   +9.6% FG%        +9.7% 3P%         +19.0% 2P%        +12.5% eFG%

Dyson Daniels — Shooting Profile (YoY)

Season   Age Team Pos   G   GS   MP    FG%   2P%   3P%   eFG%  FT%   TS%   FTr   3PAr  FG+  TS+   FG Add  TS Add
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2022-23  19  NOP  PG   59   11  1042  .418  .492  .314  .483  .650  .503  .192  .413   88   87   -25.8  -35.3
2023-24  20  NOP  PG   61   16  1358  .447  .551  .311  .514  .642  .529  .170  .434   94   91   -19.9  -33.8
2024-25  21  ATL  SG   76   76  2571  .493  .545  .340  .536  .593  .545  .152  .255  106   95   -12.5  -61.6
2025-26  22  ATL  SG   66   66  2189  .510  .572  .129  .519  .607  .531  .160  .139  109   92   -32.0  -69.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAREER        —    —   262  169  7160  .484  .552  .293  .523  .612  .534  .161  .260  103   92   -90.2 -200.6
ATL (2Yrs)    —    —   142  142  4760  .500  .557  .280  .529  .599  .539  .155  .206  107   93   -44.5 -131.5
NOP (2Yrs)    —    —   120   27  2400  .435  .527  .312  .502  .645  .519  .179  .426   92   89   -45.7  -69.1

It’s impossible to measure the mental impact Boomers teammate Landale has had on Daniels, who was moved to the point guard position when Trae Young was injured and then traded.

But easy to measure the statistical impact both he and Kuminga have had on Daniels’ game.

Key Read on the Impact

Rim efficiency spike

• Daniels’ 2PT% jumps from .541 → .731
• This aligns with Landale’s screening / short-roll gravity creating clearer downhill lanes.
• Daniels’ shot profile becomes far more paint-dominant.

Cleaner decision windows

• With Kuminga as an additional slasher / pressure release, Daniels is:
  • taking fewer forced threes
  • attacking rotations later in the clock
• His eFG% rises +12.5 percentage points, which is massive YoY-level improvement within one season phase.

Shot diet shift

• Pre-surge: 11.3 FGA per game
• Post-surge: 10.3 FGA per game
• But scoring efficiency increases → higher offensive value per possession.

Spacing + tempo combination

• Landale provides:
  • high-angle screens
  • pop threat / DHO continuity
• Kuminga provides:
  • weak-side rim pressure
  • transition wing running

Dyson Daniels — pre and post Jock Landale arrival

Before Jock Landale arrived

Games: 50Team record: 26–24Minutes: 33.8Points: 11.4Rebounds: 6.5Assists: 6.3Steals: 1.9Blocks: 0.4Turnovers: 2.0FG: 49.7%3PT: 12.7% (9-from-71)FT: 61.9% (52-of-84)+/-: +0.7 per gameGame Score: 12.6Double-doubles: 7Triple-doubles: 1

After Jock Landale arrived

Games: 14Team record: 11–3Minutes: 31.9Points: 12.6Rebounds: 7.2Assists: 5.4Steals: 1.9Blocks: 0.4Turnovers: 1.1FG: 57.0%3PT: 14.3% (3-from-21)FT: 57.1% (12-of-21)+/-: +8.8 per gameGame Score: 14.8Double-doubles: 4Triple-doubles: 0

What changed

Daniels became part of a much cleaner winning stretch once Landale joined the Hawks.

He scored a little more efficiently, rebounded a little better, and his turnovers dropped from 2.0 to 1.1 per game. Atlanta’s results shifted too — from 26–24 before Landale to 11–3 after Landale.

The biggest swing was team impact:

• FG% jumped from 49.7% to 57.0%
• Average plus-minus jumped from +0.7 to +8.8
• Win rate jumped from 52.0% to 78.6%

Bottom line: Daniels was already productive before Landale arrived, but post-Jock, the Hawks won far more often, and Daniels was noticeably more efficient within the team's flow.

Dyson Daniels — pre and post Jonathan Kuminga arrival

Before Kuminga arrived

Games: 56Team record: 28–28Minutes: 33.6Points: 11.4Rebounds: 6.5Assists: 6.1Steals: 1.8Blocks: 0.4Turnovers: 1.9FG: 49.6%3PT: 12.5% (10-from-80)FT: 59.8% (58-of-97)+/-: +0.3 per game

After Kuminga arrived

Games: 9Team record: 9–0Minutes: 31.6Points: 12.9Rebounds: 7.7Assists: 5.9Steals: 2.3Blocks: 0.6Turnovers: 1.0FG: 62.8%3PT: 15.4% (2-from-13)FT: 75.0% (6-of-8)+/-: +17.2 per game

What changed

Daniels’ efficiency and team impact both jumped once Kuminga entered the rotation. Atlanta went from a .500 team at 28–28 before Kuminga’s first Hawks game to 9–0 after that point, and Daniels’ numbers tightened up across the board:

• FG%: 49.6% → 62.8%
• Rebounds: 6.5 → 7.7
• Steals: 1.8 → 2.3
• Turnovers: 1.9 → 1.0
• Plus-minus: +0.3 → +17.2

Bottom line: Daniels didn’t need more volume after Kuminga’s arrival — he became more efficient, more disruptive defensively, and part of a lineup group that won every game until the Rockets snapped their streak.