Atlanta Hawks: The Benefits Of Point Guard Depth
By Adam McGee
For many, the surprise package of this NBA season has been the Atlanta Hawks. The often maligned Hawks are in prime position, enjoying the holiday season safe in the knowledge that they sit atop the Southeast Division and are now only half a game back of the Eastern Conference’s summit.
Although those who have been paying close attention to the Hawks over the last 18 months won’t be quite as shocked by the team’s progress, this season has seen developments that even they couldn’t have predicted. One particular area where Atlanta’s strength now shines through is at the point guard spot.
The Hawks are leading the league in assists per game at 25.9 per game, and with 13.3 of those assists coming from their varied point guard attack, Atlanta is a tough proposition to stop. Between Jeff Teague, Dennis Schroder and Shelvin Mack, the team has a plethora of options to run their offense, a scenario which has historically been very rare in Atlanta.
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An example of how this has changed how the Hawks play, and perhaps more importantly, how difficult it is to stop them came in the past week.
The Hawks faced a five-game stretch that critics had long flagged up as the one that would likely break their good form, but instead Atlanta sailed through it unbeaten. The run of games may have been bookended by home wins against the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers, but it was what came in between that was most impressive.
In a three-game road trip that saw the team face Cleveland, Houston and Dallas, Atlanta came through with flying colors, and without the help of their injured starting point guard Jeff Teague. Of all the progress that Atlanta has made this season, this could be the most significant piece of them all.
Teague is having an excellent season, once again leading to whispers of his potential inclusion in the All-Star game. Teague is playing with intelligence and aggression, and as a result he has Atlanta running as the league’s sixth best offense. What’s different about his contribution this season was highlighted brilliantly by HoopsHabit’s own Gerald Bourguet in his excellent piece on the Hawks from yesterday:
"“Teague is averaging 16.5 points, 7.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game this season while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from downtown. Not a single one of those is a career high, but they’re all extremely close to the best marks that are scattered throughout the first five years of his career. The difference is he’s putting it all together.”"
Behind Teague, the emergence of Schroder has been a decisive factor in Atlanta’s rise. When the young German was drafted, he was surrounded by talk of Rajon Rondo comparisons, and yet his first season couldn’t have been less productive. With frequent turnovers and a lack of understanding of NBA play, as a rookie he was a liability.
That has changed though and Schröder has found himself playing in crunch time, even showing up veteran NBA point guards in his appearances as a starter. Grantland’s Zach Lowe spoke of Schröder as Atlanta’s potential answer recently too:
"“His ceiling and future are uncertain, but it’s already clear he’s a legit NBA rotation player, and that matters for a Hawks team searching for perimeter depth.”"
This isn’t to forget about Shelvin Mack either. Having joined the Hawks as a player who seemed destined to fall out of the league, Mack fought through 10-day contracts and training camp, before putting up an excellent season last year to earn himself a guaranteed contract.
Although Schröder’s emergence has somewhat limited Mack’s chances this season, he has shown himself to be ready when called upon. In particular, it was Mack who almost single-handedly led Atlanta past the Cavaliers in Cleveland with 24 points on 6-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
The combination of these three players is representative of the greater depth that Atlanta have found across their roster in building a strong team first philosophy. The Atlanta Hawks are the real deal this season, and if they can all stay healthy, their point guards could drive them on to new levels of success.