The Atlanta Hawks Must Use 1st Round To Recapture Peak Form

For an entire calendar month, the Atlanta Hawks did not lose.

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In fact, they reeled off a franchise record-setting 19-game winning streak between Dec. 27 to Jan. 31.  Many of the wins from their memorable streak were of the blowout variety, as Atlanta enjoyed a margin of victory of plus-11.4  over the aforementioned stretch.

However, while the Hawks would go on and earn their first 60-win campaign in franchise history — en route to comfortably capturing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference — they had one of the lowest net differentials, at plus-5.4 per game, of any 60-win team of the modern era.

Specifically, since the All-Star break, in which four members of Atlanta’s starting lineup participated in the world’s most extravagant pickup game, their efficiency on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor have plummeted.

Fretfully, the Hawks’ offensive rating, or points scored per 100 possessions, dropped from 107.1 before the trade deadline — which ranked fifth in the association over the stretch — to 104.2 after the All-Star game — which ranked 11th, per NBA.com.

Likewise, their defensive rating, or points allowed per 100 possessions, progressively declined from 100.2 prior to the All-Star break — which ranked sixth in the league — to 101.5 after their extended mid-season vacation — which ranked 12th in the NBA over the said time period.

While there is something to be said about the Hawks’ collective resolve by finishing the season winning 17 of their last 38 contests despite the volatile state of their active roster post-All-Star break — most notably, with the injuries suffered by Kyle Korver, Al Horford, Thabo Sefolosha, and Mike Scott — but, their rather banal plus-2.6 net rating post-trade deadline have Hawks fans everywhere appropriately worried.

Accordingly, the giant elephant residing in Phillips Arena over the second half of the season concerns whether or not the team had peaked too soon.

However, the luxury of being seeded with the best record in your conference comes with its favorable merits. For the Hawks, they get to face a prosaic Brooklyn Nets team who limped into the playoffs in spite of their veteran-laden roster.

Undoubtedly, the Nets have somewhat turned things around after a disastrous start to their 2014-15 campaign. Led by the resurgence and sterling play of Brook Lopez, the Nets ripped off a comparable 17-13 record after the All-Star break to successfully squeak past the Indiana Pacers and sneak into the eighth seed on the last day of the regular season..

Unfortunately for the Nets, though, all of their inherent weaknesses coincidentally play perfectly into the Hawks’ core strengths. And likewise, everything Brooklyn has been doing well as of late, Atlanta can naturally ameliorate.

Sure enough, the Hawks demolished Brooklyn during the regular season, sweeping their season series against Nets 4-0 as they poured in over 122.1 points per 100 possessions while sporting a dispiriting plus-18.4 net rating.

Simply put, the Hawks are a matchup nightmare for the Nets — they trump Brooklyn in every conceivable category.

While the injection of Lopez into the Nets’ starting lineup reinvigorated their offensive production, the slow-plotting nature of the North Hollywood, CA-native immediately made Brooklyn a dreadful defensive team when defending 1-5 (point guard and center) pick-and-rolls — which just happens to be a staple of the Hawks’ dynamic offense.

To make matters worse, Lopez’s counterpart, Al Horford, is built to cause a cavalcade of problems for the 7-foot-1 behemoth. Explicitly, Horford forces Lopez to defend out in space, taking him out of his comfort zone on the defensive end and away from protecting the rim.

Secondly, Horford is a thoroughbred of a center in transition, capable of grabbing a rebound and pushing it himself, or simply beating his man by rim running hard after a miss. In their four previous matchups, Lopez simply could not keep pace.

Moreover, the Nets like to ask their bigs, whether its Lopez or Mason Plumlee, to show high — in between a soft zone and an overtly aggressive hedge — when defending the screen-and-roll. However, the Hawks’ resident All-Star point guard, Jeff Teague, thrives off of such tactics with his ability to change speeds and split traps.

As such, with the Hawks’ 1-5 high pick-and-roll scheme alone — without mentioning the consternation Kyle Korver causes with his off-ball movement, or the stress Paul Millsap induces as a four breaking down a defense at the top of key — should bend and strain Brooklyn’s defense into complete oblivion.

Meanwhile, on the other end, the Nets have thrived off of Lopez paint touches over the second half of the season, using Big Brook on the move as a screener and allowing him to, either, catch and finish on the dive, or flare out for his signature floater/push shot.

However, the Hawks’ help-oriented defense is designed to force all actions to one side of the floor, pack the paint, while helping the helper.

In their two most recent games in April, Atlanta made a conscious effort of eliminating the pocket pass into Lopez and forcing the Nets’ contingent ballhandlers, whether its Deron Williams or Jarrett Jack, to beat them off-the-bounce or with their pull-up game.

It surely doesn’t help the Nets playing two non-shooters, in Thaddeus Young and Markel Brown, for prolonged stretches. In doing so, it allows Atlanta to completely disregard their existence on the offensive end, and in turn, zone up on Lopez’s interior forays.

Thus, the Hawks’ suffocating D often stagnated the Nets’ rejuvenated offensive scheme, forcing them to revert back to their archaic ways — a.k.a. isolation and post-up basketball.

If the Nets are to have any chance of avoiding an embarrassing sweep, their perimeter core — namely, Williams, Jack, Bojan Bogdanovic, and if healthy, Alan Anderson and Mirza Teletovic — must get senselessly hot from beyond the arc in an effort to inspire some resemblance of stress on the Hawks’ interior D.

Consequently, the Nets can then free up Lopez for the “pick-and-push“, while enabling him to utilize his immense size to overwhelm the Hawks on the offensive glass — the ongoing sore spot for Atlanta this season.

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Additionally, Brooklyn cannot turn it over. Giving the ball away means Korver transition threes, Horford fast-break dunks, and Teague penetration-and-kicks.

Needless to say, a lot has to go right in order for the Nets to stay relatively competitive.

Contrary to popular belief, the series has the makings of a compelling anecdote. For one, it features the “Joe Johnson Bowl.”

Specifically, the former-Hawk spent seven full seasons in Atlanta, where he put up 20.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists a contest in 508 regular season games. If all is lost, the Joe Jesus versus his former team angle should evolve into an intriguing narrative.

In addition, without the services of Sefolosha, the Hawks will have to lean heavily on DeMarre Carroll to stay out of foul trouble and bang with, or stay in front of, Johnson as he will inevitably receive a bevy of isolation and post-up opportunities.

With that being said, the Hawks must utilize this blessing of sorts to vanquish their first round opponent in dominant fashion; thereby, building goodwill surrounding the team and recapture the groove they possessed circa the month of January.

For all intents and purposes, the seedings have materialized quite swimmingly. In addition to their favorable first round matchup, the Hawks will also enjoy another series of playoff seasoning, against either the Toronto Raptors or Washington Wizards, before conceivably facing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With two full rounds against subpar competition, the Atlanta Hawks must use this time to regain their ball-sharing, selflessly cohesive peak form.

Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time

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