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Atlanta Hawks: 5 Reasons We’ve Got Ourselves A Series

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer talks with players during the fourth quarter of game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer talks with players during the fourth quarter of game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports /
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Atlanta Hawks
Apr 27, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) defends Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) during the third quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. at Barclays Center. Brooklyn Nets won 120-115 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Horford Losing His Matchup

Horford isn’t the only starter who’s struggling, but the only player who’s had more problems in this series is Kyle Korver (more on him in a bit). Paul Millsap may be have been this team’s most consistent player this season, but the return of Horford is what transformed the Hawks from last year’s eighth seed to this year’s 60-win team.

During the regular season, Horford averaged 15.2 points, 3.2 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the floor. In the playoffs, his scoring has shrunk to 12.0 points on 42.3 percent shooting. Even if his rebounding and assist numbers are up, his offensive struggles are really starting to hurt this team.

The worst part is he’s been absolutely abused by Brook Lopez on both ends of the floor.

Brooklyn’s center is one of the best offensive bigs in the league when he’s healthy, but he’s been killing Atlanta to the tune of 21.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game on 54.2 percent shooting. Horford can barely slow him down on defense and Lopez’s physical play on the other end has neutralized Atlanta’s ultra-important stretch-five.

How has Lopez done it on the defensive end? Well, by packing the paint and daring Horford to beat the Nets with his jumper. So far, Horford’s failed miserably when it comes to spreading the floor:

Atlanta Hawks
Al Horford’s 2015 NBA Playoffs shot chart, per NBA.com. /

There’s no way anybody can pin this knotted-up series on Horford alone, but Big Al really needs to find a way to start scoring on Lopez and the suddenly stingy Brooklyn defense. Knocking down a midrange jumper every now and then would be a fine start.

Next: No. 3

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