The Atlanta Hawks Must Get Back To The Basics

“What the hell is wrong with the Atlanta Hawks?” — a popular question posed by many NBA aficionados before the commencement of the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals.

The team that many proclaimed to be the San Antonio Spurs of the East, who played the game of basketball at its purest form, has seemingly faltered as the increased pressure of playoff basketball weighs on their already slumped shoulders — barely clawing their way out of the first two rounds against the uninspiring Brooklyn Nets and the short-handed Washington Wizards.

Their trademark ball movement surfaces few and far in between. The dagger Kyle Korver transition threes are even more of an infrequent occurrence. The Hawks has lost their mojo… and their swagger.

Sure enough, pundits are quick to declare that their style of play is not conducive to the way basketball is played during mid-April to late-June. Talking heads are once again falsely reiterating the old adage of “you don’t live by the jumpshot, you die by the jumpshot” (even though a well-founded argument can be made that the last four NBA champions were all jump-shooting teams).

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However, contrary to popular belief, the Hawks are still playing a similar brand of ball — they’re not executing their offensive gameplan as consistently, nor has their ball and man movement been nearly as crisp and aesthetic; but far the most part, they’re still generating quality looks.

In particular, they’re enjoying roughly around the same number of uncontested three-point attempts per game in the playoffs as they did during the regular season. The problem? Atlanta is failing to make the opposition pay for their defensive mishaps.

In fact, the Hawks are converting on only 34.6 percent of their 22.8 uncontested (with no defender within four feet of the shooter) three-point attempts per game thus far during their playoff run, per NBA.com’s SportVU Data; a rather significant decrease when compared to the 38.6 percent mark they shot, on an eerily similar 22.3 attempts a contest, during the regular season.

The primary culprit to their downturn in shooting efficacy is perhaps the league’s most lethal catch-and-shoot artist, Kyle Korver. Specifically, the All-Star shooting guard made over 51.2 percent of his uncontested three-point attempts during the regular season; but, ever since the playoffs have started, that mark has plummeted to a banal 37.7 percent.

Korver Shot Chart /

More alarmingly, the Hawks have shown a concerning tendency to undertake in a bevy of isolation post-up forays when their outside shot deserts them — opting to pound it inside to Al Horford or Paul Millsap as if they were a prime Shaquille O’Neal.

Not surprisingly, their offense becomes abnormally stagnant during the aforementioned stretches, highlighted by their slew of perimeter players serving as mere bystanders.

Deja Vu In Game 1

The Hawks would regrettably follow same script during game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. Explicitly, Atlanta came out of the gates moving the ball, exploiting mismatches, and curating a cavalcade of high yielding looks.

Jeff Teague abused the hobbled Kyrie Irving by repeatedly invading the paint through the high pick-and-roll game. Likewise, Paul Millsap utilized his versatility and took Tristan Thompson off the dribble from the top of the key time and time again, forcing the Cavaliers’ D to contract into full-out scramble mode. Meanwhile, Al Horford successfully lured Timofey Mozgov out of the paint, and DeMarre Carroll aggressively attacked Cleveland’s efforts to close out the three-point line.

May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the fourth quarter of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

In other words, the Hawks were playing their style — and more importantly, forcing the Cavs to play at their pace.

But, once again, even with all the havoc their penetration and ball movement caused, Atlanta would struggle to convert on their fruitful three-point opportunities. In addition to shooting an abysmal 4-of-24 from beyond the arc, the Hawks only made three of their 20 uncontested looks from three — a head-scratching figure to say the least.

Sure enough, by the third quarter, as the game transpired into a nip-and-tuck affair, Atlanta’s offense predictably bogged down yet again — as too often did their offensive possessions end in a Horford low-block iso with less than eight seconds left on the shot clock.

More alarmingly, by the end of the third, with LeBron James taking a breather, instead of cutting into the Cavs’ 71-65 lead, Cleveland was able to extend their six-point advantage to 18 — thanks in large to J.R. Smith‘s momentary transformation into a Kobe Bryant–Stephen Curry step-back three-point spitting hybrid.

To remain competitive, the Hawks must stay true to their identity — they can’t afford to go through offensive lulls when their shot isn’t falling. Eventually, one would think, that their shooting — specifically, their ability to make uncontested threes — will regress back to the mean.

With that being said, in conjunction to not holding the ball, or simply dumping the ball down to Horford or Millsap, the Hawks should look to make the following imperative adjustments in Game 2.

Key Adjustments For Game 2

Scratch The 1-3 Pick-And-Roll Switch

Early on during the contest, the Hawks were steadfast to switch the LeBron James-Kyrie Irving pick-and-roll; thereby, creating a severe mismatch in the interior by having Teague guard LeBron. James would go on to get several easy looks, either, shooting over the top of the diminutive Teague, or establishing deep post position before enjoying an easy bucket.

Going forward, especially considering that Irving is blatantly less than 100 percent, the Hawks should look to play the pick-and-roll straight up, and force Kyrie to make a play off the bounce.

While the status of Carroll — LeBron’s primary defender — for Game 2 remains a gametime decision, as the gruesome-looking, non-contact knee injury he suffered late in the fourth was thankfully — not just for Hawks fans, but for the entire NBA universe — deemed to have no structural damage, the responsibility of guarding James will most likely fall on the shoulders of Kent Bazemore. Bazemore is smaller than Carroll in stature, but he shares the same type of fearless, unabating attitude that the Junk Yard Dog plays with.

And when the Cavs decide to small, sliding LeBron to the four, that’s when the Hawks should go to the Millsap on James matchup.

Millsap Should Take A Page Out Of Boris Diaw‘s Book

Speaking of Millsap on James, the former Louisiana Tech Bulldog did an admirable job of sticking with LeBron during the second half of game one.

As much as Reggie Miller, who was calling the game on TNT, dogged Millsap for pressing up on James, it was actually quite effective — particularly, it seduced LeBron to go on a mano-a-mano rampage down the stretch, enabling the Hawks to get back in the game as the Cavs failed to move the ball.

Millsap Pressure LBJ /

But, as we saw on one of the last plays of the game, LeBron figured out how to beat Millsap’s shock-induced pressure D; specifically, by pulling Horford out of the paint in a spread 4-5 pick-and-roll set, clearing everyone out of the middle and blowing by Millsap.

In Game 2, when the Cavs deploy their small-ball lineup, Millsap must take Webber’s advice and let LeBron come to him. If LeBron is making contested mid-range Js, then you shake his hand and tell him good game. More often than not, however, James will fail to convert on 40 percent of such attempts off-the-dribble; thereby, allowing the Hawks to ignite their transition game.

Teague Has To Finish Strong

Statistically, Teague had a great game.

In reality, he had a good first half.

While he was able to inspire fear on the Cavs’ interior D through his penetration, and take advantage of his matchup with the aforementioned hobbled Irving, Teague failed to sustain his relentless attack during the second half.

Most notably, too many times did Teague venture into the paint, only to pump-fake, hesitate before giving an ill-advised effort at drawing a foul. Teague has to finish at the rim with some sort of conviction for a full 48 if the Hawks have any chance at advancing to the NBA finals.

What Now?

Game 2 is a must-win. They put themselves in a compromising position by losing home court, but not all is lost.

However, they can’t bail on what got them here. You can’t let the iso-centric Cavs beat you in the ball movement department, as they did during game one.

Hawks Cavs /

Sure, J.R. won’t make eight threes again and pour in 28; but, the rest of the Cavs’ cast — in particular, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova, and James Jones — won’t combine to shoot 0-of-10 from the land of the great beyond, either.

With that being said, LeBron is the only consistent playmaking threat on the Cavaliers’ incumbent active roster. You contain the King; you limit the Cavs’ scoring opportunities. It’s as simple as that.

On offense, Atlanta must stay loyal to their blueprint: ball movement and pace. Whether their open looks go in or out, they have to continue to play with floor spacing and perpetual action — for better or for worse that is the only chance they have.

Next: 5 Likely First Time NBA All-Stars Next Season

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