How Atlanta Hawks Can Get Their Mojo Back in Time for the NBA Playoffs

The 55-18 Atlanta Hawks finally clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on Friday after a 99-86 win over the Miami Heat on Friday. It was a well-deserved distinction for the team, which is now just three wins away from a single-season franchise record for victories.

But all is not well in Atlanta, as the Hawks have lost some of their midseason luster due to injuries, rest to starters and uneven play. Overall, the team has lost six of its last 12 games.

The motivation to play hard has been understandably lower for Hawks players in the past month or so, with the team's seeding unofficially secured for a while. However, Atlanta's mediocre play probably can't continue for much longer, as the start of the playoffs is just three weeks away.

How will the Hawks regain their mojo by the time the postseason starts?

Find the Proper Balance of Rest and Reps

The Hawks' starting lineup of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Al Horford has played 850.5 minutes as a unit this season, more than any other five-man group in the NBA aside from the Los Angeles Clippers' starting five.

It's been successful, too, outscoring opponents by 7.7 points per 100 possessions.

However, the lineup hasn't played a single minute together in six of the Hawks' last eight games. This is partially due to minor injuries to Korver and Teague, but also due to scheduled rest by head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Rocky Widner/Getty Images

Even with the No. 1 seed wrapped up, it, the five players need to be on the court as a unit more frequently throughout the remainder of the regular season to hone their chemistry and individual skills for the playoffs.

There wouldn't be a more embarrassing end to the 2014-15 season for the Hawks than to lose a first-round series to a hungry No. 8 seed just because their starting lineup hadn't played significant minutes together in a while.

The way head coach Mike Budenholzer is doling out minutes now could leave the Hawks in danger of that. He's resting at least one starter most games, but usually two or three. The starters who do remain in the lineup are getting plenty of burn with guys they don't usually play with.

What's the solution? For the remainder of the regular season, Atlanta should trot out its preferred starting lineup (health permitting) against potential playoff foes and rest all five players in its other games.

	Yes or No?
March 30 vs. Milwaukee	Yes
March 31 at Detroit	No
April 4 vs. Brooklyn	Yes
April 7 at Phoenix	No
April 8 at Brooklyn	Yes
April 10 vs. Charlotte	Yes
April 12 at Washington	Yes
April 13 vs. New York	No
April 15 at Chicago	Yes

With this plan, Hawks starters would play together in six contests over the remaining 17 days of their regular seasons. This isn't physically taxing by any means, nor will it cause the group to lose chemistry.

Playing only against teams they might see in the playoffs would better prepare the lineup for the postseason and will also give the Hawks a better chance of winning these games, therefore propping up team morale.

In Atlanta's three games in which it doesn't play any of its starting lineup, a replacement group of Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha, Mike Muscala and Pero Antic would be the best option. Four of those players are in my proposed playoff rotation, with Muscala grabbing a spot only because of Mike Scott's toe injury.

This all-or-nothing approach to resting players would give the Hawks starters both adequate chemistry and rest for the playoffs.

Not only that, it would help the second unit gain experience for the postseason as it attempts to win games against opposing teams' starters.

Run Teams off the 3-Point Line

Atlanta is known for its accurate and high-volume three-point shooting, but its opponents are really giving the team a taste of its own medicine in March.

The Hawks haven't lost their shooting touch, nailing 39.3 percent of their looks from downtown this month, which is a touch better than their season average of 38.6 percent.

But they're really getting hammered on the other end:

	3PM	3PA	3P%
March	10.4	27.5	37.7
Rest of Season	8.5	25.6	33.2

If you don't think those March numbers don't look so bad, think again. The Hawks are allowing the second-most made three-pointers per game to their opponents while surrendering the sixth-highest percentage on long-range shots this month.

Every team ahead of them in both categories possess losing records, aside from the 41-32 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Atlanta's slippage in this area was most evident against the Golden State Warriors, the league's best three-point shooting team. The Warriors went 14-of-30 from deep in the 114-95 win over the Hawks on March 18, getting numerous open looks.

As the playoffs approach, the Hawks need to make it a priority to run teams off the three-point line. If this gives the opponent an open two-point jump shot, so be it.

Since Atlanta has surrendered a 37.7 shooting percentage from deep in March, other teams would need to hit 56.6 percent (37.7 multiplied by 1.5) of its mid-range jump shots to make this an even trade-off.

Considering no NBA squad comes even close to that success rate from 10-14 feet, 15-19 feet or 20-24 feet, the Hawks should gladly employ this tactic.

Get off to Faster Starts

Remember the days of the Hawks' 19-game win streak when they sprinted out to big first-half leads and could just coast to wins?

Those days weren't that long ago, but they sure feel like it.

Back in late December and all of January, Atlanta consistently looked like the team with more energy, better execution and the shrewder defensive game plan when each contest tipped off. As of late, however, that has certainly not been the case:

	Hawks Score	Opponent Score	Ahead at half
March	51.6	51.6	7 out of 14 games
19-game win streak	51.8	43.7	17 out of 19 games

In March, the Hawks have used their first halves as an opportunity to go through the motions—presumably because their playoff spot is secured—rather than establish themselves as the better and more prepared team.

Case in point: Against the San Antonio Spurs at Philips Arena on March 22, the Hawks allowed the Spurs to jump out to a 26-6 lead eight minutes into the game. San Antonio then coasted to a 114-95 victory.

Now, you'll be hard-pressed to find a team better than Gregg Popovich's Spurs at being prepared for a game. Still, allowing a 20-point deficit at home in the first quarter is not something Atlanta can get away with in the playoffs.

The Hawks need to get back into their pattern of building an early lead, then maintaining or extending the cushion for the remainder of the game.

This would allow the starters to play fewer minutes (in the games they are active for) and build good habits for the postseason.

Whether it's a different warm-up routine that energizes the players more or a slightly different game plan, Coach Bud needs to find some way to get his guys to play better in first halves.

Conclusion

Atlanta needs some semblance of momentum going into the postseason. The team's eighth-seeded opponent in the first round will be coming off an energizing playoff race, so it will be up to Coach Bud to help manufacture some motivation for the team before the postseason.

The Hawks are capable of making a smooth transition from their meaningless slate of late-season games to the postseason. However, they will have to make sure their starters get a good balance of rest and playing time together, tighten up their perimeter defense and come out strong at the beginning of games.

And, for what it's worth, Atlanta's players are still confident.

According to Vivlamore, Carroll said the following after the team's loss to the Spurs: "It's just a little adversity. When adversity hits, what are you going to do? We got a little out of sync, it's not a concern."

Now it's time for the Hawks to prove this adversity truly isn't a concern.

All statistics are from Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com/Stats and updated through March 30 unless otherwise indicated.

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