Biggest Adjustments Atlanta Hawks Must Make in Game 2 Versus Brooklyn Nets
It certainly wasn't the easiest of wins for the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Despite sprinting out to a 39-23 lead early in the second quarter during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs' first round, Atlanta needed the entire rest of the game to bury Brooklyn, eventually winning 99-92. The feisty, veteran-laden Nets gave the Hawks a run for their money by outmuscling them in the paint and taking advantage of their turnover-prone opponents.
The victory was a bit less comfortable than the top-seeded Hawks probably would've liked against the eighth-seeded Nets. So what can Atlanta do to improve its chances of earning a blowout win heading into Game 2 on Wednesday?
Sharpen Up Defensive Rotations
With the Nets scoring only 92 points (six below their season average) in Game 1, it may be tempting to think the Hawks played stellar defense.
That wasn't the case.
Atlanta did have some bright spots on the less glamorous end of the court, particularly with its on-ball defense. Several Hawks, most notably DeMarre Carroll and Kent Bazemore, were quick to snuff out driving lanes and body up ball-handlers throughout the game.
The main problem, however, was the team's defense off the ball. Many Hawks fell asleep when they weren't guarding the dribbler, giving the Nets numerous open looks from outside.
Luckily for Atlanta, Brooklyn was ice-cold on its jump shots, especially wide-open ones. Take a look at the below infographic that illustrates how badly the Nets shot Sunday, courtesy of NBA.com.
To summarize the graphic, Atlanta gave Brooklyn more open looks than the Nets are accustomed to attempting. However, the Nets didn't take advantage, shooting a lower percentage on their open looks and a much lower percentage on their wide-open looks than they usually do.
The Hawks might not be as lucky in Game 2, so tightening up defensive rotations and off-ball defense should be a main point of emphasis for head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Get Cleaner Play from the Point Guards
It's not a good sign when your two main point guards combine for eight turnovers with just five assists, but the Hawks got away with Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder doing just that Sunday.
Teague and Schroder did score well, with 30 points on 21 shots between the two of them. However, their dribbling and passing blunders negated everything else they did on the offensive end.
Unfortunately, Teague and Schroder's careless ball-handling ways have been a recurring theme for the past couple of months. Since the All-Star break, they have combined for 5.4 turnovers in 51.7 minutes per game. If you pretend the two are one player, that point guard would give the ball to the other team 3.8 times per 36 minutes. Yuck.
When both find the proper balance between aggressiveness and restraint, the Hawks fly high. Against the Sacramento Kings on March 9, Teague and Schroder put up a total of 19 points and 15 assists in just the first half.
Granted, it was the Kings, but Sacramento's No. 27 ranking in defensive efficiency, per ESPN.com, isn't much worse than Brooklyn's No. 24 ranking.
Whether it's postseason jitters or something else, the Hawks point guards need to be more judicious with the ball by not forcing difficult drives and passes.
Deliver a Strong Opening Punch
Heading into Game 2, the elephant in the room is the injury statuses of the Hawks All-Star big men, Paul Millsap and Al Horford.
Millsap injured his shoulder against the Nets in a regular-season game on April 4, missed five contests and then returned for the regular-season finale. In his two games back, he hasn't been the same. He's shot 4-of-20 and looked restricted by the shoulder padding he's worn to prevent reinjury.
However, that inhibitor could be gone for Game 2, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore.
Horford dislocated his pinky finger in the fourth quarter of Game 1, and although he returned later in the period, he hasn't decided whether he'll be available for Game 2, per Vivlamore. I'm no doctor, but something tells me he'll end up playing. It is the playoffs, after all.
Assuming both Millsap and Horford play, Budenholzer will want to make sure not to overwork them.
Therefore, a high-energy opening half (not just quarter, as was the case in Game 1) in which Atlanta asserts its dominance over Brooklyn would be perfect for the two ailing bigs. If Millsap and Horford are able to sit for most of the second half, they'll minimize both the risk of reinjury and the amount of stress placed on their hurt body parts.
Get Some More Rebounding in the Rotation
Rebounding has been an issue all season for the Hawks, but the problem could be magnified with Millsap's and Horford's injuries.
In Game 1, Brooklyn pounded Atlanta on the glass 47-39. Considering that the Nets are only 24th in rebound differential, compared to the Hawks' similarly poor No. 27 ranking, per ESPN.com, that will not do. Budenholzer should at least consider tweaking his rotation to remedy the problem on the boards.
The Hawks' top two big men off the bench, Pero Antic and Mike Scott, are both mediocre to poor rebounders. However, the next two posts in reserve, Mike Muscala and Elton Brand, are considerably better in that area.
| Pero Antic | 19 | 6.6 |
| Mike Scott | 11 | 6.4 |
| Mike Muscala | 0 | 8.5 |
| Elton Brand | 0 | 7.4 |
Am I suggesting that Coach Bud goes nuts with his rotation and switches the minutes of Antic and Scott with those of Muscala and Brand? Of course not.
However, I wouldn't be opposed to some minor adjustments. Maybe Muscala gets some first-quarter run with the starters to give the injured Horford some rest. Maybe Brand and Antic play together to form a defensively solid big-man combination.
Muscala especially is a guy who could become a factor in the rotation at some point in the postseason. He's 6'11" and 239 pounds and is definitely not a scrub.
Playing Antic and Scott exclusively as the bigs off the bench could prove to be costly on the boards in the later rounds of the playoffs, depending on the matchup. Budenholzer might as well get Muscala and Brand a few minutes here and there in this first-round series to help them establish some rhythm.
Conclusion
Will all of these adjustments come to fruition? Likely not, but completing even one or two of these should allow the Hawks to come away with another win on their home court in Game 2.
As always, the priority for Atlanta will be to continue following the system that got the team this far. Kyle Korver, who led the Hawks with 21 points Sunday, spoke about this, as reported by NBA.com's Sekou Smith:
"We're not just one person on this team. We're not playing hero ball. We go out there and play as a unit. There are a lot of nights where guys don't shoot the ball well or don't play as well as they'd like to. The reality is that Paul is probably finding his rhythm a little bit, and he will. We just keep on working our system and give you the lines we always give -- move the ball, play with the pass, play with space, play with pace, and keep on finding someone else.
"
I like the cohesive Hawks' chances to come away with a slightly more convincing win Wednesday. It may not be a full-fledged blowout, with the injuries to Horford and Millsap, but I predict a victory by about 12 to 15 points.
All statistics are from Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com/stats and updated through April 20 unless otherwise indicated.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
