Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Washington Wizards put on a stellar display of defense on the road in a 104-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at Philips Arena.
After surrendering 37 points in the first quarter, the Wizards tightened up defensively and gave up fewer points in each successive period. The Hawks scored just 35 points in the entire second half.
"DeMarre Carroll: "Can't score 35 points in the second half and expect to beat a good team like Washington" pic.twitter.com/zBlACc6xj5
— Peachtree Hoops (@peachtreehoops) May 3, 2015"
For most of the third and fourth quarters, it looked like the Wizards knew where the Hawks were going to pass and cut next as well as the Hawks did.
Offensively, Washington was led by its star-studded backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal, who combined for 46 of Washington's 104 points.
Atlanta was led by DeMarre Carroll, who did much of his damage before the Wizards defense ratcheted up its intensity. He finished the game with a team-high 24 points.
| John Wall | A+ |
| Bradley Beal | A |
| Paul Pierce | B+ |
| Marcin Gortat | A |
| Nene | F |
| Rest of Team | A |
| Paul Millsap | B- |
| Al Horford | B- |
| Jeff Teague | C |
| Kyle Korver | C- |
| DeMarre Carroll | A |
| Rest of Team | D+ |
Washington Wizards
John Wall: A+
As a floor general and distributor, Wall was excellent. He showed great patience in the pick-and-roll, attacking only when lanes opened and finding open teammates all game.
The problem with Wall's game was one that he struggled with all season. He settled for far too many pull-up two-point jumpers when there was plenty of time on the clock to reset and attack again.
"Hawks will live with Wall taking that floater any time he wants it.
— Seth Partnow (@SethPartnow) May 3, 2015"
He finished with 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting, 13 assists and seven rebounds.
Defensively, Wall did a great job of staying in front of Jeff Teague and, at times, Kyle Korver. He also had a big block off a nice help-down on Paul Millsap. He finished with three swats in the game.
Bradley Beal: A
You never want to see a player go down with an injury, and that was especially true in Beal's case. He was dealing prior to landing awkwardly on Al Horford's foot after a jump shot.
He would later return to the game but clearly didn't have the same lift or explosiveness he had earlier in the game.
He was a huge part of Washington's charge back into the game in the second and third quarters, scoring 21 of his 28 points in those frames.
He also did an excellent job of chasing Korver all over the floor and limiting space on his jump shots.
Paul Pierce: B+
The X-factor for the Wizards continues to be Paul Pierce, whose playoff experience is starting to look like one of the biggest additions from the 2014 offseason.
He carried Washington's offense early, scoring a quick seven points on three jumpers in the first quarter. He took a back seat as Wall and Beal began to wake up, but he still finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
Marcin Gortat: A
Marcin Gortat got off to a very slow start but really came alive in the second half as the Hawks started to wear down defending the pick-and-rolls initiated by Wall. Gortat relentlessly rolled hard to the rim, and it eventually started opening things up.
He also did a good job of attacking the boards and defending Horford on the other end.
Gortat finished the game with 12 rebounds and 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Nene: F
The one weak link in Washington's starting five was Nene, who did little more than eliminate space in his 17 minutes on the floor.
Nene had three rebounds, two turnovers and zero points on 0-of-4 shooting. He was passive all game and made the smaller lineups look excellent by comparison.
Rest of Team: A
Drew Gooden was a spark for the Wizards offense when the team was getting little else, particularly from their starting bigs, early. In just 14 minutes, he scored 12 points and went 2-of-3 from three-point range. His emergence as a stretch 4/5 continues to fascinate.
The biggest impact off the bench was made by Otto Porter, though. He played 34 minutes, mostly in the small-ball lineup that features Pierce as the stretch 4. That group works in large part due to Porter's versatility. He can guard a number of positions and knock down open shots on the other end.
Porter finished with a double-double off the bench, grabbing 11 rebounds and scoring 10 points while shooting 2-of-5 from downtown.
Atlanta Hawks
Paul Millsap: B-
Despite shooting just 6-of-17 from the field, Millsap put together a very strong stat line. He had 15 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks.
The problem for Millsap against the Wizards in this series could be the variety of defenders they can throw at him. Nene wasn't in there long, but his size advantage over Millsap was problematic.
Then, when the Wizards went small, they were able to swarm a lot of his touches and still get back to their man on several of the possessions Millsap kicked out of.
Al Horford: B-
Horford was a beast on the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. But he contributed to the Hawks' shooting woes by going just 7-of-19 from the field.
Like Millsap, he was able to find his teammates out of several post-ups or elbow touches, as he had seven assists. But the number of tough shots Gortat forced him into helped the Wizards get Wall opportunities in transition.
Jeff Teague: C
Teague appeared to aggravate an ankle injury in the first half, and that may have plagued him for the rest of the game.
He had a terrible time staying in front of Wall in pick-and-rolls and wasn't as explosive in his own sets on the other end.
He had 11 points and seven assists but shot just 4-of-14 from the field.
Kyle Korver: C-
A lot of Atlanta's offense is predicated on the space created by Korver's typically insane shooting stroke. He simply couldn't find many open looks Sunday.
Beal, Wall and Porter all got turns chasing Korver around the floor, and each gave up very little space on the ensuing shot attempts.
Korver went just 3-of-11 from three-point range and scored 13 points.
DeMarre Carroll: A
The one Hawk who put together an efficient night offensively was DeMarre Carroll. He was on fire in the first half, scoring 21 of his 24 points before the break.
The problem for Carroll wasn't really his problem. The Hawks stopped going to him in the second half. That was partially due to increased attention from Washington's defense, but there should've been more of an effort from the Hawks to keep feeding the hot hand.
Rest of Team: D+
Dennis Schroder had a productive 14 minutes off the bench, scoring nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, dishing out four assists and grabbing three boards.
The rest of Atlanta's bench—Pero Antic, Kent Bazemore and Mike Scott—combined to shoot 3-of-13 from the field on the way to nine points.
Schroder was the only reserve with a positive plus/minus at plus-one.
Coming Up Next
Game 2 of the series will be in Atlanta on Tuesday, May 5, at 8 p.m. ET.
Health will be a big key for both teams, with Teague and Beal both hobbled after Game 1.
Atlanta will also need to figure out a few counters to its normal sets, as the Wizards showed they've scouted that offense pretty well.
Washington, meanwhile, has a great opportunity to take a commanding series lead if it can tighten up shot selection and eliminate some contested long twos.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
