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Preston wrote:Bud's coaching philosophy has been predicated on requiring all five positions on the court being able to space the floor. Now, after signing Dwight Howard this offseason...it would seem that Bud will be faced with making some changes to his offensive scheme.

Plugging Dwight Howard into Bud's system of pace and space is like attempting to squeeze a square peg through a round hole—it just isn't going to work. He can't shoot from short, mid, or long range.

...it is safe to say that Coach Bud has zero intentions to use Howard in the same ways as he did with Horford. In fact, he has hinted that he plans on going back to his roots from his early coaching stint in San Antonio when he was an assistant for Gregg Popovich.

"Offensively, I think having a guy that can put pressure on the rim is big," Budenholzer stated at Hawks introductory press conference, "In a lot of ways, we've adjusted to who we've had the first three years and in some ways, it will be going back to what I know maybe even better and maybe even more comfortable with having someone who can put that kind of pressure on the rim."

[H]ow will swapping Horford for Howard affect the rest of the team? For starters, Dennis Schroder is really going to miss Horford's screens. Now that Schroder is the lead orchestrator for the offense, he is going to be using the pick and roll with more frequency than any of his previous years. Hopefully, Schroder and Howard will develop chemistry early on, making that 1-5 pick and roll a thing of beauty. With the inclusion of Howard, the Hawks should see an uptick in second chance points this season.

Jamaaliver wrote:Showing some love for one of our REALGM Alumni who's now a contributor over at Peachtree Hoops.

From the poster formerly known as P-Mott:

Preston wrote:Bud's coaching philosophy has been predicated on requiring all five positions on the court being able to space the floor. Now, after signing Dwight Howard this offseason...it would seem that Bud will be faced with making some changes to his offensive scheme.

Plugging Dwight Howard into Bud's system of pace and space is like attempting to squeeze a square peg through a round hole—it just isn't going to work. He can't shoot from short, mid, or long range.

...it is safe to say that Coach Bud has zero intentions to use Howard in the same ways as he did with Horford. In fact, he has hinted that he plans on going back to his roots from his early coaching stint in San Antonio when he was an assistant for Gregg Popovich.

"Offensively, I think having a guy that can put pressure on the rim is big," Budenholzer stated at Hawks introductory press conference, "In a lot of ways, we've adjusted to who we've had the first three years and in some ways, it will be going back to what I know maybe even better and maybe even more comfortable with having someone who can put that kind of pressure on the rim."

[H]ow will swapping Horford for Howard affect the rest of the team? For starters, Dennis Schroder is really going to miss Horford's screens. Now that Schroder is the lead orchestrator for the offense, he is going to be using the pick and roll with more frequency than any of his previous years. Hopefully, Schroder and Howard will develop chemistry early on, making that 1-5 pick and roll a thing of beauty. With the inclusion of Howard, the Hawks should see an uptick in second chance points this season.

Here

This is a nice read with some interesting points and pretty useful research nuggets.

Thoughts?

Predictions?

PandaKidd wrote:...LethalShooter is showing constant videos of Dwight shooting midrange jumpers, and 3s. He states in 1 video "Will Dwight shoot 3s? HELL NO, but he has to learn to have confidence from anywhere on the floor".

PandaKidd wrote:I think Coach Bud is a really really great coach, very high IQ. But, I havent really seen him try to deviate from this system in the last 3 years. Now, my ` question to Bud would be WHO MADE THE DECISION TO HAVE HORFORD SHOOT 3s? Was it Bud, or was it Horford. I feel it was Bud, and Horford, obliged.

Coach Bud wrote:The first year [AL] watched how the team played and the spacing of the offense and the opportunities in the offense started to plant the notion that this could be helpful to us. Last year, he started to do it some. Now, he spent the whole summer working on it and gaining confidence. I think he’s there...

We feel good when Al is getting his shots, where he is getting them and how much space he is getting...

...they are good shots. We want him to shoot them. He looks very confident and comfortable. It’s a way for us to be harder to guard. We still want to get to the basket. We still want to collapse the defense and get to the free-throw line. When you have more space, you can do that.

AL Horford wrote:It’s been a process. All summer I’ve worked on it some but now that the season is here, now that we have games, you get a better feel for it. I think the biggest thing for me is coach is confident in allowing me to do it. I feel good shooting it so it’s something I’ll keep working on.

If you look at our offense, there are times when (the opposition) is giving me that shot, that top-of-the-key 3. Then there are some other times when I have to read (the defense) and make sure I pick-and-pop or that I just roll. It’s just making sure I have balance.

Millsap: Howard should help Hawks ’ floor spacing

Count Paul Millsap among those in the Hawks organization would initially believe that the addition of Dwight Howard will help the team’s offensive floor spacing next season...several players and coaches have indicated [a similar line of thinking].

How does Millsap expect the Hawks’ offense be different with the addition of Howard?

“Offensively, we have a consistent roll guy, a guy who can put pressure on the basket every time you set a pick-and-roll,” Millsap told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “He’s a guy you have to pay attention to down low. We are hoping, and I think everyone sees the vision, of the court opening up. A lot more open shots. A little more physicality. Things that we needed to get better at, I think we have.”

Millsap added that opponents will have to pay close attention to Howard’s ability to play inside. If that is the case, shots should be available on the perimeter. It will be a contrast from a system where Horford pulled the opposition away from the basket.

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said last month that he may be more comfortable with an offense that incorporates a traditional big man who can get inside the paint on offense and protect the rim on defense.

Jamaaliver wrote:

PandaKidd wrote:...LethalShooter is showing constant videos of Dwight shooting midrange jumpers, and 3s. He states in 1 video "Will Dwight shoot 3s? HELL NO, but he has to learn to have confidence from anywhere on the floor".

I'm wary of this. As coach, it's your job to put players into position to succeed. To play to their strengths.

This is the opposite of that. We've seen Dwight carry a franchise by surrounding him with shooters and allowing him to dominate inside one-on-one. That's the proven, successful approach.

This concerns me greatly.

PandaKidd wrote:[Bud] had a chance to maybe try an develop Horford into a post player, instead made him into a 3 pt launcher. Itll be interesting to see because , IMO , 2 things Bud has been opposed to he will have to embrace now:1) A low post player who has no range...

LethalShooter is showing constant videos of Dwight shooting midrange jumpers...He states that [Howard] has to learn to have confidence from anywhere on the floor".

ATL Boy wrote:Dwight being able to hit a mid range shot here and there is great, it'll keep the defense honest on pick&rolls.

But if he'll be exclusively camped outside the paint doing an Al Horford impression then that's a problem. We have one of the most dominant C's in the game on our team, in a conference where there's maybe one or two C's at most (Drummond, Whiteside) who could bang with him. We need to utilize Dwight's strengths and play around those strength of we want any chance of hitting our ceiling.


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Coach Bud wrote:The way that Dwight can fit with us offensively, I think (it's) having a guy that can put pressure on the rim as a big. The way we run motion, the 4 (power forward) and 5 (center) are interchangeable. It's great to have somebody that is going to roll and put pressure on the rim and have shooting around him.

...in a lot of ways we've adjusted to who we've had the first three years, and in some ways it will be going back to what I know, and maybe even better and maybe even more comfortable with: having someone who can put that kind of pressure on the rim.

DA wrote:...Howard still has enough tread left on the tires to give the Hawks defense and rebounding. The issue is the team's transition on offense...Atlanta ran so much through Horford -- pick-and-rolls, slip screens, pick-and-pops -- things that Howard is not good at.

But if there's one thing coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff are great at, it's finding out ways to utilize what they have. So Atlanta will no doubt develop some quick hitters and post-ups for Howard, who will have room to operate with All-Star Paul Millsap able to stretch the floor and Bazemore able to run the baseline.

Jamaaliver wrote:David Aldridge's take:

DA wrote:...Howard still has enough tread left on the tires to give the Hawks defense and rebounding. The issue is the team's transition on offense...Atlanta ran so much through Horford -- pick-and-rolls, slip screens, pick-and-pops -- things that Howard is not good at.

But if there's one thing coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff are great at, it's finding out ways to utilize what they have. So Atlanta will no doubt develop some quick hitters and post-ups for Howard, who will have room to operate with All-Star Paul Millsap able to stretch the floor and Bazemore able to run the baseline.

Here

PandaKidd wrote:Theres vids of D12 running PnRs with Lethal, and he looks really good. Im not worried about the outside shooting. being and AVID player, the 1 thing to give you confidence is consistent shooting. Doesnt matter if its midrange or whatever. give you confidence all over the court.

His main problem was free throw shooting, learning midrange shots will help with FT shooting. its just repetition. thats all it is. If you can get comfortable shooting from the elbow moving, you should be able to shoot FTs much easier.

Most of Howard's teams have inevitably fed him on the block for deliberate, sunk-cost possessions. This summer he joined the outfit least likely to indulge him. Mike Budenholzer and the Atlanta Hawks aren't beyond compromising their pass-happy style for a superstar, but those compromises only go so far. The post is an area of inherent inefficiency—especially for an aging, oft-injured Howard. Atlanta has deliberately kept its offense out of that muck whenever possible, opting instead to keep the ball buzzing from one side of the court to the other through the best spacing its rotation can manage. Only four teams in the league used fewer possessions in the post last season, per Synergy Sports. At least one of these parties must bend. More likely is that both do, meeting in the middle in a space where a three-year, $70.5 million contract makes sense for all involved.

No matter the specifics, everything that we know about Atlanta's offensive construction suggests that Howard will be featured this coming year in fundamentally different ways. The pick-and-roll has been less a centerpiece for the Hawks than a starting point; its functions feed into the kind of movement and flow Budenholzer is looking for, though part of its intention lies in creating small advantages to leverage into larger ones.

jayu70 wrote:Another article about Dwight and the Offense