How will Dwight Howard fit into Budenholzer’s offense?

[Jamaaliver]

Tiago Splitter's best guess at what to expect the Hawks' new offense to look like falls in line with what other players (Millsap, Jarret Jack) have predicted, also:

Splitter was with the Spurs when Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was an assistant. He knows all about the desire for a center who can go to the rim in pick-and-roll situations. The threat puts pressure on a defense and opens space for shooters. Splitter sees an evolution of the Hawks offense with the offseason changes.

“Al and Paul (Millsap) they shoot a lot of 3’s,” Splitter said. “They want to be open. They don’t want to run to the rim and be over there. Dwight has the physical presence to run (to the rim) and collapse the defense in the zone and open space for the shooters. That’s a good thing. Coach Bud is thinking about it. That is what the defense is going to do when you have Dwight. They are going to collapse the zone or it’s going to be easy for Dwight. It’s going to open more space for our shooters for sure.”

Here

[Jamaaliver]

An excerpt from the Thabo interview he did with C-Viv this month:

C-Viv: Dwight Howard will replace Al Horford; how do you see the team being different next season...with Howard?

Thabo: (Howard) is not as much of a stretch-5. Al could really pick-and-pop and shoot the ball. I think Dwight is going to me more of a force close to the basket. I think it’s definitely going to have an impact on the defensive end and the intensity that we play with. It’s definitely something that we were missing. So I think he’s going to come and fill a big void that we had in that area.



C-Viv: I’ve been told that the power forward and center are interchangeable in the Hawks’ system. With Howard being a traditional center, do you think that will still be the case?

Thabo: On the defensive end, it’s still possible. On the offensive end, we have a style of play that we move the ball so much. Yes, I think what Al was doing – catching the ball up top and swinging and going to the pick-and-pop – now it’s going to give us some different options by rolling to the basket a lot more, bringing some force to the basket, maybe giving guys open shots on the outside. It’s going to be interesting.



C-Viv: Also, I’m told that the presence of Howard will open up some outside shooting. Do you agree?

Thabo: That’s common knowledge of basketball. Guys rolling to the basket who are that athletic ...they are going to have to guard that. We are going to have a little bit of a different feel. Maybe it’s going to be a little more open on the wings. There were times when we had all five guys outside of the 3-point line last year. That’s going to be different.

Here


Another player echoing the merits of a player like D12 capable of putting pressure on the painted area.

It's also encouraging to hear yet another guy acknowledge that they spent too much time as a team out on the perimeter...living and dying by the 3-pointer much too often.

[Jamaaliver]

From basketball Insiders:

Howard isn’t Horford, so the Hawks will have to adjust the way they play on both ends of the court, but Howard could find himself in a beneficial position if he plays ball.

Howard doesn’t have a midrange jumper, but he can dive to the basket hard off of pick-and-rolls, making himself a big target that will draw help defenders to the rim. Ideally Howard will have an easy opportunity to score at the rim or wide open teammates on the perimeter to pass to, or failing that the ball handler can simply use Howard as a decoy and find an open shooter himself.

At this point in his career, opposing defenses are going to force Howard to score one-on-one more often than not, so it makes more sense to utilize Howard in the pick-and-roll. However, Howard isn’t always a willing participant when it comes to this. Last season, Howard only finished pick-and-rolls on 9.3% of all of his offensive sets, which is surprisingly low. By comparison, Horford engaged in the pick-and-roll on 24.7% of his offensive possessions.

Howard needs to be a willing participant in pick-and-roll sets with Dennis Schröder and dive hard to the basket, which will make him a target at the rim and should open up his teammates on the perimeter...Howard likely won’t be the focal point on the Hawks’ offense, but by being a strong roll-man and fighting for offensive rebounds and putbacks, he could start to rebuild his reputation as one of the league’s more effective all-around centers.

Beyond simple pick-and-rolls, Howard should also benefit by playing alongside Millsap. Millsap will be the best power forward Howard has ever played alongside, and if he can recreate even part of the chemistry Horford had with Millsap, he should benefit from that dynamic as well.

Here

[Jamaaliver]

C-Viv at the AJC just ran a featured article on this topic:

The Hawks offense is going to be different this season.

Through interviews with several sources throughout the NBA, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes an in-depth look at the plan for the Hawks offensive attack with Howard at center.


In the first three seasons under coach Mike Budenholzer, the Hawks’ ball-movement offense worked with Al Horford in the middle. The center stretched the floor by eventually extending his range out to the 3-point line...Howard is a traditional center who will play in and out of the post.

Rim runner-Rim trailer

Hawks coaches have longed to employ a rim runner-rim trailer strategy with some regularity. However, the strategy was limited by the strengths of the personnel. The concept revolves around the big men on the floor. The rim runner is the big who did not get the rebound and races down the floor to put immediate pressure on the rim. The rim trailer is the big who controls the rebound and gets up floor to be in position to play off the pick-and-roll.

With Howard, the Hawks will run a lot more dive pick-and-rolls with the big man rolling to the rim or drag plays along the sideline.


Defenses can’t 'half-it'

With Teague or Dennis running the point, both with the ability to break down a defense and get to the basket, Horford would pop off the pick for a mid-range jump shot. Teams could half-it defensively – that is use their length and athleticism from the weak side to slow Horford for a step and recover. With Horford, the defense could halfway commit and still stay matched up on the 3-point line. With Howard, they can’t halfway commit because he will get too deep of a position to post up or finish above the rim.

Simply, the belief is that defenses must make a decision – do they want to give Howard an easy shot at the rim or do they want to give up an open shot trying to run a shooter off the 3-point line.

“They have to collapse the zone,” Splitter said recently. “You can’t guard Dwight with just one guy. He’s solid in the post and he’s big. You have to help.”


More open 3-pointers

The Hawks offense is based on ball-movement, pick-and-rolls and 3-point shots. The belief is that the more of a rim threat in the pick-and-roll game, the better the 3-point shots will be available.

Three-point shots come in three ways: an isolation play one-on-one, dribble penetration and a kick out or a pass out of a double team in the post to the weak side. The latter is the key with Howard now in the offense.

Last season the Hawks were 15th in 3-pt percentage (35.0). In their 60-win season of 2014-15, they were second in 3-pt percentage (38.0). Efficiency from the 3-point line will be major key to the Hawks offensive success.

Here

[Jamaaliver]

^This was a really good read. It's clear Vivlamore really did his homework here. Rarely do mainstream sports pages get this technical with X's and O's talk, but it all makes sense from a scheme and strategy standpoint.

I still believe Horford was a more natural fit next to D12, especially in an offense like the one listed above. Millsap has the more varied offensive game...but Horford's superior jump-shooting and passing would pair pretty seamlessly with a more traditional Center.

As it stands, Millsap and Dwight should be more than effective. And I believe they will be much more difficult to contain come the post-season.

Is there any front-court in the East capable of standing up to ours?

How will Baze, Thabo and Korver manage on the wings with all that extra space?

Can Dennis really run this show with two such accomplished interior players clamoring for the ball on the majority of plays?

[jayu70]

^This was a really good read. It's clear Vivlamore really did his homework here. Rarely do mainstream sports pages get this technical with X's and O's talk, but it all makes sense from a scheme and strategy standpoint.

I still believe Horford was a more natural fit next to D12, especially in an offense like the one listed above. Millsap has the more varied offensive game...but Horford's superior jump-shooting and passing would pair pretty seamlessly with a more traditional Center.

As it stands, Millsap and Dwight should be more than effective. And I believe they will be much more difficult to contain come the post-season.

Is there any front-court in the East capable of standing up to ours?

How will Baze, Thabo and Korver manage on the wings with all that extra space?

Can Dennis really run this show with two such accomplished interior players clamoring for the ball on the majority of plays?

C-Viv nails one

The jury is still out on how effective Al would be as full time PF (I would have liked to see it). His jump-shooting was pretty open because C didn't want to leave the paint to guard him, against PF, I think they guard him tighter so those open looks may not be as open. Also against centers if they closed out on him, he had the foot speed to get by them (though he didn't do it enough).

Atlanta lead the league (or top 3) last year in WIDE open shots (or maybe just 3s), they just didn't convert, hopefully they do this year.

I wouldn't consider Paul a 'clamourer'. Dwight on the other hand - yes. He needs to adjust his thought process about his touches and jow it affects the rest of his game when he doesn't get them.

[Jamaaliver]

Sportingnews takes a stab at how Dwight can improve the offense:

Al Horford is the perfect modern-day center...going from that sort of versatility at center to Dwight Howard will change the Hawks significantly. Howard is a traditional big man who offers little-to-no spacing outside the paint. Figuring out how to incorporate that into their free-flowing system will take major adjustments from everyone on the roster.

He helps them in certain areas they've been lacking over the last two seasons, such as rebounding, cutting and rim-running. With that in mind, let's take a look at four ways Howard will change the Hawks starting next season.

Howard is a scary pick-and-roll player

Howard's inability to pop to the elbows like Horford will certainly hurt their spacing, but there's tremendous value in having a player who can roll to the basket and finish over 60 percent of their shots.

Additionally, Dennis Schröder scored over 50 percent of his points in the pick-and-roll last season. Making things more complicated is that the Hawks will have to overcome teams going under every screen to bait Schröder into settling for outside shots so that they can contain Howard’s rolls.


Howard's offensive rebounding is much-needed

Howard’s rebounding prowess on both ends of the floor will make a tremendous difference from Day 1. According to Nylon Calculus, Howard also chased after nearly a quarter of available offensive rebounds when he was on the floor and secured them at a rate of 51.4 percent.

Howard is the rim-runner the Hawks are looking for

The general idea is that the big man who doesn’t secure the defensive rebound leaks out in transition in an attempt to get a deep post-up early in the shot clock, while the other trails the play for a spot-up opportunity or pick-and-roll. Putting a greater emphasis on rim-running will be a way for the Hawks to get quality looks close to the basket, and it should help Howard get his post touches.

Howard's cutting should fit well with Millsap's playmaking

Howard scored 22.2 percent of his points on cuts last season. It won’t completely replace Horford’s ability to step out to the 3-point line, but it will at least force defenses to make a decision when ball handlers get into the lane. Millsap will have to learn how to make plays with Howard hanging around the baseline as opposed to Horford parking himself 16 feet from the basket. In its simplest form, he will have two reads to make: Either continue attacking if the shot blocker sticks to Howard or make a nifty pass to Howard if they decide to slide over.

Here

[Jamaaliver]

More indication that Dwight will work outside of the paint on offense?

Howard wants to improve outside shooting

“Coach (Mike Budenholzer) has total confidence in me shooting the basketball. So, that’s not an issue. I think in the past I’ve started to shoot and then I’ve stopped. I can’t allow missing or anything like that to affect how I play on the floor…

“It’s the mentality,” Howard said. “In my younger years, when I shot those shots I laughed and joked. I don’t think people took it serious when I did that even if I made it. If people see that I’m taking that part of my game seriously, then they’ll get used to it. I think it’s something that they’ve never really seen, especially since I’ve been playing in the NBA. It’s all about how I do it."

Last season with the Rockets, Howard had his highest field goal percentage of his career at .620. His average distance of a field goal attempt was 2.6 feet. His shooting percentage was .626 from 0-2 feet, .378 from 3-9 feet, .400 from 10-15 feet and .000 from 16 feet and up. Here

[Jamaaliver]

A nice piece from The Ringer, the one true successor to the Grantland legacy...

Dwight Howard’s Last chance to get things right


Howard’s hometown Atlanta Hawks signed him to a three-year, $70.5 million deal. It will be an awkward fit. Under Mike Budenholzer’s knockoff Spurs offense, players are in constant motion. And the pick-and-roll, though not the core of the offense, is an important building block. Per Synergy, only four teams used fewer post-ups than the Hawks last season.

This raises questions:

•Will Coach Bud change his system?
•Will Dwight alter his expectations?
•Will Dennis Schröder become the latest Howard teammate to openly loathe him?
•Or will it be Paul Millsap?
•Or Kent Bazemore? (I can’t picture Baze hating anything or anyone, but we are talking about Dwight Howard.)

Howard is the greatest center of his generation. Why doesn’t he have the warm acceptance of his peers? Because James, Wade, Melo, and CP3 are the cool kids, and Dwight is the kind of player who needs to go on national television to explain why no one likes him.

The Hawks are probably Dwight’s last chance to slip through the conceptual sliding doors and embrace what he’s truly great at. If Coach Bud can convince Dwight that rolling to the rim, is in his best interests, the Hawks will have a very effective player. Last season, 54 percent of Schröder’s offensive possessions were pick-and-rolls, the third-highest percentage of such plays in the league. Dwight’s best chance for a truly fresh start is eschewing his post-ups and following his own advice to play hard and not worry about touches.

Here

[Jamaaliver]

This is easily the most detailed preview of what to expect from D12 in Bud's offense:

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said simply expecting opposing defenses to double-team Howard is a simplistic view. He said he expects to use Howard much as the Magic did early in his career.


“I wouldn’t say expecting as far as double-teams who is going to or who is not going to is part of the Dwight factor or Dwight equation,” Budenholzer said. “I think the way he has been probably been used the best is the way Orlando used him, a lot of pick-and-rolls to a post-up and pick-and-rolls to create spacing and create pressure on the rim, and create angles and places where he can catch it in the post and catch it deep and score quickly and a of more traditional post-ups. Hopefully, you’ll see Dwight get a lot of both. If he scores 40 or 50 and we win then we will be happy. If he scores 40 or 50 and the other team wins, I’m sure that other coach will think they did a great job.”

Here


Sounds like we're making huge adjustments and making Dwight the focal point of the offense. And rightfully so...I do wonder if this comes at the expense of Millsap, though.

Or if Dennis is the right PG to initiate this type of offense.

[Nazrmohamed]

Im so happy you guys got Dwight and ate happy with him so far. I feel like Dwight's been disrespected for years. I know he's not the same player he was in Orlando but his fall off has been greatly exaggerated and made worse by him being in situations where the coaches didn't know how to use his skills or felt that his only skill was that of a defender/ rebounder. The nba has changed and more and more coaches are of that new breed where they just don't know what to do with a C.

Alot of critics bashed him going to Atlanta cuz it again looked like a team that didn't fit him dt their propensity to shoot long jumpers, however this coach just made good with what he had and knowing that he came from a Spurs lineage I knew he could run a balanced attack. The Hawks will still shoot alot of threes but I think there'll be room for everyone to flourish. Not a fan of the Hawks but I love alot of their players so Ill be tuning in when I can

[jayu70]

Peachtree Hoops Overview of Offense:

More rolling, less popping

The Hawks are still initiating the offense with their typical weave action in the half court offense after which they transition into their pick and roll techniques. Last season, Al Horford strongly preferred to find space to catch and shoot after setting the ball screen in the pick and roll. Not surprisingly we saw a lot more roll action from Dwight Howard on Monday night; we’ve all heard the phrase “pressure at the rim” enough since July to be prepared for this change.

DS-17 at the point

Dennis Schröder’s night started in encouraging fashion as he converted his first 2 field goal attempts at the rim and assisted on 3 consecutive Howard finishes at the basket through the pick and roll play. But Schröder missed on all 4 of his field goal attempts outside of layup range. With the offensive changes coming into this season I have been hoping that Schröder’s shot distribution would start to look more like what we typically see from Tony Parker in the Spurs system.

Winging it from the 3-point line

I didn’t expect that the 3-point shooting from the wings could actually be worse than last season considering that Korver is entering this season fully healthy and the reportedly fantastic summer Tim Hardaway Jr. had this past off season. But the Hawks are barely scratching 25% over their first three games as a team in this preseason including an awful 2 of 19 effort from long range in Monday’s game. Korver’s only make from three in this game was a 30-footer he was forced to take after picking up his dribble while Schröder apparently got lost in his assignment off the ball.

It appears to me that Hawks wings are all struggling to adjust to a very different spacing element in the offense this season with Howard drawing attention inside. Last season with the pick and pop action the off ball wings tended to find natural spacing near the baseline to balance the floor with the primary activity taking place at the top of the key. With both Howard and Schröder (hopefully) looking to force play closer to the basket with roll and/or penetration action, the spacing for the off ball wings is getting pushed higher on the floor near or above the 3-point break.

http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2016/10/13/13253390/atlanta-hawks-offense-preseason-nba

[Jamaaliver]

Yeah, I saw this earlier, and it's a very well written piece. Obviously, it's only pre-season and the last game was against backups only...but it does allow for some speculation for what principles we'll be adhering too.

But the Hawks are barely scratching 25% over their first three games as a team in this preseason.

It appears to me that Hawks wings are all struggling to adjust to a very different spacing element in the offense this season with Howard drawing attention inside. Last season with the pick and pop action the off ball wings tended to find natural spacing near the baseline to balance the floor with the primary activity taking place at the top of the key. With both Howard and Schröder (hopefully) looking to force play closer to the basket with roll and/or penetration action, the spacing for the off ball wings is getting pushed higher on the floor near or above the 3-point break.

I figured we'd have to play differently to accommodate 1) a PG with limited shooting and 2) a center with a strong inside presence, but it never occurred to me we might not have the 3-pt shooting necessary to properly space the floor for those guys. Baze, Korver and Thabo will have plenty of space to shoot this year. It will fall upon those three (primarily) to continue and punish teams that attempt to crowd the paint to stop Dennis and Dwight.

[wallsfamily]

I think it will work. Dwight is saying the right things and giving the right effort. Defensively he improves the team and lets not forget Hawks were 28 in rebounding so that is an automatic improvement. And Al averaged 15 pts so Dwight can reach that easily. Paul spreads the floor.

[jayu70]

Yeah, I saw this earlier, and it's a very well written piece. Obviously, it's only pre-season and the last game was against backups only...but it does allow for some speculation for what principles we'll be adhering too.

But the Hawks are barely scratching 25% over their first three games as a team in this preseason.

It appears to me that Hawks wings are all struggling to adjust to a very different spacing element in the offense this season with Howard drawing attention inside. Last season with the pick and pop action the off ball wings tended to find natural spacing near the baseline to balance the floor with the primary activity taking place at the top of the key. With both Howard and Schröder (hopefully) looking to force play closer to the basket with roll and/or penetration action, the spacing for the off ball wings is getting pushed higher on the floor near or above the 3-point break.

I figured we'd have to play differently to accommodate 1) a PG with limited shooting and 2) a center with a strong inside presence, but it never occurred to me we might not have the 3-pt shooting necessary to properly space the floor for those guys. Baze, Korver and Thabo will have plenty of space to shoot this year. It will fall upon those three (primarily) to continue and punish teams that attempt to crowd the paint to stop Dennis and Dwight.

Last season they lead the league in WIDE open shots - but missed too many. Hopefully the preseason 25 % is skewed since it's pre-season and with THjr being so brutal. I guess understanding where the 3-pt open shot will come from with Dennis and Dwight will be an adjustment. The Tony Parker reference was interesting, so hopefully that's how Bud wants Dennis to play and not take the first open shot since his shooting is still a work in progress.

[Jamaaliver]

National Piece on Howard's addition to the Hawks featured in USA Today:

The Hawks, who were last in the NBA in offensive rebounding in 2015-16, want a bully in the paint. Howard, 30, wants some wings and a fast pace..

Howard was adamant at the Hawks media day that he not be put in a box.

He insists he can pass and face the basket and shoot jump shots.

“Playing with this team, they are not just going to keep me in a box,” says Howard, who signed a free agent deal July 12 after three seasons with the Houston Rockets. “They are going to let me be who I am and just let me play basketball...I don’t know if you ever saw me play in high school, I grew up playing point guard,” Howard says with a smile.

Here

[jayu70]

National Piece on Howard's addition to the Hawks featured in USA Today:

The Hawks, who were last in the NBA in offensive rebounding in 2015-16, want a bully in the paint. Howard, 30, wants some wings and a fast pace..

Howard was adamant at the Hawks media day that he not be put in a box.

He insists he can pass and face the basket and shoot jump shots.

“Playing with this team, they are not just going to keep me in a box,” says Howard, who signed a free agent deal July 12 after three seasons with the Houston Rockets. “They are going to let me be who I am and just let me play basketball...I don’t know if you ever saw me play in high school, I grew up playing point guard,” Howard says with a smile.

Here

The heading says it all....
"Hawks need Dwight Howard to be a versatile big man"
More interesting quotes form Kyle

“Dwight is a different piece than what we’ve had in the past,” Korver says. “It’s exciting to everyone to see how we can evolve. I don’t think we’re trying to scrap our old way but trying to learn how to incorporate him and use his talents to what we do. I don’t think it’s going to be that different. Everyone just assumes we have to post him up all the time.”

and Moose

Mike Muscala, a third-year forward/center, says he was surprised by Howard’s ballhandling and speed during summer open gym workouts. Howard gave lessons on post play to the Hawks’ younger big men, but Muscala says the eye-opener was Howard’s ball skills.

“In the open gym the couple times I played with him, he brought the ball up he had some really good moves,” Muscala says. “For his size, for a big man, it was really cool to see.

So far in the preseason, I haven't seen anything that tells me that he is trying to turn himself into a jump shooting Al Howard.

[MaceCase]

His face-up game has been deadly so far, has a nice hesitation juke that he's used to get by guys as far out as the perimeter even when they know he's not a shooter.

[Jamaaliver]

From a piece on the Hawks Website:

the Hawks' offense is going to assume a different look than it has in prior seasons. The addition of Dwight Howard has changed things. Howard gives the Hawks a premier roll man in pick-and-roll plays, and his low-post game adds a different dimension too.

Budenholzer said that he thinks the Hawks will need to adjust to a new set of passing angles now that Howard is in the fold.

"It's going to take some time, and it's going to be a process," Budenholzer said. "I think the system and the structure is all very similar, but where and when and how (Howard) is open is pretty significantly different. I think our guys understand it, and now it's just getting more comfortable and more ready to operate that way."

three of the types of passes the Hawks will use more this season: entry passes when Howard gets a seal inside, pick-and-rolls to Howard, and duck-ins to Howard when someone else is the roll man and he slides in behind the help defense.

The biggest role in getting Howard the ball in the right places belongs to point guard Dennis Schröder, who will team with Howard in the majority of his pick-and-rolls.

Kent Bazemore is still feeling out the timing on when he should cut to the rim.

"Playing with Dwight, he likes to roll a ton," Bazemore said. "Last year with Horford, he was more of a popping big, so there were a lot of slashing opportunities. I'm still trying to get that timing down, just feeling out in practice when to slash and when not to slash...It's all about finding those seams and getting in there when you can."

When asked, Millsap said that he believed that he could be the ballhandler in some pick-and-rolls with Howard.

Here

[jayu70]

Our assists are still up in the preseason, so we are still moving the ball.