Hawks appear built for offensive carnage

[Jamaaliver]

Looks like the team is at least in solid company. If we can keep the offense rolling, things might pick up.

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[Jamaaliver]

After a very rough patch to the season -- we're at least in the good quadrant.

Room for improvement. But not too shabby.

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[Jamaaliver]

Top 10 in both offense and defense when NOT including garbage time (per cleaning the glass)

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[Jamaaliver]

Not Hawks specific, but important notes worth remembering:

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[Jamaaliver]

Top 10 offense.
Middling defense.

#4 in Eastern Conference Standings.

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

FTs, 3-pters and dunks. That’s the new modern approach in the NBA.

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[jayu70]

We expected to be better on defense under Nate but I think the most surprising has been the turnaround under Nate on offense.

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“Over the past couple weeks and month, you’ve seen a little bit of a different offense,” Huerter said. “A little more catch-and-shoot, a little bit more off-ball movement, which has helped guys like myself and [Bogdan Bogdanovic], and when [De’Andre Hunter] gets back and Tony Snell getting his shots. I think that’s been a big difference.”

related: 2020-21 NBA Predictions Read more. »

With so many capable scorers and shooters on the court (Atlanta is the only team in the NBA with nine players averaging 10 or more points per game), it makes sense that McMillan has worked to incorporate off-ball movement into the offense — and it has paid off. In order to help create more motion away from the ball, the Hawks added more off-ball screens to their offensive system. After ranking 28th in off-ball screens before the coaching change, the team’s back half of the season ranked 11th, according to Second Spectrum. Since March, the team has raised its shooting percentages in virtually every traditional and advanced statistical category.

McMillan’s adjustments have helped the Hawks to create more open looks at the rim. Before March, 41.2 percent of the team’s shots were tightly contested and only 26.9 percent were considered “open,” according to tracking data from NBA Advanced Stats. Since then, the Hawks have lowered their share of contested shots to 40 percent while increasing their share of open shots to 30.1 percent.
The evolution of star guard Trae Young’s role within the offense has been pivotal in improving the team’s play on that side of the ball. Under McMillan, Young has seen a slight increase in his usage rate, but he has still managed to become much more efficient as both a scorer and a facilitator. 

“For us to take the next step, Trae has to take that next step,” McMillan said during a postgame interview last month. “He has some players on this team that they’ve added. … These are guys that can play, they can help him and he has to trust those guys.”

Trust in his supporting cast has contributed to Young’s efficiency as a floor general. Since March, the third-year guard has cut down on turnovers while improving his assist percentage and assist ratio — which means many more of Young’s possessions as a playmaker have resulted in points for the Hawks. 

Young’s growing belief in teammates has also allowed him to be more selective with his shots. Under McMillan, Young’s scoring average and field goal attempts have slightly dipped, but his field goal percentage and true shooting percentage have improved. Since McMillan took over, the Hawks raised their offensive rating with Young on the court from 115.4 to 121.3 and their net rating with him from +2.5 to +8.2. 

Entering March, Atlanta struggled to close out games in the fourth quarter. The team lost nearly half of its games after leading or being tied through three quarters, and had the third-worst fourth-quarter scoring margin in the league at -1.7. In the fourth quarter, the team was shooting only 42.9 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from behind the arc, with a -8.2 net rating. 

Since then, the Hawks have turned themselves into one of the best teams in the league when entering the fourth quarter with a lead. The team won 20 of 22 games when entering the fourth with the lead and even pulled off seven comeback wins during the same stretch. In order to do so the team had to, once again, become more efficient — raising its field goal percentage to 47.3 and three-point percentage to a league-leading 41.2 percent. Atlanta also posted the second-highest fourth-quarter net rating in the NBA, at +11.8.

[tbhawksfan1]

I really want Nate to get this team to the second round. Nate needs to get that monkey off his back and it would be a big boost to our young team. I'd also love for the Hawks to hang in the POs enough for Cam to get back and get some run. This team is going to keep growing and the faster and higher the rise the better.

[jayu70]

But It's the defense

The truth is that the Hawks, constructed to score against any foe, are playing below the offensive standard they set during the season. Tough defense is the reason why the Hawks are up 3-1 in the Eastern Conference playoff series after winning two games at home. It’s why the Hawks can end the series Wednesday at Madison Square Garden even if Young and Co. aren’t crisp on offense.

Then the playoffs started, and the Hawks dug in on defense. They’ve taken it to the Knicks in a physical series. Interim coach Nate McMillan and his staff have quickly fashioned the Hawks into an effective defensive unit, right at the perfect time.

“He really preaches physicality, being ‘into the ball’ and kind of establishing ourselves at that end of the court,” Hawks forward Kevin Huerter said Tuesday. “We played well at home. We shot it really well. Both games we had runs where we moved the ball, and we looked really good.

“But our staple has been (defense). Defensively, we’ve really been good his series. We’ve forced them into tough shots, and we are willing to live with the results. (McMillan) always says, ‘You can’t just be a one-way player on this team. You’ve got to be a two-way player here to play for me.’”

The Hawks have responded to that message. Purported weak links Danilo Gallinari and Young have held their own. Huerter, a 3-point specialist, has been a key defender off the bench. Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter have done their usual good defensive work. All the Hawks have executed the defensive plan so well that the Knicks have struggled to create good shots.

https://www.ajc.com/sports/mike-check-blog/the-flash-is-fun-but-nate-mcmillans-hawks-winning-with-tough-defense/NXBJCG5YN5GMPMOMVISPMA5OYI/

[Jamaaliver]

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