By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
Two of the NBA’s hottest teams take the court Wednesday night when the Sixers (winners of 2 of their last 3) head to Philips Arena to face the Atlanta Hawks, who are currently riding a 7-game winning streak. Now sporting a record of 14-6, the Hawks are tied for the second best mark in the Eastern Conference, picking up right where they left off early last season. It’s easy to forget, but a year ago, the Hawks were sitting pretty with the conference’s third-best record before losing center Al Horford for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle. Their strong start to this season isn’t some matter of luck either, as Atlanta is a strong team on both sides of the ball, ranking top-10 in the league in both offensive and defensive rating.
There’s plenty of history between the two head coaches in tonight’s contest, as like Coach Brown, Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer comes from the Greg Popovich coaching tree in San Antonio, where he spent 18 seasons as a video coordinator and assistant coach. Budenholzer has brought over plenty of Spurs principles to Atlanta, such as an emphasis on getting back on defense rather than crashing the offensive glass (the Hawks sport one of the lowest offensive rebounding percentages in the NBA). Also, like the Spurs and their gorgeously unselfish brand of offensive basketball, Budenholzer has his club recognizing the value of finding the next open man along the perimeter (both Atlanta and San Antonio rank in the top-4 in the NBA in assist percentage). Those unselfish habits have the Hawks offense rolling along, as they sport the 4th-best effective field goal percentage, thanks in large part to a 38.0% mark from behind the arc which ranks third-best in the NBA.
Of course, any talk of three-point shooting proficiency must immediately mention former Sixer Kyle Korver, who leads the NBA in 3-point percentage at an other-worldly 55.1%. actually shooting better on threes than twos. Budenholzer loves to constantly run Korver off a myriad of screens and curls, and the former Creighton star is such a dangerous shooter that the entire defense pays attention to him, openly things up for others. I’d expect to see plenty of K.J. McDaniels trailing Korver around the court, in the hope that his length and athleticism can prevent Korver from getting off his quick release on the shot.
However, there are plenty of other Hawks who know what to do when they get those open shots too, as DeMarre Carroll (41%), Paul Millsap (36.2%), and Mike Scott (39.2%) are all dangerous from the outside as well. The engine of the offense finding these open guys has been Jeff Teague, who leads the team at 17.5 ppg on great efficiency numbers of 49% shooting, 42% from three. and 88.3% from the line (all percentages are career-best). Teague has been helped by the emergence of Dennis Schroder, detailed recently in an article by Zach Lowe, who has given the Hawks good minutes as a backup point guard, and allowed Budenholzer to play dual point guard lineups with Teague spotting off the ball. Still, it’s mainly been about Teague having another year understanding the offense, knowing where his teammates are going to be, and making smarter decisions.
The best chance for the Sixers would be if Michael Carter-Williams can utilize his huge size advantage over Teague offensively, and continue getting into the lane to hit those floaters and find teammates around the rim (maybe draw some fouls on Teague in the process). MCW will have to be careful with the ball in those situations those, as Millsap will be lurking around there and leads the NBA in steals per game (2.4), and Teague is no slouch in that department either (1.6 spg).
Ultimately, the Hawks play about the perfect style to take advantage of the Sixers’ weaknesses (aside from the have-good-NBA-players style of basketball which often gives the Sixers trouble). They swing the ball around, find the open man, and have a plethora of interchangeable options who can hurt you from behind the arc. With the Sixers still very young and inexperienced in terms of when to make the proper defensive rotations, the Hawks could have a field day offensively. These aren’t the Timberwolves or Pistons who struggle offensively and the Sixers can bottle things up just using their length on the defensive end. If Philadelphia is going to stay in this game, it’s going to take their best effort of the season. Let’s see if a small taste of success has them up to the challenge.
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