Why are the Hawks good?
That’s the NBA’s question of 2015, isn’t it? When a team steps out of the shadows to dominate for a two-month period, everyone across the country wants to know, “How did this happen?” perhaps not only to explain it, but also to urge their own teams to duplicate it.
The common explanations for the ascension of the Hawks make a lot of sense.
One obvious cause is that the team is unselfish. When asked if it was rare to find an NBA team without a me-first player, Paul Millsap didn’t hesitate a beat. “Psshht. Yeah, that’s rare.”
That unselfishness bears itself out in two other reasons for the Hawks’ rise: passing and defense. No one fails to pass the ball to the open man, and everyone picks up the slack on defense. Through games played Feb. 1, the Hawks lead the NBA in the percentage of field goals assisted (68.5%) and they rank third in points allowed per 100 possessions (99.5).
Of course, the Hawks wouldn’t be able to post such numbers without also having terrific coaching and a bench that solidified the work of the starters.
Here, though, is one more explanation to add to the pile of reasons Atlanta is thriving: the Hawks have big men who can shoot.
The rarity of the stretch 5
It isn’t rare to come across point guards, or wings, or even “stretch-4” power forwards who can shoot. What is truly less common though – and a quick run through the Eastern Conference rosters will confirm the notion – is having a center who can stretch the floor.
There are not many of those folks, and the Hawks have not one, but two of them: Al Horford and Pero Antic.
The floor stretching center, or ‘stretch 5’, is not a new phenomenon. In recent years, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan have spent time playing center while pulling defenses away from the rim. Mehmet Okur made an All-Star team for Utah in the same season when he made 129 three-pointers. Bob McAdoo of the Buffalo Braves led the NBA in points for three consecutive seasons in the early 1970s as a jump-shooting big man.
On the other hand, even if there are historical precedents, there still are not many teams relying on their centers for jump shots to the extent that the Hawks do.
Primary and secondary benefits
The weapon of choice for Horford is the long two-point jump shot from the top of the key. Only four NBA players have attempted more 16-24 ft. shots than Horford this season.
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The list includes a pair of power forwards and two ball-dominant guards. Horford is the only center and he converts them at a 52.5% rate. No one else is above 45.2%.
Beyond the points, though, lies an additional benefit: contorting opposing defenses in ways that they don’t want to be twisted.
Consider what Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said about the Hawks before having to face them.
Van Gundy then went on to list those shooters, starting from the back end of the roster and working forward: Adreian Payne, Mike Muscala, Mike Scott, Antic, Horford, and Paul Millsap. The Hawks have a full contingent of power forwards and centers who are threats to shoot.
Muscala noted that, like Horford, Antic attracts a lot of attention on defense far from the hoop too.
Among the players that NBA.com/stats lists as centers, Antic takes three-pointers at the most frequent rate: 8.7 per 100 possessions. With a three-point field-goal percentage of 30.6%, Antic is shooting slightly below the league average from three, but defenses still have to commit to defending him and that takes a toll in other ways.
Above is a clip of Antic spacing the floor. On the first screen, only one defender can go with Thabo Sefolosha for more than half a beat or risk giving up an open shot. Later, when Dennis Schröder drives, any thoughts of collapsing are quickly nixed with a kickout pass to Antic.
Spacing opens up drives
Van Gundy says that the shooting of the Hawks’ big men opens up driving lanes too. “They do a great job of pulling away people from the basket, which has opened things up for Teague.”
According to the SportsVU player tracking data on NBA.com/Stats, Van Gundy is right. Schröder and Teague both rank in the top 6 in the league in points scored off drives per 48 minutes: 12.2 (2nd) and 9.8 (6th), respectively (minimum: 10 minutes per game). Whether they get to the rim from pick-and-roll action, or whether they break down a defender off the dribble, the space afforded by keep opposing big men out of the way has greatly enabled the Hawks’ gifted guards in the pursuit of paint points.
If teams try too hard to clog the paint to stop the point guards, bad things happen.
Of course, Kyle Korver’s presence is huge here too (and on all such plays), because Jimmy Butler is frozen on an island. He is the only body on almost the whole half of the floor shared by Horford and Korver, and he knows he can’t cede an open three to Korver.
Spacing makes it easier to pass
By keeping defenders unclustered, the Hawks have a bunch more room to locate their passes too. Atlanta is the only NBA team in the top 5 in both passes per game (324.1, 5th) and assist/turnover ratio (1.83, 3rd).
Spacing opens up room for cutters
In the play below, Millsap has room to make a cut because all five Hawks have to be guarded beyond the three-point circle, including Horford with the ball in the right corner.
The Timberwolves rotate and do it correctly for the most part, but the cut causes Andrew Wiggins turns his head to track the ball and turns his back on the wrong fellow.
Here is another one: The threat of Horford getting a 20-footer out of this pick-and-pop action pulls in a third defender, which in turn, drags Serge Ibaka out to Millsap to take away a potential three.
A quick cut by clever cutter DeMarre Carroll earns a layup. Note how Horford is an able passer and also note that the Hawks can easily pass from big players to cutting smaller players because they have pulled the defense apart bit by bit.
Having big men who can shoot is a massive asset. Obviously, it’s not the only key, especially for an offense that boasts one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history in Korver. And, of course, it also helps that they play five guys who share the ball and don’t care much who takes the credit. The shooting ability of Horford and Antic, though, gives the offense a balance that it wouldn’t otherwise have.
Unlike most opposing coaches, Saunders won’t have any sleepless nights of strategizing on how to stop the Hawks and their shooters.
“It’s not tough to prepare because you know what they’re going to do,” he said tongue-in-cheek."
Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @AnaheimAmigos