Atlanta reviews

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Note:  We use stats per 36 minutes instead of stats per game on the graphics.  The reason behind that is stats per 36 tell a more complete story of how a player did while he was on the court, as opposed to per game stats which averages a player’s stats based on the number of games that player appeared in, regardless of how many minutes he played.  The per 36 minutes compares all players equally by taking the minutes played out of the equation to measure the most effective players during their time on the court.

After putting on a dazzling performance in Summer League last season, there were high hopes for Hawks first round draft pick Dennis Schröder this season. With Shelvin Mack emerging as the backup point guard early in the season Schröder’s minutes were sparse, but over the course of the year he showed a lot of development.

In 49 appearances this season, Schröder averaged 3.7 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. He scored 10 points twice -- against the Lakers and Thunder -- and as the season wore on, appeared to get more comfortable with the Hawks offense and the tempo of the NBA game.

Early in the season, he looked to be moving too fast and getting out of control at times. As the season progressed, his tempo got much better. He used his speed to his advantage by being shifty and accelerating past defenders rather than trying to play at top speed all the time.

Schröder was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam -- the Hawks D-League affiliate for 2013-14 -- for six games, and in those games he was terrific. He averaged 17 points, 6.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 34 minutes per game as he put his full array of talents on display.

His offensive game is still a work in progress, but the potential is clear, particularly in the pick-and-roll. His court vision is superb, as he is quite adept at picking out the right pass anywhere on the court even at just 20 years old. His speed allows him to get into the paint, and he’s continuing to improve at his finishing with layups and adding a floater to his arsenal. His jump shot is inconsistent, but he’s showed the ability, when set, to knock down the perimeter shot.

Defense is where Schröder can really make his presence felt. His length and hand size are exceptional for a point guard, and this makes him a terror as an on-ball defender. His footwork is impeccable, allowing him to stay in front of guards on dribble drives, and he is very good at getting around screens -- sometimes too well when the big hedges high, leaving the roll-man wide open. As he got more comfortable with the Hawks’ coverages and rotations, he made strides to improve as an off-ball defender.

Schröder’s season was not quite what some expected coming out of Summer League, as he was made the third point guard because of Mack’s terrific play. However, he showed growth, which is ultimately what you hope to see from a 20-year-old prospect, and with another offseason to continue to build his skills and strength, the future is bright for the young German. 

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Season Review: Dennis Schröder

Still recovering from a torn ACL, Lou Williams’ 2013-14 season did not begin until Nov. 15 when he debuted against the 76ers, scoring seven points in a Hawks win. His season had plenty of ups-and-downs as he worked his way back into form after the first major injury of his career. He finished the season averaging 10.4 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game on 40 percent shooting (34.2% from three).

By his own admission at exit interviews, WIlliams felt he was lagging behind early in the season because he had not gotten the opportunity to work in Coach Bud’s system in training camp and practices because of his rehab, and he admitted that it affected his play.

Williams showed flashes of his old self in December, as he scored 25+ points three times, including a season-high 28 points in a win over the Bobcats. In those games he was attacking the rim, getting to the free throw line, and showing that burst that we hadn’t seen since the injury. He had the bounce and rhythm to his game that made him such a dynamic offensive player prior to the injury, which was an encouraging sign.

In February, as the team was decimated by injuries and hitting its worst losing streak of the season, Williams had to play a bigger role in the team’s offense because they lacked scorers. He had seven consecutive double-digit scoring games in the end of Feburary and beginning of March, but the team continued to struggle. Williams' season reached it’s low point when he was benched for seven straight games in March, as the team was getting healthier and Coach Bud tried to re-work his rotations to achieve a different result -- something he was successful with as they won five straight during that stretch.

He would be called on again, and he responded with some big performances down the stretch of the season to help the Hawks clinch a playoff berth. One of Williams’ best games came against the Heat in April, when he had 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting (4-of-4 from three) to help the Hawks clinch a playoff spot.

Williams season was a bit of a roller coaster, but towards the end of the year he seemed to be grasping the concepts Coach Bud wanted him to on both ends of the floor. He seemed more active on defense, did well facilitating on offense, and was active on the boards -- something Bud wants to see out of his wing players.

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Season Review: Lou Williams

Kyle Korver re-signed with the Hawks in the offseason and before training camp even started expressed his excitement about the opportunity to play in Coach Bud’s system. Korver said at media day in September, “I feel like I’ve been trying to play for San Antonio for 10 years and now that system is coming to me!”

That excitement was warranted, as he thrived in the Hawks’ offense, leading the NBA in three-point percentage at 47.2 percent and in true shooting percentage at 65.3 percent. His exceptional shooting opened up the Hawks’ offense to be as successful as it was, and, going back to last season, he became the most consistent three-point shooter in NBA history as he made one in 127 consecutive regular season games, shattering Dana Barros’ previous record of 89. The streak was the perfect representation of Korver for this past season, as he was the offense’s steady hand that could always be relied on.

Korver set career-highs in points (12.0), rebounds (4.0), assists (2.9), and steals (1.0) per game this season, doing much more than just shooting the ball. His offensive presence was tremendous, as the Hawks were 5.1 points better per 100 possessions on offense when he was on the court than off. On defense, he was also a steadying influence as Atlanta allowed 4.1 fewer points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor. (per NBA.com/Stats)

As he’s shown for the past two seasons in Atlanta, Korver is much more than just a three-point specialist. Defensively, he’s constantly in the right position, makes the proper rotations and digs, and has active hands to get in passing lanes to get steals and deflections. his defensive skills are often overlooked because of his tremendous shooting acumen, but he continues to prove himself as a very solid defender on the wing.

The importance of Korver to the Hawks’ success at both ends of the floor was apparent all season. He opened up the floor for the rest of the team because defenses had to keep one player focused on him at all times in the halfcourt and in transition. His presence behind the three-point line is feared like few others, with defenses choosing to allow layups in transition over offering him the chance for a three. On defense, he has improved as a one-on-one defender, uses his length to bother shooters and get in passing lanes, and is adept at helping down on bigs to get a block from behind or a reach-in steal. 

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Season Review: Kyle Korver

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DeMarre Carroll Reflects On Season

After spending his first four seasons bouncing between four teams as a role player, DeMarre Carroll found a home with the Hawks as Atlanta’s starting small forward. He set career-highs in nearly every statistical category, and while known for his defensive tenacity, Carroll became a much improved offensive player this season in Atlanta.

In 32.1 minutes per game, Carroll averaged 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. On defense, Carroll was the Hawks top perimeter defender, drawing the assignment of the opposing team’s best wing player -- whether they were at the two or the three. Going against the opponent’s best offensive wing night in and night out, Carroll held opponents to 40.9 percent shooting (36.8% three-point) for the season, per Synergy Sports.

His tenacious approach made him one of the league’s better defenders against screening action. Carroll fought through screens -- on and off the ball -- consistently to rank 40th against off-ball screens allowing opponents just 0.8 points per possession, and he 76th in the league against pick-and-roll ball handlers allowing just 0.75 PPP -- again per Synergy Sports. Like many of the Hawks, his defensive numbers take a hit on spot-up attempts, allowing 1.04 PPP, because the Hawks system commits heavily to protecting the paint first, which opens up opportunities for open spot-up shots.

Even still, Carroll had by most any account a very productive and effective season defensively. The Hawks' defense relied on Carroll’s length and strength to disrupt opponents on the perimeter and he took that challenge and succeeded. His 2.6 defensive win shares were second to Paul Millsap’s 4.0 for the Hawks on the season. Carroll’s 101.8 defensive rating (per NBA.com/stats) was the best for any perimeter player and 4th on the team, and his +3.4 net rating was third on the team only to Pero Antic and Al Horford.

On offense, Carroll took huge strides this season to become a more effective and efficient player. A career 42.8 percent shooter (28.4% from three) coming into the season, Carroll shot 47 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from three-point range. His development of a consistent three-point shot was huge for the Hawks’ offense this season, as they were in need for another spacing option on the wing next to Kyle Korver.

Carroll attributed his improved jump-shooting to the work he did this summer and in training camp with assistant coach Quin Snyder.

“This was like the first year, you know I have to give a shoutout to Coach Quin Snyder, because this was the first year a coach really worked with me on my footwork, my shot, and spent time with me. Credit to Coach Quin, cause that shows me that he cares about me as a person and cares about my career. I think I'm headed in the right direction. I feel like I'm a rookie. Finally got to play and did what I did. Think there's a lot of room to get better and improve.”

That work paid great dividends for Carroll as an individual and the Hawks as a whole. Carroll’s ability to be a positive offensive player allowed Coach Bud to play him as many minutes as he did without hampering the Hawks’ offense. Carroll did a great job of taking high-efficiency shots as 70 percent of his offensive possessions came from spot-up shots (32.9%), transition (23.7%), and cuts (13.4%). Because he took such efficient shots and made them consistently, Carroll was a very good offensive player for the Hawks. Carroll finished the season averaging 1.03 PPP, good for 47th in the entire NBA, per Synergy Sports. Carroll not only accepted but thrived in his role off the ball in the Hawks’ offense by spacing the floor and making timely cuts in the halfcourt offense and he created a lot of transition opportunities with his defensive play.

He hopes to continue his growth as an offensive player this offseason and become an even better shooting threat as a shooter and ball-handler.

“I wanna get my shot automatic. Like Kyle Korver. I want people to be like, 'that's the African-American Kyle Korver.' That's what I want people to know. Then I want to work on my ball-handling, get my ball-handling better. Pick-and-roll, you know, pick-and-roll's going to be big for me. There aren't a lot of small forwards that do pick-and-rolls besides LeBron James and Paul George so I want to step outside myself and work on it.”

Carroll was one of the Hawks best and most consistent players this season, bringing great intensity and production at both ends of the floor to do the little things, and showed why he’s known as the Junkyard Dog.

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Season Review: DeMarre Carroll

After the best season of his career in 2012-13 and re-signing in the offseason, Jeff Teague came into 2013-14 with high expectations. Learning how to run Coach Budenholzer’s offense was the primary task for Teague, but the expectations were that he would thrive in the new system, and he did not disappoint.

Teague averaged 16.5 points (a career-high), 7.2 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 33.2 minutes per game this season. Teague’s 25.7 usage percentage was a career-high by 2.7 percent as he was, for the first time in his career, given the reigns to an offense and asked to run the team. Despite the ups-and-downs of the season and the many changes to the roster due to injury, Teague helped keep the Hawks’ offense steady and keep the ball moving as Atlanta finished second in the NBA in assists per game at 24.9.

Throughout the season, Coach Bud and his teammates pointed to Teague’s aggressiveness as one of the biggest keys for their success at both ends of the floor. This was never more apparent than in the playoffs, when Teague’s usage rate an astonishing 28.9 percent and he averaged 19.3 points per game to help push the Pacers to seven games.

Part of that aggression was a commitment to playing in transition. Teague excelled in transition -- a constant point of emphasis from Coach Bud -- shooting 59.9 percent in transition for 1.19 points per possession and got 21.5 percent of his offensive possessions in transition, per Synergy Sports.

Teague struggled a bit with his shot this season, shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from three-point range -- both down from the last two years. A drop in efficiency is sometimes expected when a player’s usage jumps as much as Teague’s did, but he did well to create opportunities for himself at the free throw line to help counter that dip in field goal percentage. Teague averaged 4.8 free throws per game -- a full two free throw attempts more than his previous career high -- and he shot a very solid 84.5 percent from the stripe. This was directly attributable to Teague’s aggression and him being put in more driving opportunities in pick-and-roll play.

When Teague was not attacking the defense and probing the lane, the Hawks offense suffered as a whole. Teague was not the team’s leading scorer, but he was the engine that made it all run. When the Hawks were at their best, Teague was attacking downhill on pick-and-rolls, getting himself opportunities at the rim and drawing defenders and facilitating to the open man. Teague certainly took a step forward this year as a leader on the court, becoming more comfortable in his role as the season wore on.

Teague’s comfort early in the season was, as was to be expected, was in working with long-time teammate Al Horford, but after Horford’s injury Teague built his relationship with Paul Millsap, and the two became a formidable pick-and-roll/pop combination. Horford’s injury was devastating for the Hawks, but if there were any silver linings, they would be in the opportunities they opened up for others to step into different roles. Teague and Millsap’s chemistry together was a beneficiary of this, and with Horford returning next year the trio figures to be a tremendous offensive force.

Teague also made strides on the defensive side of the ball this season. He stayed more engaged on that end, and as the season progressed he became more comfortable in the Hawks’ defensive rotations and assignments, particularly against pick-and-rolls. Teague’s opponents shot 38.7 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range against him on the season, per Synergy Sports. Teague still has areas where he can improve, but he showed this season glimpses of the kind of defender he can be when fully engaged.

Teague showed that he was committed to putting in the work this season to become a better overall point guard, and he thrived in Coach Budenholzer’s offense. The Hawks put a lot of trust and faith in him this season and it paid off as he continued to grow and improve. 