Hawks Season Review

atljwilson

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. 

season-review-jeff-teague

Season Review: Jeff Teague

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.

Coming into the season, the Hawks looked to have a deep frontcourt rotation, and Gustavo Ayon figured to be one of the options for Coach Mike Budenholzer off the bench. Ayon was fresh off of a terrific showing in the FIBA Americas tournament where he earned MVP honors and led the Mexico National Team to a surprising tournament win. In the preseason, Ayon suffered a right shoulder injury that kept him out of the rotation until mid-November, but he got an opportunity to play in 26 games before he re-injured the shoulder and was forced to have season-ending surgery.Atlanta Hawks v Toronto Raptors

In those 26 games — 14 starts — Ayon averaged 4.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 steals in 16.5 minutes per game. Over a 10-game stretch from late January through mid-February, he averaged 6.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, culminating in an impressive performance in Toronto on Feb. 18 where he scored 18 points and hauled in 10 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, that would be his last full game as he re-injured the shoulder after just six minutes of play in Indiana.

Ayon struggled a bit early as he worked his way back from injury but began finding his form and his role with the team in that latter stretch of games before his second shoulder injury. He, when healthy, gave the Hawks some much needed size in the middle, and during that stretch of games in the starting lineup he began to find a rhythm on both ends of the floor — making solid rotations on defense and finding openings around the rim on offense.

Ayon’s injury further limited the Hawks’ frontcourt options and left Elton Brand and Pero Antic as the only two healthy centers on the roster. Ayon’s impact on the Hawks was limited this season by injuries and the difficulty in finding minutes early in the season, but when he was offered an opportunity as the injury toll grew, he was able to become a solid rotational player for Coach Bud.

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Season Review: Gustavo Ayon

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 bouncing around between three NBA teams and a D-League team in his first two seasons in the league, Shelvin Mack established himself this past season with a breakout performance as the primary backup point guard for the Hawks behind Jeff Teague. Mack averaged 7.5 points, 3.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.7 steals per game in 20.4 minutes per game in 73 appearances this season.

Entering training camp, Mack was thought to be the third point guard behind rookie Dennis Schröder, but he asserted himself and earned the backup role early in the season. Mack, like Mike Scott, was terrific early in the season and prior to the All-Star break was shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three-point range. After the All-Star break, Mack — like the team as a whole — went through a bit of a slump with his efficiency, shooting just 39.9 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from three-point range. With all of the Hawks’ injuries, Mack — and the team — had to adjust to playing with totally different lineups and rotations, which clearly effected their offensive output and efficiency.

Even so, Mack put together a very impressive 2013-14 campaign. He orchestrated the Hawks’ offense very well, facilitating as the primary ball-handler when needed and also limited his turnovers at just 1.2 per game. On defense, he made strides as an on-ball defender and did very well against isolation play, allowing just 0.77 points per possession on 39.6 percent shooting against isolation, per Synergy Sports.

When needed, Mack showed the ability to step up and make big shots and played well against the Pacers in the playoffs. In that first round series, Mack averaged 8.1 points and 3.6 assists with just 0.9 turnovers in 16.9 minutes per game. Mack had a terrific performance in Game 5 in Indiana, when he scored 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting –13 in the second quarter — to, along with Mike Scott’s effort, lead the Hawks to a big road victory.

Mack’s emergence was certainly a highlight of the Hawks season, and was emblematic of the success of the Hawks coaching staff this season with player development and the commitment of the Hawks’ players to step up all year.

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Hawks Season In Review: Shelvin Mack

Perhaps no player on the Hawks took a bigger step forward this season than second-year man Mike Scott. After playing just 9.4 minutes per game in 40 games last season, Scott averaged 18.5 minutes per in his 80 games played this season. Scott averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game for the season on 47.9 percent shooting (31% from three-point range), and took on a crucial role late in the season and in the playoffs.

Scott said on multiple occasions that his focus during the offseason was on improving his conditioning and expanding his range. He excelled in both areas as he got himself in terrific shape and became a legitimate three-point threat. After the Al Horford injury — and with the combination of injuries to the rest of the frontcourt — Scott got an opportunity to become a key role-player for the Hawks, and he took full advantage of those opportunities.

In 13 consecutive games from Jan. 8 – Feb. 5, Scott scored in double-digits. In that stretch, Scott averaged 14.3 points per game on 59.4 percent shooting (40.5% from three). Scott’s offensive production was crucial for the Hawks with Horford out, as they were in desperate need of a consistent scoring threat from the collection of bench bigs.

Scott’s best performance of the season came against the Knicks on Feb. 22 as he scored a career-high 30 points with eight rebounds to help the Hawks snap an eight-game losing streak. Scott was 6-for-7 from the three-point line in that game in an incredible shooting performance.

Scott went through a rough shooting stretch to close the season for the Hawks, making multiple three-pointers just once in the final 24 games of the season, but he remained confident and in Game 5 of the Hawks’ first round series, Scott lit the Pacers up for 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting (5-of-5 from three), all in the second quarter. The victory gave the Hawks a 3-2 series lead, and Scott was the biggest factor in that win.

On defense, Scott made strides with his movement and ability to stay in front of quicker perimeter players — again a focus of his during the last offseason. Per Synergy Sports, Scott was effective defensively in isolation situations, allowing just 0.76 points per possession on 33.9 percent shooting — good for 88th in the NBA. Scott still has opportunities to improve on defense by continuing to improve his footwork and strength in the paint, but he took strides in the right direction this season on that side of the ball as well.

Scott proved this season that he has the ability to produce at a high level offensively and can be a threat from the three-point range, mid-range, and in the post — where he improved a great deal this year shooting 53.8% on post-ups for 0.97 PPP, good for 27th in the NBA. He also showed that his best basketball is still ahead of him by continuing to improve all season, particularly in being tighter with the details of being a big man — like rotations, positioning, and rebounding.

Scott’s season was definitely one of the bright spots for the Hawks this season, as he took a big leap forward and showed that he has a bright future.

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Hawks Season In Review: Mike Scott

atljtaylor

The Hawks brought Elton Brand in this season hoping he would provide a veteran presence in the locker room and a scoring option/defensive presence off the bench when needed, and Brand gave them that and more this season, posting 5.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game on 53.9 percent shooting from the field.

Brand's role with the Hawks changed dramatically throughout the season, going from DNP's early in the year to being a starter when the Hawks' frontcourt was decimated by injuries. Through it all, Brand was a consummate professional on and off the court, and when they needed him to play a big role he delivered.

In the month of February, in the Hawks' 12 games, Brand averaged 8.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game in 28.1 minutes -- including back-to-back 40+ minute performances late in the month. Brand stepped up into a larger role and exceeded expectations, providing an offensive spark thanks to his sweet touch from the mid-range and he was the Hawks best rim protector, turning away the opposition thanks to his great timing and length. He led the Hawks in blocks on the season with 88 and his 1.2 per game was second to Al Horford.

Brand was a terrific fit for Coach Bud's offense, as he set terrific screens and was extremely reliable in the mid-range, shooting 49.6 percent on 135 mid-range attempts.

Brand was rarely one of the first options on offense, and received very few post-up touches -- 36 touches on the season in the post -- but made the most of his opportunities in the pick-and-roll/pop game. 28 percent of Brand's offensive touches this season -- touches that resulted in a shot, foul, or turnover -- were as the roll-man, and another 12.8 percent came on spot-ups. He shot exactly 50 percent in those two situations -- 80-of-160 -- which was crucial in providing spacing for the Hawks' second unit. The rest of his touches came mostly on off-ball cuts -- 26.7 percent -- where he was effective, often cutting off the weakside baseline, shooting 52.6 percent.

Elton certainly proved this year that he still has plenty to offer on and off the court, even after 15 seasons. He is still unsure of his future, saying at exit interviews that he would have to discuss his options with his family before he makes a decision whether to retire or come back to the NBA for another season.

Hawks Season Review

Season Review: Jeff Teague

Season Review: Gustavo Ayon

Hawks Season In Review: Shelvin Mack

Hawks Season In Review: Mike Scott

Hawks Season In Review: Elton Brand