Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @KLChouinard
The Atlanta Hawks are in familiar territory this preseason, yet they still have a ways to go.
Since Mike Budenholzer arrived as the Head Coach in the summer of 2013, the Hawks have staked a well-deserved claim as a great passing team. In the three seasons of Budenholzer’s tenure, they have routinely finished near the top of the league in the percentage of field goals on which they recorded an assist. So far this preseason, the trend has held up:
At the same time, the Hawks’ offense is going to assume a different look than it has in prior seasons. The addition of Dwight Howard has changed things. Howard gives the Hawks a premier roll man in pick-and-roll plays, and his low-post game adds a different dimension too.
Budenholzer said that he thinks the Hawks will need to adjust to a new set of passing angles now that Howard is in the fold.
“It’s going to take some time, and it’s going to be a process,” Budenholzer said. “I think the system and the structure is all very similar, but where and when and how (Howard) is open is pretty significantly different. I think our guys understand it, and now it’s just getting more comfortable and more ready to operate that way.”
The clip above illustrates three of the types of passes the Hawks will use more this season: entry passes when Howard gets a seal inside, pick-and-rolls to Howard, and duck-ins to Howard when someone else is the roll man and he slides in behind the help defense.
The biggest role in getting Howard the ball in the right places belongs to point guard Dennis Schroder, who will team with Howard in the majority of his pick-and-rolls.
“In the pick-and-roll, when they’re switching, basically we just pass the ball and try to move it around and try to find Dwight Howard in the post and just keep moving,” Schroder said before noting another fun wrinkle. “Kyle Korver, when he is on the strong side when Dwight Howard has got the ball in the post, it is tough for the defense to help.”
The adjustments the Hawks will make extend beyond Howard and his point guards though. For instance, Kent Bazemore is still feeling out the timing on when he should cut to the rim.
“Playing with Dwight, he likes to roll a ton,” Bazemore said. “Last year with Horford, he was more of a popping big, so there were a lot of slashing opportunities. I’m still trying to get that timing down, just feeling out in practice when to slash and when not to slash because when (Dwight) and Dennis are in the pick-and-roll, they’re both so athletic. Dennis is so quick down the baseline that you can’t really cut in their way. It’s all about finding those seams and getting in there when you can.”
As Bazemore adjusts to what happens in the paint, he knows he stands to gain lots of opportunities outside of it.
“It’s an adjustment,” he said, “but it’s also good because he puts so much pressure on the rim so that myself, Kyle, Tim Hardaway and all the other shooters just have a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities.”
What the Hawks have seen in very limited doses this preseason is how Howard meshes with his second playmaker: power forward Paul Millsap. One of the reasons the Hawks have been a top-tier passing team since 2013 is that, well … Millsap has been there since 2013. The combination of Budenholzer’s offense, a point guard and Millsap’s action as a second playmaker has formed a potent passing mix. (As a case in point: Millsap tallied 7 assists in his return to action against Orlando.)
Millsap noted that he’s excited to play with Howard.
“I know where Dwight’s going to be and where I can find him if I get in trouble,” Millsap said. “It makes it a littler easier.”
When asked, Millsap said that he believed that he could be the ballhandler in some pick-and-rolls with Howard.
“I think that will be awesome,” Millsap said. “But how we put it in yet, I think it’s a read. Me and Dwight have to get on the same page with timing and how we want to do it. But I think it will be effective.”
After Tuesday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans, assistant coach Darvin Ham was pleased with the passing of the Hawks’ two starting big men in their first game together.
“With Paul’s passing abilities and Dwight’s ability to finish on the baseline and different areas, it was all great,” Ham said.
Howard added a description of an in-game exchange between him and Millsap.
“One thing that (Millsap) said to me tonight, he was like, ‘Man, I just see that if I just get the ball and throw it anywhere around the basket, you’ll go get it for me.'”
“I said, ‘Yeah’.”
“(Millsap) said, ‘Well, that’s something new. We’ve got to work on that.'”
As far as basketball stuff goes, Millsap should consider himself fortunate. Adding ‘lob thrower’ to his many job titles sounds like the easiest, most fun part of his work duties.
