"How We Get Things Done" By the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks decided that a change was needed & made the call to
bring back the old "Pac Man" logo in a modernized form. Hash tags could
be found on Twitter saying #PacIsBack

So if you saw the previous article before this, then you probably saw the bold brackets that told you about this article after it. In the previous article, I wrote all about the Golden State warriors despite the fact that I mentioned both them and this article's team, the Atlanta Hawks, on it. The reason I split it up is because I did not want it to be too lengthy a read for everyone when you consider how long it would've been with all the information and photos that would go into it.

So now we come to the Atlanta Hawks. Now in the previous article, I mentioned that the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors were at the top of their games for different reasons. For Golden State, you could probably get a sense that much of it was from pure scoring domination from two big time players along with a number of solid role players and bench players. In Atlanta however, things are not much more different. The Atlanta Hawks are like Golden State in that they too are sitting nice and pretty on top of the Southeast Division and Eastern Conference due to an astonishing push by the team to get the Hawks to a 43-11 overall record.

Out of those 43 wins, the Hawks also had a stretch of wins that went to 19 games until losing to the New Orleans Hornets on February 2nd. Also, 25 of their 43 victories have come while playing at home in the Phillips Arena. While the Hawks sit atop the Southeast Division, the Washington Wizards are right behind them with a 33-21 record and are behind by... 10 games. So not really very close. Meanwhile in the overall view of the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors are in second place behind the Hawks by 6.5 games with a 36-17 record. As far as how there stats rank in the NBA, Atlanta surprisingly is 6th in points per game (103.4), just 27th in rebounds (40.9), an amazing 2nd in assists (25.7), and 4th in points allowed (96.8). Just like with Golden State, Atlanta has had got overcome some tough goings before getting to this point.

Majority owner Bruce Levenson decided it was time to
sell the Hawks after his racial email story had come out.

I would say that Atlanta's issues started back when the team made the call to trade shooting guard Joe Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets. They then found themselves in search of a new head coach during the 2013 offseason which became Mike Budenholzer. Also that same offseason, the Atlanta Hawks decided that it was time to part ways with All-Star forward Josh Smith. Then came the moments this past year that have really rang throughout the NBA. First, word came out in September 2014 that the Atlanta Hawks' majority owner Bruce Levenson would be selling his shares of the team after a story broke that he had sent an email out that had racial slurs in it that deemed it to be "racist", even though African American players such as Jason Whitlock and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said that the email had no racist intent at all. A top of that came the story about the Hawks' general manager Danny Terry who was said to have made racial slurs and comments over the phone while discussing a scouting report that he had on forward Luol Deng, which lead to a cry for Terry to be fired but saw him instead take an indefinite leave from the team.The most recent news is the talks that have been mentioned here and there about sale of the Atlanta Hawks after the last of the shares were said to be sold with Levenson's shares. I guess the movie Slap Shot brings up the best question for them: "Who own the team?! Ooownnzzz! Ooownnzzz!"

Some are still unsure if Mike Budenholzer is the reason for
the big turn around, but it certainly has not hurt to team.

While we may not know who owns the team, we should know who is leading this team as the head coach of them. The Hawks looked at many possibilities to fill the void of head coach, but Danny Terry ultimately settled to go with someone he was familiar with from San Antonio, Mike Budenholzer. My guess is that no one really knows who this coach Budenholzer is. Well, his first job was to be part of Gregg Popovich's staff on the San Antonio Spurs in 1996 where he spent his first two seasons as a video coordinator for the team before eventually being promoted to an assistant coach with the Spurs until 2013. The Hawks signed him as the new head coach in May 2013. In his first season with the team, Budenholzer showed adequate promise after finishing with a 38-44 record and 4th in the Southeast Division while also earning a spot in the playoffs, which they eventually lost in the first round to [then] powerful Indiana Pacers. But so far, Budenholzer seems to be showing that type of Gregg Popovich coaching style in Atlanta with how their season is looking thus far. one of his finest qualities may be his keen sense for being able to adjust his team's playbook on the fly in order to settle better against the opposing team, particularly on defense.

While coach Budenholzer's coaching has certainly made an impact on this team, his players have shown a great ability to take what he teaches and execute it almost to perfection. But unlike Golden State, their team has accomplished all they have by playing together in perfect harmony and executing every single chance and opportunity given to them on offense and defense to the almost pin point perfection as well.

Jeff Teague might be one of Atlanta's best point guards
of all time, but he still has a lot to prove in order to pass
Jason Terry, Lenny Wilkens, Doc Rivers, and Mookie Blaylock.

 It all starts with their point guard Jeff Teague. The former '09 first rounder out of Wake Forest came into the NBA with the three qualities that every franchise wants in a solid starting point guard: He could create space in order to allow him to score, his perimeter defense was solid, and his hands were quick enough to knock to ball loose or intercept the pass; however, he did not become the starting point guard until the 2011 season. Teague has continued to grow as a player with each season that passes. Mostly, the growth has been in his scoring ability and assist passing as his defense has maintained consistent. The season may be Jeff Teague's finest performance as his stats show that he is averaging 17.0 points/game, 7.5 assists/game, and 1.7 steals/game while also having a 46.7% field goal percentage, a 34% three point percentage, and just under 87% free throw percentage.

"The Crane" Kyle Korver does his signature "Crane" gesture
after sinking yet another three ball.

Teague's partner in crime is a former Chicago Bull himself, Kyle Korver. Korver was acquired by the Hawks from the Bulls back in July 2012 for Kirk Hinrich and cash considerations (because Hinrich has been SO productive, right?). During his two season in Chicago, Korver averaged around 8 points/game and was close to around 45.0% from three point range. Before then, he started off with the Philadelphia 76ers where he averaged almost 10.5 points/game over his five seasons there . After that, he was signed by the Utah Jazz where he spent three seasons and set a season record for highest three point percentage (53.6%). But once Korver got the Hawks, it felt like he had new life in him all the sudden. In 2013, Kyle Korver broke the record for most games (89 was old record) with a made three pointer (90 is new record) which he continued until it was broken in March 2014 at 127 games. Since coming to Atlanta, 33 year old Korver has become of the NBA's most highly effective sharpshooters and shooting guards. Aside from his past stats, Korver has high value as a scrappy type of player that can play physical on defense and give that "do what it takes" attitude on the court. Currently, his stats say he averages 12.7 points/game, 2.7 assists/game, and 4.3 rebounds/game while holding onto an amazing field goal percentage of 51%, an outstanding 52% three point percentage, and a 91% free throw percentage.

Paul Millsap has come quite a long way to finally to
finally be apart of something special down in Atlanta

While the Hawks' backcourt is talented and shooting from long range and dishing out the assists, a lot of the support also comes from down low in the post from the big men. The first is Paul Millsap. This was a guy who came out of Louisiana Tech in the second round and was thought to become nothing more than a career bench player in the NBA. But in 2008, starting forward Carlos Boozer was injured which allowed Millsap to step up and make his name noticed. The next season, he took on the role of being the team's sixth man by coming off the bench to grab rebounds and score strong inside. His chance to start finally came in 2010 when [my] Chicago Bulls made the sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz in July. The next three years would be some of Paul Millsap's best with the Jazz as he averaged about 16 points/game and 7.8 rebounds/game in those three seasons.

Despite showing amazing growth, it seemed that after the Jazz had drafted Derrick Favors, Millsap's time in Utah was over. As a free agent in 2013, Millsap was signed by the Atlanta Hawks in order to fill the void that was left open by the departure of their All-Star forward Josh Smith. That season, he showed his dominance by helping to take the Hawks with their first year head coach Budenholzer to the playoffs. So far this season, Paul Millsap has been huge for the Hawks offensively and defensively by scoring 16.8 points/game, grabbing 7.9 rebounds/game, and sending back almost 1.0 blocks/game while having a .478 field goal percentage, a .346 three point percentage, and an average .755 free throw percentage.

Al Horford has been with the franchise through the ups
and downs, but has always remained one of the
signature pieces and rocks in the franchise.

Although some think that Paul Millsap cannot replace what Josh Smith brought to Atlanta, I think it's fair to say that he seems to be able to play quite nicely with his low post teammate, Al Horford. I still remember the first time I saw him him was when he was playing for the University of Florida under head coach Billy Donovan with Corey Brewer and Bulls' center Joakim Noah and went on to win back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007. He brought power and toughness to the Hawks when they selected him third overall back in 2007. His greatest attribute: get all the rebounds and block all the shots. To this day, he still holds those skills true. In fact, Horford is only one of four players to be drafted by the Hawks to have played in the All-Star game (Doc Rivers, Kevin Willis, and teammate Jeff Teague are others). You might wonder where dunk master Dominique Wilkins is? Well he may have played for the Hawks, but he was originally drafted by Utah. Al Horford's numbers have maintained consistency over his now 8 years with the team. This season alone, he is averaging 15.6 points/game, 7.4 rebounds/game, and 1.3 blocks/game while having a field goal percentage of .544, a low but expected three point percentage of .296, and has an average free throw percentage of .774.

While those four players are really the ones that have stood out the most, it cannot be stressed enough that all of their success have come from the combined efforts of their team all around. The usual fifth starter has been forward DeMarre Carroll, who bounced around with four different teams (Memphis, Utah, Denver, and Houston) as a bench player before finding a place at home in Atlanta where he could show his skills. Young players like guard Dennis Schroder and forward Mike Scott are able to help give a lift to the team's offense while also keeping pressure on the opposing team defensively, all while coming off the bench. And, although currently injured, the Hawks have Thabo Sefolosha, one of NBA's finest and most technically sound defensive players that have a knack for getting steals, grabbing needed rebounds, and playing lockdown perimeter defense on his opponents.

They may not look like much, but you definitely cannot
underestimate what the Atlanta Hawks' bench squad can do

While there are some similarities shared between the Hawks and the Warriors, the style in which they play and have earned their accolades thus far have been completely separate. Yes, technically both teams came have the argument made that they play a "team oriented" game. But  I think it's clear that Golden State see that their game is mostly run their plays through the efforts of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, whereas Atlanta rides the entire starting lineup plus the bench in order to win games. Regardless of how they get it done, there is no doubt that both teams have come a long way from where they were about maybe 10 years ago. So for the Atlanta Hawks, they will continue to do what they do because it certainly seems to work for them and may go into the playoffs as the best possible contenders to win the title. But as I said in the previous article about Golden State, the playoffs are often something of a mystery where anything and everything could possibly happen.