On the second lap of these NBA Playoffs, the Atlanta Hawks find themselves racing neck-and-neck around the turn, but against a team that now knows it needs a pit stop to either repair or replace its engine. Having dropped Game 1 at home, the Hawks know that the road to its first-ever Eastern Conference Finals must include at least one victory in Washington against the Wizards (5:00 PM Eastern, ESPN, 92.9 FM in Atlanta).

The Hawks were on the floor the last time folks in the DMV enjoyed a conference semifinal victory in their house. Unfortunately for them, that was Game 7 way back in 1979, then the opening round for the Bullets along the path to return to the NBA Finals. Since then, Washington lost both semifinal home games to Boston in 1982 and Miami in 2005, and dropped all three home games to Paul George and the Pacers last season. While they’re still eager to win the series, Washington wants to get off this particular schneid really bad.

If you went solely on the recent national media rundown of debilitating injuries sustained in the playoffs, you might never discover the starting All-Star center on the number-one-seeded team in the East had to trudge through his opening-round series following a dislocation of the pinky finger on his shooting hand. For better or worse, this second-round series with the Wizards will be defined by the non-displaced wrist fractures on John Wall’s non-shooting hand, and how Washington adjusts without him on the floor going forward.

Wall, who reportedly clashed with his team medical staff about the severity of his swollen wrist before finally getting a third opinion, will do everything within reason to get back on the floor soon. But the nature of the swelling and an uncertain timetable for recuperation makes it unlikely he’ll be teaching people how to Dougie anytime soon, nevermind gracing the Verizon Center floor in a striped jersey for Game 3.

If there’s a “winner” among anybody in the aftermath of Wall’s injury, how about Randy Wittman? An underwhelming series conclusion and a lack of improved results from 2014’s 4-1 second-round playoff exit might have imperiled Wittman’s job status going into next season, at least if many Wizards fans had their druthers.

But now, with Wall’s up-in-the-air status, everything’s free and easy from here on out for the Wizards’ coach, who signed a two-year guaranteed contract extension after last year’s run anyway. Win another playoff game, or two, or three, with these superstar-shorthanded Wizards, and Wittman can ensconce himself as a franchise cornerstone for years to come.

Taking that into consideration, would someone kindly advise Randy to calm TF down? Normally bristly and terse with the media any time the subject of injuries comes up, the coach found himself at Witt’s end on Friday, snapping at reporters seeking elaboration on the Washington Post article suggesting a “clash” between Wall and the medical staff over the status of his wrist prior to Game 2. Condemning the WaPo article as a “flat-out lie,” Wittman excoriated the Wizards beat writer before doing his best Drew Rosenhaus impression. Next question!

All of the attention on 5-seed Washington has taken virtually all of the scrutiny off the top-seeded Hawks. What’s left of the critique has mostly been placed on Atlanta’s backcourt play. Jeff Teague has been steady as a passer (7.5 APG and 2.0 TOs/game this series), but his shot selection and accuracy (26.9 FG% vs. WAS, 3-for-12 shooting in Game 2) have left much to be desired. He has yet to shine in this series, with or without Wall’s presence on the floor.

While Teague is dishing dimes, it is his job to be the floor general Atlanta needs to keep offensive movement from getting stagnant. In Games 1 and 2, Hawks perched along the perimeter line seemed to be the offensive order of the day every time Washington was permitted to charge back into the game.

It is also Jeff’s job to exploit his teammates’ floor-spacing capabilities by finding lanes to the hoop and scoring efficiently once he gets there. He was just 2-for-6 on shots at the rim before floating in a stat-padder at the close of Tuesday’s 106-90 win. Missed opportunities allowed the Wizards to remain within single digits of the lead for all but the closing minutes of the game. Being focused and proficient on drives can get Washington’s bigs and other help defenders in foul trouble. (Buckle up, though! As a note of caution, Joey Crawford is working today’s game.)

Hampered by his ankle instability in Game 1, Teague has begun to contribute on the defensive end by helping with the rebounding (five defensive rebounds in Game 2). But much of Atlanta’s celebrated January success began with Teague hounding one opposing lead guard after another into submission, as they tried to bring the ball up the floor and set up teammates, and that aspect of his game has been mostly absent at the outsets of both the first- and second-round series.

It will be particularly important for Teague to keep Ramon Sessions from working up an offensive lather, as the starting replacement for Wall did in the third quarter (ten points) of Game 2. Among Washington’s starters, Sessions, Bradley Beal, and Paul Pierce will serve mostly as distributors-by-committee in Wall’s absence. It will be simpler to induce turnovers out of the Wizards when Sessions and Beal (7 assists, 3 TOs in Game 2) aren’t able to penetrate, especially when they have to dump the ball into Nene and Marcin Gortat (seven of the Wizards’ 16 player TOs in Game 2).

The onus is not all on Teague, though. While Jarrett Jack (+18.5 net rating) and Ramon Sessions (+13.1 net rating) have enjoyed some of the best net efficiencies in the postseason thus far, much of that is reflected in the struggles of Dennis Schröder. The second-year pro’s net rating of -11.9 in the postseason still ranks last among all remaining NBA players averaging a minimum of 15 minutes of game time.

A lot of that struggle hasn’t been solely his fault: until Game 2, his fellow reserve Kent Bazemore (2-for-2 3FGs) was an offensive non-entity while Mike Scott (DNP-CD’d in Game 2) continues to struggle, and he’s been held in perhaps too long at times while Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer rests Teague . But Dennis (no steals since Game 2 vs. the Nets) must make more considerable defensive efforts. Like Jeff, Schröder contributed with the rebounding in Game 2 (5 defensive boards). But he also must disrupt the Wizards’ ball handlers before they can build up a head of steam toward the paint.

Schröder has made strides by protecting the ball on drives and drawing trips to the free throw line, tying Paul Millsap’s team-high of six FT attempts in Game 2. Dennis has also cut back on the costly turnovers (8 assists, 1 TO vs. WAS) that marred his play in the Nets series (20 assists, 16 TOs vs. BKN).

The Hawks’ point guards and bigs have to help diversify Kyle Korver’s range of attack along the perimeter. One of the biggest defensive successes thus far for the Wizards is keeping Korver from killing them from the corners. Korver is shooting just 7-for-22 from deep so far, and is exactly 1-for-1 on the corner shots.

Kyle is one of just three NBA players (Khris Middleton and Devin Harris) to make at least half of their three-point attempts from both the left and right corners during the regular season. Yet seven of Kyle’s 11 Game 1 three-point attempts were above-the-break to the right, and eight of his 11 attempts were above-the-break on the left of the rim in Game 2. It’s easier to defend Korver’s bombs when you have a sense where on the floor they’ll be coming from.

Korver was tremendous, however, in keeping Beal inefficient as a shooter in Game 2. Beal went just 1-for-8 on shots while Korver was defending him, 7-for-15 otherwise. Korver has to continue to properly contest shots without committing silly fouls.

Expect to continue to see lots of touches for Al Horford (+16.5 net rating, 3^rd-best in NBA during second-round; 3.25 assist-turnover ratio, best in NBA second-round among non-guards) and Paul Millsap. Horford’s mid-range shot was sour on the left side (0-for-3 FGs) but sweet on the right (4-for-5 FGs) in Game 2, and his ability to stay out of foul trouble (unlike Gortat) kept the Hawks at a competitive advantage. While his own shot remains off-center (12-for-33 FGs vs. WAS), Millsap is discovering he can get whatever he wants against the inactive Nene (2^nd-lowest net rating in NBA second-round).

Not fearing the inability to get back on defense in transition, Millsap has at least four offensive rebounds in both games of this series and, despite some occasional sloppiness, has joined forces with Horford (13 assists in two games vs. WAS) as frontcourt distributors (five or more assists in Millsap’s last three games) the Wizards can’t match. If Nene remains stuck in neuneutral, Wittman may turn more to Drew Gooden, who is a subpar defender but can at least get up shots to keep Washington competitive.

Like Millsap, upcoming free agent DeMarre Carroll can’t help but recognize the Playoffs can become the Payoffs when you step up your game. No other NBA teams can have opponents clamp down on their four most All-Star-caliber starters and rely on their fifth starter to lead the way, victoriously, in scoring. Carroll is doing just that (team-high 18.9 playoff PPG, 55.6 FG%, 46.5 3FG%, 80.8 FT%) and still providing the gritty defensive effort the Junk Yard Dawg is known for.

DMC’s the one Hawks player physically capable of slowing the rolls of both Pierce and Otto Porter (each 50.0 FG% and 15 points in Game 2; 7-for-11 3FGs), who are doing all they can to keep the Wizards in this series. Beyond trying to get Carroll into foul trouble, Wittman may consider going small by shifting Pierce to the power forward spot, akin to Joe Johnson’s occasional role on the Nets.

The stretch-four role for Pierce (+13.2 points per 100 possessions during the regular season, according to the Washington Post) caught Toronto off-guard in Game 1 of their series with the Wizards. Atlanta will see more of Rasual Butler and Will Bynum (DNP-CDs in Games 1 and 2) if Washington goes small to try and pick up their pace and add shooters to the floor.

The majority of critical eyeballs are placed on the Wizards, viewers wondering who will step up at home now that Wall’s playing status is shaky for the foreseeable future. It’s up to the Hawks to keep the critical attention on their underdog opponents for the remainder of this series. Any more Atlanta lapses leading to Wizard victories will pump up the hopes of a Willis Reed-ish return by Washington’s star point guard.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3