AJC: On Drew and Teague

[Hawksquawk]

The Hawks can use Teague's skills but he can't get regular minutes. (Benny Sieu / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Back on Dec. 16, before the Hawks played the Celtics at TD Garden, I had a conversation with L.D. about his team’s pick-and-roll defense. I noted that, according to Synergy Sports Technology, his team ranked next-to-last in the league at defending pick-and-roll ballhandlers (they know rank 28th, allowing .91 points per possession).

(Synergy counts only those times when the screen-roll ballhandler is “responsible for the ending action which can be a shot attempt, turnover or drawing a foul that results in free throws.” So it does not count the times when the initial pick-and-roll leads to other actions as the Hawks scramble. Notably, the Hawks rank first in the league at defending the roll man, allowing only .82 points per possession. I ‘m thinking this is what is known as “The Josh Smith effect.”)

So I asked L.D. how the Hawks could ever hope to be effective defending …

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