ESPN Isider Request

[benhillboy]

"No Cooling off Hot Atlanta", anyone have it? Supposedly detailing the bench.

[cam1218]

I apologize if there is any odd formating, I'm posting from my phone. Happy reading and merry Christmas to all of the squawk!

Since the calendar turned to December, the Atlanta Hawks have emerged as the NBA's hottest team. After a 7-6 start, the Hawks have won 13 of their past 14 games, capped by Monday night's win over the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The victory vaulted Atlanta into second place in the Eastern Conference, just a game behind the East-leading Toronto Raptors.

In the context of everything in the previous paragraph, this fact beggars belief: Atlanta's starting five has been outscored in the month of December. Per NBA.com/Stats, the Hawks' typical starters (Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Al Horford) are in fact a minus-4 in the 146 minutes they've played together this month, when Atlanta has outscored its opponents by a mere 132 points.

To explain this seeming contradiction, we must turn to the Hawks' bench. Because head coach Mike Budenholzer came from the San Antonio Spurs, where he was an assistant to Gregg Popovich, Atlanta is frequently compared to San Antonio -- but usually in the context of the team's emphasis on ball movement and shooting. It's another trait shared with the Spurs, depth, that is helping the Hawks' rise in the East.

Atlanta has done it without one of this year's leading contenders for the sixth man award. The Hawks dealt Lou Williams to the Toronto Raptors over the summer, and have seen him bounce back two years following ACL surgery to average 22.9 points per 36 minutes. Yet the trade has been a win-win because it created an opening in Atlanta's backcourt for second-year guard Dennis Schröder, who has improved as much as anyone in the league.

As a rookie, Schröder combined sub-40 percent shooting with turnovers on more than one in five of his possessions, leading to a 5.8 PER that was the second lowest in the NBA among players who saw at least 500 minutes of action. Schröder has trebled that mark this season to 17.5 thanks to 54.3 percent accuracy inside the arc while using nearly a quarter of the Hawks' plays, along with an assist rate that has improved from 5.2 to 6.8 per 36 minutes.

Though Schröder has been the most productive Atlanta reserve, the Hawks also have gotten effective floor spacing from stretch bigs Mike Scott and Pero Antić and elite defense from long-limbed wing stoppers Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore. The second unit is largely responsible for Atlanta posting the NBA's best defensive rating in the month of December (95.2 points allowed per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com/Stats); with at least one reserve on the floor, that defensive rating drops all the way to a stifling 91.9.

Hawks' Lineup Breakdown

Unlike some coaches, Budenholzer has rarely used all five bench players together -- just 31 minutes all month. But Budenholzer has done a fine job of mixing and matching his starters to complement the strengths and weakness of his reserves. Lineups with anywhere from one to four starters on the floor have been dominant in the month of December, as the chart at right shows.

The Hawks benefited, certainly, from a relatively easy schedule early in the month. But even with Schröder filling in for an ailing Teague in the starting lineup, the bench has played a major role in a 3-0 road trip with wins over the Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets. Last Wednesday in Cleveland, Atlanta reserves combined for 73 points in a 29-point blowout of the Cavaliers that tied for the largest margin of victory on the road this season.

Wins like that have forced us to start considering Atlanta an East contender. The Hawks now rank sixth in the league in schedule-adjusted point differential, behind only Toronto in the conference. It might be last year's Raptors, not the Spurs, who are really the best analogue for Atlanta. I made that comparison on last week's Lowe Post podcast, noting that Toronto finished third in the East by ranking in the top 10 in the league in both offense and defense. (The Hawks are seventh in both categories right now.)

Like that Raptors team, it might be tough for casual fans to take Atlanta seriously because of a lack of star power. But there's more than one way to build a winning team, and a deep bench can carry the Hawks through the regular season.

News and notes

- The team on the other side of the Atlanta win Monday night, the Mavericks, experienced some growing pains integrating Rajon Rondo into the offense. While the Hawks have been shutting down everyone lately, Dallas' 38 points were a season low before halftime -- and their next-lowest effort, 42, came in Rondo's debut Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavericks managed just eight points in nearly eight minutes in the first quarter with Rondo on the floor.

Rondo

Atlanta was aggressive about playing off Rondo and daring him to shoot, which meant he took a team-high 13 shots during the first three quarters. In turn, the Hawks' sagging defense clogged things up inside, particularly for center Tyson Chandler, who had just four shot attempts in 34 minutes. Dallas found more success in a fourth-quarter comeback by turning Monta Ellis loose and playing Rondo largely off the ball, a strategy that may serve as the fallback until Rick Carlisle can implement more offense that utilizes both guards' ability to create.

- Let's talk some more about Rookie of the Year. Last week, after Jabari Parker's season was ended by a torn ACL, I noted that Andrew Wiggins' combined averages in points, rebounds and assists per game make him the clear front-runner for the award. On the aforementioned Lowe Post podcast, I discussed the race with Zach Lowe and voiced my support for Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic, the rookie leader in wins above replacement player (2.1) by a wide margin (James Ennis of the Miami Heat is a distant second, at 0.7).

Since then, Mirotic only strengthened his candidacy with a huge 27-point effort in a win at Memphis, including 6-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Still, as we pondered on the Lowe Post, a Mirotic victory would be unprecedented. Per Basketball-Reference.com, just two rookies of the year have averaged fewer than 30 minutes per game (Mike Miller in 2000-01 at 29.1 and Tom Heinsohn in 1956-57 at 29.9). Mirotic is currently averaging just 18.6 minutes, and that number could drop if the Chicago frontcourt gets (and stays) healthy. It will be fascinating to see what the voting panel does with Mirotic, who is clearly the most productive rookie in the league this year.

- Second-year wing Sergey Karasev has quietly emerged as a starter for the Brooklyn Nets. Karasev has started the past six games, playing nearly as many minutes (174) as in his previous season-plus in the NBA (191). Karasev has yet to find the touch from 3-point range, but he's displayed good feel for the game, and the Nets are plus-19 with him on the floor (as compared to minus-2 with Karasev on the bench) during that stretch.

The performance is encouraging for Karasev's future. While he's just weeks away from nearly being part of a trade (as part of the package the Philadelphia 76ers might have received in the Andrei Kirilenko deal the teams completed this month), Karasev is barely 21 and could be a rare cheap contributor for Brooklyn on his rookie contract.

- Weekly top five: Festive NBA names

5. Winston Garland; 4. DeMarre Carroll (also Joe Barry Carroll, Matt Carroll); 3. Emanual Davis (also Emanuel "Manu" Ginobili); 2. Nerlens Noel (also Noel Felix, David Noel and Paul Noel); 1. Dionte Christmas

Honorable mentions: Raja Bell (also Charlie, Dennis, Troy and Whitey Bell), Eric Snow, Rudolph "Rudy" Tomjanovich

[Plainview1981]

I still believe the Hawks need to make an improvement to the starting line up.... Perhaps someone to replace Carroll.

[ATLien_]

I still believe the Hawks need to make an improvement to the starting line up.... Perhaps someone to replace Carroll.

I like Jeff Green for that role. We need a bigger body to put on LeBron James in the playoffs. I hope we can rescue him from the Celtics. He's a good team and chemistry guy that brings alot of what we need to the table. His rebounding is really down lately though, so we may have some drop off there.

Edited December 26, 2014 by ATLien_

[DrReality]

Nice write up that really points out how Bud uses our guys to meet every challenge.  In the mean time our team is gaining lots of confidence. 

[JTB]

I still believe the Hawks need to make an improvement to the starting line up.... Perhaps someone to replace Carroll.

DMC is playing well as of late! I'm in no rush to get rid of him or any other hawk.

[benhillboy]

Appreciate it Cam. DeMarre had a nice sound byte about the defense on 92.9, they really believe they're a great defensive team.