Merged: Brand: The Atlanta Hawks fly under the radar

[HawkItus]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/71683/the-atlanta-hawks-fly-under-the-radar

 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

 

The Atlanta Hawks fly under the radar

By Kevin Arnovitz

 

The camaraderie is authentic for the East-leading Hawks, who finished a 3-0 road trip out West.

LOS ANGELES -- A few moments after the Atlanta Hawks dispatched the Los Angeles Clippers 107-98 to complete a 3-0 Western swing, coach Mike Budenholzer beelined to the locker of DeMarre Carroll. 

 

As the stampede of foreign press filed in (no one from Atlanta’s media outlets made the trip to cover the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks), Budenholzer stood over the seated Carroll and delivered a kind message to his lockdown defender. As Budenholzer finished, he laid his hands on either side of Carroll’s head, as an emotional punctuation mark, then disappeared into the visiting coach’s office. 

 

Carroll was clearly moved by his coach's gesture. When asked what Budenholzer had told him, Carroll demured. It’s just not in the DNA of the Hawks to share a private moment between player and coach, even after said player racked up 17 points on eight shots from the field, collected eight rebounds, dished out with four assists, performed his usual custodial work on the defensive end of the floor and took a nasty spill in the second half that kept him on the ground well into a timeout. 

 

These are the Atlanta Hawks, who are every bit as measured off the court as they are on it. These are grown men who go about the business of surgically dissecting two Western Conference contenders, then go en masse to a non-mandatory team dinner, something they do routinely after both wins and losses. The camaraderie is authentic, even if the personalities are, with a few exceptions, pretty mellow. 

 

“The reason it’s authentic is that everyone has bought in,” Al Horford said. “We enjoy working with each other.” 

 

Working isn't an idle word choice. Locker rooms come in any number of shapes and sizes. A giddy one doesn’t mean the players inside aren't serious about winning basketball games, but spend time with the Hawks and there’s a distinct air of buttoned-up professionalism -- an office populated by well-balanced adults who understand work-life balance and the division of labor. 

 

“We have guys who don’t play, who have guaranteed contracts beyond this year and they work their asses off because they want us to be better and want to contribute,” veteran big man Elton Brand said. 

 

One thing that often gets lost in the discussion about culture and chemistry -- the system installed in Atlanta by way of San Antonio demands a strict selflessness. Break off from the sequence of actions in the half court and the stuff falls apart. Everyone on the floor devotes himself to the idea that if you stay in motion, the ball will work its way to the logical recipient before the shot clock expires. 

 

So when guys spend practices, shootarounds, walk-throughs and film sessions preaching the gospel of sharing the ball, it’s not at all weird or cultish to spend time together around a dinner table: “Breaking bread is what coach calls it,” Carroll said. 

 

In his 17th season now, Brand has a counterintuitive theory for the Hawks’ success -- namely, that it’s the absence of superstars that makes the enterprise work in Atlanta, which is now 26-8. 

 

“Not to dump on any specific team, but when you play against a superstar, you know exactly where the ball is going,” Brand said. “Certain guys are going to get the ball at certain times at certain spots. They're running their sets.” 

 

It’s not as if the Hawks don’t have a well-formed foundation -- just about every player in the league who has read a scouting report has been versed in the choreography of the Spurs-style motion deployed by Atlanta, but the system is predicated on intelligent players making intelligent decisions based largely on the behavior of the defense. So when opponents show out Kyle Korver as he comes off a pin-down, Korver can dish the ball to Horford or Pero Antić, who after pinning Korver’s guy has slipped to the basket. 

 

This works on the other end of the floor too, where the Hawks have climbed from the bottom half of the league to No. 6 overall in defensive efficiency. Though it’s not an extraordinarily gifted group of individual defenders, the Hawks are versatile and, more than that, heady. They've made a habit of switching up coverages multiple times per night, as they did in their win over Portland on Saturday, keeping the Trail Blazers off balance. Sounds obvious, but asking a team to master multiple coverages for a single matchup is a difficult proposition … unless the team has the collective smarts and trust to make guerrilla warfare its overriding strategy. 

 

Absent a dynamic creator, the Hawks are banking on their intelligence to carry them out of the Eastern Conference, which they currently lead by 1½ games. Rather than fly home to Atlanta on a red-eye charter, the Hawks opted to stay in Los Angeles for the night, where a majority of the team broke bread at the quaint Italian joint Piccolo, just off Venice Beach. 

 

Leave it to the Hawks to choose the one restaurant in town that begged to be left out of the encyclopedic Zagat restaurant guide, even though it received quality reviews. 

 

[Guest]

(no one from Atlanta’s media outlets made the trip to cover the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks)

 

Funny the writer pointed this out.  F U Atlanta media.

[macdaddy]

Funny the writer pointed this out.  F U Atlanta media.

 

Yeah.  What a joke.   Great article though.   These are some damn good players we have here.   The real genius of the team we have is that you have talented, selfless players who are in their prime.   Often to get those types of guys they are on their last legs.   

[diamond_dave]

Loved te article. I wonder when teams will start to model themselves after us. I'm not sure how easy it would be. It takes special people and special players to make this work.

[JETSET]

Is this not the most loveable team ever? 

[AHF]

In his 17th season now, Brand has a counterintuitive theory for the Hawks’ success -- namely, that it’s the absence of superstars that makes the enterprise work in Atlanta, which is now 26-8. 

“Not to dump on any specific team, but when you play against a superstar, you know exactly where the ball is going,” Brand said. “Certain guys are going to get the ball at certain times at certain spots. They're running their sets.” 

It’s not as if the Hawks don’t have a well-formed foundation -- just about every player in the league who has read a scouting report has been versed in the choreography of the Spurs-style motion deployed by Atlanta, but the system is predicated on intelligent players making intelligent decisions based largely on the behavior of the defense. So when opponents show out Kyle Korver as he comes off a pin-down, Korver can dish the ball to Horford or Pero Antić, who after pinning Korver’s guy has slipped to the basket. 

This works on the other end of the floor too, where the Hawks have climbed from the bottom half of the league to No. 6 overall in defensive efficiency. Though it’s not an extraordinarily gifted group of individual defenders, the Hawks are versatile and, more than that, heady. They've made a habit of switching up coverages multiple times per night, as they did in their win over Portland on Saturday, keeping the Trail Blazers off balance. Sounds obvious, but asking a team to master multiple coverages for a single matchup is a difficult proposition … unless the team has the collective smarts and trust to make guerrilla warfare its overriding strategy. 

Absent a dynamic creator, the Hawks are banking on their intelligence to carry them out of the Eastern Conference, which they currently lead by 1½ games.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/71683/the-atlanta-hawks-fly-under-the-radar

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

That is one aspect I like about this team. We are very unpredictable on the offensive end because defenses never know where the ball is going, but that unpredictability also worries me. Who is going to show out each night? Who is going to get us those clutch baskets when we need them most? Are we going to continue relying on big leads to save us late in games? Where does the ball go if we find ourselves down 4 with 1:30 remaining?

Maybe it's just the fear of the unknown for me and being brainwashed all these years by Kobe winning titles and "Big 3" formations. And if no one shows out in a game, then losing to the Bucks by 30 happens. We may not need a scoring-champion superstar on the team, but a DeRozan-type scorer would be a plus. Teague has shown flashes of what having a guy that just takes over a game is like. Getting Marc Gasol with his passing, shooting, and defensive ability would be huge too.

I also worry about fatigue and injury. We are playing playoff basketball in January and if one of our starters goes down, it could be an end-all. We've been very lucky that our guys have stayed relatively healthy.

One more thing is the NBA is a copycat league. Teams get a whiff of what Bud is cooking, they liable tforming copycat teams mimicking what he has done. Yes, Bud is a spawn of Gregg Pop, but he has added other things that Pop doesn't do.

[hawkman]

There is truth to what Brand said. I'd still like to see a guy who can create on the team, but the Hawks are legit without that. Everyone on this team is so unselfish that the opposing team can't key in on one guy without someone else going off. I feel confident in saying that this Hawks team will make it to the ECF and beyond. I can't think of one team in the East that can beat them in seven games. These guys play the same way whether they are at home or on the road which will be key during the Playoffs.

[benhillboy]

No one is gonna copy the Spurs format besides us, it's too unsexy and players are too self-centered and salary-driven.

I have no problem with the superstar model, it has worked well. But to say that's the only way to win is absurd, every season takes on its own identity. Not having a focal player is clearly an advantage for this team and will continue to be.

[frosgrim]

That is one aspect I like about this team. We are very unpredictable on the offensive end because defenses never know where the ball is going, but that unpredictability also worries me. Who is going to show out each night? Who is going to get us those clutch baskets when we need them most? Are we going to continue relying on big leads to save us late in games? Where does the ball go if we find ourselves down 4 with 1:30 remaining?

Maybe it's just the fear of the unknown for me and being brainwashed all these years by Kobe winning titles and "Big 3" formations. And if no one shows out in a game, then losing to the Bucks by 30 happens. We may not need a scoring-champion superstar on the team, but a DeRozan-type scorer would be a plus. Teague has shown flashes of what having a guy that just takes over a game is like. Getting Marc Gasol with his passing, shooting, and defensive ability would be huge too.

I also worry about fatigue and injury. We are playing playoff basketball in January and if one of our starters goes down, it could be an end-all. We've been very lucky that our guys have stayed relatively healthy.

One more thing is the NBA is a copycat league. Teams get a whiff of what Bud is cooking, they liable tforming copycat teams mimicking what he has done. Yes, Bud is a spawn of Gregg Pop, but he has added other things that Pop doesn't do.

 I have a similar take; however, Teague seems to be the "shot" guy late in games or during difficult times. To his massive credit, Jeff has started to show he can shoulder that burden.

 

The 30 point losses are going to happen. Every team has those sorts of hic-ups; even the great Jordan-lead Bulls teams have  those nights on occasions. The issue is how often they happen and what do you do the next game. So far the Hawks have shown the occasional blow-out actually motivates the team to get better.

 

At this point, given the chemestry of the team, I would be very concerned about a trade to bring in a big-time scorer. I still wouldn't mind a big-time rebounder though :)

[IheartVolt]

There is truth to what Brand said. I'd still like to see a guy who can create on the team, but the Hawks are legit without that. Everyone on this team is so unselfish that the opposing team can't key in on one guy without someone else going off. I feel confident in saying that this Hawks team will make it to the ECF and beyond. I can't think of one team in the East that can beat them in seven games. These guys play the same way whether they are at home or on the road which will be key during the Playoffs.

Teague is that guy! For some reason some folks just refuse to see the guy for what he is , a freaking nightmare for any team in the 4th quarter!

[Peoriabird]

Teague is that guy! For some reason some folks just refuse to see the guy for what he is , a freaking nightmare for any team in the 4th quarter!

They don't want to see it!  Crow taste worse than it looks!

Edited January 6, 2015 by Peoriabird

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

The number 1 seed that's flying under the radar... love it.

[HawkItus]

Someone should probably merge this and AHF's topic.....same article.  :)

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

At this point, given the chemestry of the team, I would be very concerned about a trade to bring in a big-time scorer. I still wouldn't mind a big-time rebounder though

The Bad Boy era Pistons were worried about this too when they traded Adreian Dantley for Mark Aguirre. The fans and media were worried that the Pistons messed with the chemistry of the team... but they went on to win the title that year. A trade would not necessarily ruin these Hawks. I mean I'm not saying trade Teague, Sap, Korver, or Horford, but let's say Mike Scott + Shelvin Mack + Sefolosha for a starting small forward or center would not tear this team apart... as long as he fits.

[Guest]

Is this not the most loveable team ever?

Yeah, no ... How bout the most loveable of all time-Peter Klavin (I love you man)

[Guest]

Someone should probably merge this and AHF's topic.....same article.  

 

I think the modz should just move it.  Right, @Dolfan23?

[Guest]

I think the modz should just move it. Right, @Dolfan23?

You're playing with fire @kg01 ....see you next month? :-|

[Guest]

You're playing with fire @kg01 ....see you next month? :-|

 

Why?  You get locked up again?  There's been some nasty rumors floating around the game chat.

 

Kinda nice around the board with the squad in 1st place, huh?  Hasn't been a doomsday thread in like a whole month.

[Guest]

Why? You get locked up again? There's been some nasty rumors floating around the game chat.

Kinda nice around the board with the squad in 1st place, huh? Hasn't been a doomsday thread in like a whole month.

No I was referring to you getting locked up lol...