Hawks hope to carry surge into postseason
ATLANTA — Maybe the Atlanta Hawks finally figured things out.
If so, their timing is impeccable. During the final week of a regular season that had been marked largely by perplexing inconsistency, the Hawks turned in some of their best performances. They beat reigning NBA champion Cleveland twice — once by coming back from 26 points down — and topped East No. 1 seed Boston.
Now, heading into an opening-round playoff series against the Washington Wizards, the Hawks are overflowing with confidence.
“I think we’re playing probably as good or better than we have all year, especially offensively,” coach Mike Budenholzer said Friday. “That’s what you want to be doing going into the playoffs. I think the team’s in a good mindset, a good place.”
Make no mistake — this season was a disappointment for the Hawks, who just two years ago set a franchise record with 60 regular-season wins and were the top seed in the East. Last season, they slipped to 48-34 and underwent a roster overhaul that included the signing of polarizing center Dwight Howard and the promotion of Dennis Schroder to starting point guard.
Instead of improving, Atlanta was actually in danger of missing the playoffs before the finalweek surge. The Hawks finished 43-39 and earned the No. 5 seed in the East.
Even though they will be making their 10th straight postseason appearance, the team has generated little buzz around the NBA or even in its own city, where home games continue to be marked by thousands of empty seats and most sports fans seem more focused on the start of baseball season, the upcoming NFL draft and a promising new Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United FC.
Howard shrugged off the lack of support, saying it’s important for players to keep “they” out of their lives.
“All the people who don’t believe in us, that’s ‘they,’” the former Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy star said. “… It doesn’t matter what ‘they’ want. It matters what we want.”
Atlanta’s offensive improvement has coincided with a reduction in Howard’s minutes late in the season, and Budenholzer seems intent on sticking with an extended rotation during the playoffs. He praised the contributions of substitutes, a group that includes former starter Kent Bazemore, Jose Calderon, Mike Dunleavy, Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Muscala.
“We have a deep bench, and I think we’re going to try to use as much of it as we can,” Budenholzer said. “We’re in a little bit of a unique position where, at least going into Game 1, the plan is to keep a deep rotation and play a lot of guys and continue to massage that. If we need to adjust in a game, we will.”
Off the court, All-Star forward Paul Millsap shook things
“I think we’re playing probably as good or better than we have all year, especially offensively. That’s what you want to be doing going into the playoffs.” – COACH MIKE BUDENHOLZER
up by dressing down the team when things looked especially bleak — a change of pace for the normally soft-spoken player. He demanded better ball movement. He urged the bench
players to get into the game. He wanted to see teammates high-fiving each other and playing with enthusiasm.
“Just the little things,” Millsap said. “We’re trying to get back to that, which makes a really good basketball team. Down the stretch, I wanted to emphasize that. These last few days, you’ve seen a completely different group.”
The Hawks will continue to go with a starting lineup that includes Tim Hardaway Jr. and rookie forward Taurean Prince. That leaves Bazemore coming off the bench, an unusual role for someone who’s in the first year of a $70 million contract. He isn’t complaining, saying this is “the best I’ve felt in a long time.”
Indeed, after battling injuries late in the year, Atlanta has everyone ready to go against the Wizards, who won the season series 3-1. Game 1 is Sunday in Washington.
“Everybody’s back now,” Schroder said. “We showed what we can do and who we can beat. We’ve just got to keep competing and doing the same things.”