Chemistry in the backcourt: NAW, McCollum a microcosm of Hawks’ cohesion

When the Hawks found a formula that worked in late February, they made the switch. Now looking to make a postseason run, the Hawks will lean on veterans in Nickeil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum to anchor their starting lineup.

The two guards add a combined 14 years of playoff experience to the Hawks’ starting unit. With that, they’ll give the Hawks stabilizing forces, especially with the chemistry developed over the last two and a half months.

“It takes time,” McCollum told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s a work in progress. There’s gonna be times where everything looks great, times where you hit a rough patch. But I always say, ‘Just keep swimming, keep figuring things out, keep asking questions, keep working.’

“And eventually, when you do things the right way, you work hard and take the game seriously, eventually, things will fall in your favor, especially when you have talent mixed with work ethic mixed with good coaching. So it was only a matter of time. I’m just glad it didn’t take too long.”

The Hawks officially moved McCollum to the starting unit on Feb. 22, as they looked to capitalize on their most productive lineup. The group that included McCollum, Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu had one of the best net ratings in the league, and the Hawks wanted to maximize it.

But McCollum and Alexander-Walker also rank among the top two-man lineups in the NBA.

“It’s been great,” Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga said. “It’s very fun to watch. It’s not just in the basketball games. It’s in practice, off the court, just watching how they interact. They got it figured out.”

Per Cleaning the Glass, lineups that include the pair rank among the 98th percentile in point differential (+15.6).

They rank in the 95th percentile in offense, adding on average 123.9 points per 100 possessions. Defensively, they’re in the 94th percentile, holding opponents to 107.9 points per 100 possessions.

“I mean, it definitely took a bit to get everybody on the same page,” Okongwu said. “But as you guys saw after the All-Star break, we were gelling, and it was beautiful to see. The continuity we had is the reason why we are where we are right now, you know, going from a 10th seed to top six.”

All of that continuity has been a work in progress for McCollum and Alexander-Walker.

For McCollum, the work started before he arrived in Atlanta. The 12-year veteran said he watched the Hawks for years before the team acquired him in January. McCollum said he had an idea of how the Hawks played with their previous personnel, which allowed him to get a sense of the style of play that Hawks coach Quin Snyder wants.

“They always play fast,” McCollum said. “They always play with space and pace. So those are things that I knew I would be able to adapt pretty quickly.

“Then it was just about them understanding my game, me understanding their games, and immersively as you come together, like, things change and you evolve, but the dialogue was always consistent. And then, like-minded individuals heading in the same direction allowed for us to have success.”

Over 41 regular-season games with the Hawks, McCollum averaged 18.7 points and 4.1 assists per game. But it’s playing with Alexander-Walker and Daniels that has reinvigorated his defensive efforts.

“Yeah, he’s defended more than I ever thought he would,” Snyder joked when McCollum asked a question at the end of a practice availability on Tuesday. “ ... that’s embracing the situation and understanding when we need him to do different things within a game, we need him to defend the whole game, that’s a given. But I think finding those situations, it’s really hard.”

Alexander-Walker, too, has seen a boost from the pairing alongside McCollum. The 27-year-old guard has had some highly efficient shooting nights in the latter half of the season.

He made 46.8% of his 3s in March and 50% of his shots from deep in April. The added spacing that McCollum brings to the starting lineup allowed Alexander-Walker to find his most optimal spots. But Alexander-Walker also benefited from McCollum’s drives and kicks to the perimeter.

Alexander-Walker, like some of his younger teammates, has also benefited from McCollum’s veteran knowledge.

“For me, it’s been huge because I think sometimes my eagerness gets in the way of the bigger picture,” Alexander-Walker told the AJC. “And I think his hindsight with the 12 years is always going to be 20/20, compared to what I may feel or the ambitions behind my drive. And so I think it’s that perfect balance of what evens it out for me and brings me back to where I need to be.”

Some of what McCollum has imparted is how to handle the increased usage. For the first time in his career, Alexander-Walker has averaged more than 30 minutes per game. So, he’s had a lot of reminders that he has to find the right balance in his approach to his work.

“He’s a basketball junkie,” McCollum said. “He loves it. I see a lot of people like it. Some people love it. Some people live it. And there’s a combination of those people out there that love it and live it. And I think he’s one of those guys that, innately (does).

“Like, I had to talk to him about understanding the body, understanding the season, understanding the role you’re playing in. You can’t work out like you’re the seventh or eighth man. Like, you just can’t.

“The season’s too long. Your workload is too high. You have to pick your days where you get after it. You have to pick your days where it’s rest-family day. Go be a dad. Go be a husband. Go do the things that you love outside of basketball, and you’ll feel more recharged when you come back.”

That recharging perhaps spurred Alexander-Walker’s offensive surge in the last 20 games of the season.

But the McCollum and Alexander-Walker’s chemistry in the backcourt represents just a small part of the cohesion the Hawks have developed since the All-Star break.

It could be just the edge the Hawks need in their first-round series against the Knicks.