Mike Budenholzer was an assistant coach with the No. 1-seed Spurs when they lost an opening-round Western Conference playoff series to the No. 8 Grizzlies two seasons ago. It was one of only five times in NBA history there has been such an upset.
Fast forward, and the first-year Hawks coach is trying to be on the other side of the ledger. He leads the No. 8 Hawks against the No. 1 Pacers in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“I’m sure, at this point, everyone is respectful of the quality of the opponent, how important each game is and that you can’t make any assumptions,” Budenholzer said. “I know we are in the underdog position in the eighth seed, but we welcome this opportunity. We know the challenge that is ahead of us, and we feel that we can compete with anybody.”
Kyle Korver also was part of one of those upsets when his Bulls team, without Derrick Rose, lost to the 76ers also in 2012.
“It doesn’t happen a lot, but it happens,” Korver said. “We’ll go out there, do our best and try to get some wins.”
Playoff intensity: In the playoffs, it's the little things that matter. There is an old adage that the intensity level is magnified in the postseason.
“Just the physicality, the attention to detail, all the little things, especially defensively,” said Budenholzer when asked what specifically makes the NBA’s second season so different. “For every team in the playoffs, their defensive intensity, their defensive attention to detail just becomes greater. So, it makes it more important that offensively your fundamentals, your cutting, your screening, all those little things have to be better. All the little things are what become heightened and become better and more important.”
Same lineup: With all five starters relatively healthy, the Hawks started their regular unit of Jeff Teague, Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Pero Antic in Game 1.
The unit is 12-6 this season, including the 19-point victory at the Pacers on April 6.
Teague improving: Teague finished the regular season with a career-best 16.5 points per game. It represents the fourth consecutive year the point guard increased his scoring average. Teague averaged 3.2 points as a rookie and upped his averages to 5.2, 12.6 and 14.6 before this season.
Draft picks: The NBA conducted tiebreakers Friday with teams that finished the regular season with identical records to further define the draft, pending the lottery May 20.
The Hawks will have the 15th pick in the first round, a selection determined by their regular-season finish, and the 43rd overall pick in the second round.
The Hawks had the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets as part of the considerations of the Joe Johnson trade. With the Nets finishing as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, they have the 17th overall pick, which now will go to the Celtics.
About the Author
