The NBA’s regular season is winding down with less than a month to play. The Hawks have 15 games remaining — eight at home and seven on the road.
Here are five things to watch for coming down the stretch as the Hawks look to secure their ninth consecutive postseason.
1. Maintain the defense
The Hawks’ defense has been a constant for the past few months. They rank second in the NBA overall in defensive efficiency, behind only the Spurs. They are first in the category since Dec. 12. That’s three months of the best defense in the league. That has to continue. The defensive principles will be even more important come the postseason.
“We have to maintain our defense,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said Tuesday. “We have to know that’s a priority.”
The Hawks also rank second in the league in opponent field-goal percentage (.433), third in steals (9.3), fifth in opponent 3-point field-goal percentage (.334), sixth in points allowed (98.6) and seventh in blocks (5.7).
2. Pace versus turnovers
The Hawks want/need to play with pace, pushing the attack and keeping the offense moving to limit the opponent’s ability to set up their defense. The pace has been getting better of late. Budenholzer said there will be turnovers with that style of play. He can live with some.
“I do think our execution needs to get better,” Budenholzer said. “If we can take care of the ball that would help us a lot. … I do think we are working on our pace, all the little things that go into playing with pace, and I think that will help reduce our turnovers. Sometimes there are turnovers that are playing with pace with the ball movement and freedom that you can’t overreact to. But I do feel if we play with great pace and ball movement we will reduce our turnovers.”
3. Consistent offense
Playing up-tempo and being consistent go hand-in-hand for the Hawks. The offense has been inconsistent for much of the season, but it’s trending in the right direction. It’s not there yet. The Hawks cannot afford to slide on offense, especially with the coming playoffs, when the game gets slower. The Hawks have won seven of the past nine – and five of those wins came against teams with a winning record. They scored 104 points while shooting 47 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range in Sunday’s win over the Pacers.
“For us, it’s making sure we continue to build on the habits we’ve been trying to build on — defending well, playing with more pace on the offensive end,” Al Horford said of the final 15 games. “As a team, we are starting to figure that out so I want us to be more consistent going into the postseason.”
4. Keep rebounding
The Hawks are still 27th in the NBA in rebounding at 41.8 points per game. However, they are averaging 43.8 rebounds per game since the addition of Kris Humphries. He has appeared in six games, and the Hawks are 5-1 in the span. Humphries is averaging only 4.7 rebounds with the Hawks so the uptick can’t totally be attributed to his presence. Or can it?
“I think individually he’s had an impact on the rebounding,” Budenholzer said. “I think just the way he plays, including going to the offensive boards and his commitment to that, it sends a reminder to all of us. We can be great in transition and we can get a few more offensive boards. I do think he’s had a positive effect on our rebounding.”
5. Playoff watch
Things are tight in the Eastern Conference. As of Tuesday’s schedule, the Hawks are 9 1/2 games behind the first-place Cavaliers. However, they are just 1 1/2 games behind the third-place Celtics and one game behind the fourth-place Heat. And it’s just as close behind them. They are half-game ahead of the sixth-place Hornets and four games ahead of the ninth-place Pistons, Wednesday’s opponent, out of the playoff picture. According to the NBA, the Hawks’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 12. The Hawks are watching the scoreboard.
“Any team would like to have home-court advantage, but for us it’s for us to go out there and play good basketball and let the pieces fall,” Paul Millsap said.
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