Who knew? Mike Budenholzer has a little hockey in him.
The Hawks coach implemented a mass substitution strategy against the Pistons Tuesday.
It didn’t work in the final score. The Pistons used a fast start and finish for a 105-95 victory at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The strategy may have a benefit as the top-seeded Hawks use the final games of the regular season in preparation for the playoffs.
On four occasions, Budenholzer substituted for all five starters at once in an effort to develop a stronger sense of chemistry within the first and second units.
“We wanted to really look to give that (starting) group … a lot of reps together, a lot of time together,” Budenholzer said. “Then, that second group kind of the same thing. We’ve looked a lot of different combinations and so tonight we wanted to give those groups a lot of reps.”
The starting unit did play fewer minutes overall than normal. The group of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Al Horford each played 24 minutes and totaled 50 points.
The second unit of Shelvin Mack, Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha, Mike Muscala and a combination of Pero Antic and Austin Daye likewise played 24 minutes and totaled 45 points.
“We’ll sub the same way we always sub (in the playoffs),” Budenholzer said. “(The starters) are going to finish games. They are still going to play a preponderance of the minutes together so tonight was a great night for them to play exclusively together. They’ve played together a lot. That group knows each other. It was another opportunity to have them get even more reps together in a game.”
The Hawks (56-19, 24-14 road) failed to tie the franchise record for wins in a season at 57. That milestone will have to wait.
Sefolosha had a second solid game in his return from a calf injury and led the Hawks with a season-high 19 points. Horford finished with 16 points. Muscala had a career-high 13 rebounds.
The Pistons (29-45), still alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race, have won five of their past six games. Andre Drummond led five players in double figures with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. The Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak to the Hawks to finish the season series at 3-1.
“The biggest thing is you are able to develop chemistry,” Mack said. “The starters are able to play with together and the bench guys can play together. You can use it to get in a rhythm, almost like a practice day to work on some things.”
The Pistons started by making 10 of their first 11 shots to take an 11-point lead at 25-14 with 5:08 left in the first quarter. At that point, a visibly upset Budenholzer substituted his entire starting lineup following a timeout. The five reserves entered and trimmed the deficit to as few as three points and five, 33-28, after the first quarter.
The Hawks starters re-entered the game to start the second quarter and fell behind by as many as eight points before the Hawks pulled the mass substitution again 4:59 later. The reserves answered with an 11-2 run and the Hawks took their first lead, 50-47, on a Bazemore 3-pointer. The Pistons scored the final five points of the quarter to take a 52-50 lead into intermission.
The starting unit began the second half but was pulled en masse with 4:43 left in the quarter. The reserves again gave the Hawks a brief lead but the Pistons entered the final quarter with a 76-72 advantage. With the starters back in to begin the fourth quarter, the Pistons lead grew to as many as 11 points as part of an 11-0 run. The final substitutions came with 7:18 remaining. The Pistons put the game away with a 13-2 run as the Hawks went 1 of 12 from the field.
“I think that is pretty smart,” Sefolosha said. “It gives everybody some burn. It was good for the second unit to play this much together and the first unit the same thing. We can work on the defense and the communication.”
The Hawks have three days without a game before hosting the Nets Saturday.
Note: The Hawks released a medical updated on Dennis Schroder late Tuesday revealing that the point guard has a left toe sprain.
Schroder was examined by team doctors at Peachtree Orthopaedic Tuesday morning. An X-ray was negative and an MRI exam revealed the sprain. The team reported that Schroder will continue to receive treatment and his status will be updated as appropriate. Indications are Schroder is day-to-day with the injury.
The reserve point guard was injured in Monday’s win over the Bucks and remained in Atlanta to see doctors as the Hawks played at the Pistons.
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