The Hawks’ two point guard plan has already been tested.
The team was forced into a point guard-by-committee situation at the end of the first half of Thursday’s season-opening victory over the Wizards. What coach Mike Budenholzer intended as a one- or two-possession experiment got the team through a key three-minute stint.
Dennis Schroder picked up his third foul with 3:38 remaining in the second quarter and the Hawks trailing, 48-46. After 44 seconds, Budenholzer sent Thabo Sefolosha in to replace Schroder and not backup Malcolm Delaney. The Hawks had a backcourt of Tim Hardaway Jr., Kent Bazemore and Sefolosha alongside Mike Muscala and Dwight Howard.
By the end of the half, the Hawks led 57-56.
“It was an unplanned, unforeseen situation,” Budenholzer said. “…We need to be prepared and thinking and have a group that is comfortable playing without Malcolm Delaney or Dennis on the court. I’m very happy with how Malcolm is playing. When I first did it, I thought it might be for one or two possessions but they were doing OK so we went ahead and did it for the rest of the half.”
Hardaway handled most of the point guard duties although Bazemore and Sefolosha did bring the ball up court on occasion. Hardaway ran a few set plays from the position. He also played the point during the preseason, playing down the stretch in an exhibition against the Magic.
“I think that helped build a little bit of confidence in the staff and my teammates that I could make the right plays and right decisions when I was at the top,” Hardaway said of the early chance.
Hardaway had four points and Bazemore had an assist as part of the Hawks’ run to end the half.
“I don’t think we run very many set plays to begin with but then it does get even more reduced or you have to be even more simplistic,” Budenholzer said of not having a true point guard on the floor. “I think Tim ran a couple basic simple middle high pick-and-rolls, rubs. We’ve done that some with him in the preseason. Tim is getting more and more comfortable.”
Schroder did not pick up a foul the rest of the game. Hardaway finished with 21 points, two rebounds and one assist.
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