Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer shortened his bench during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoff series against the Pacers. Expect a similar rotation during the remainder of the postseason.
The Hawks used 10 players, with Cartier Martin logging just four minutes and rookies Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala none.
“Ten is probably the limit, to a certain degree,” Budenholzer said Tuesday morning before Game 2. “Cartier (Martin) gave us some quality minutes, not a lot, but Cartier and his size, his toughness, his shooting give us something that we would like to be able to use. We’ve got a couple young guys who are dying to play. If we throw them in there, they will be ready. They will give us they’ve got. ”
Budenholzer said before the series that he expected to use a similar rotation as the regular season.
Each reserve, except for Elton Brand, played fewer minutes than his regular-season average in Game 1. Lou Williams (24.1 season average/18 minutes played) led the bench followed by Shelvin Mack (20.4/14), Brand (19.4/20), Mike Scott (18.5/12) and Martin (14.7/4).
“You just go out and play,” Williams said. “If you make plays, your time will be extended. Everyone knows that. You play well, you stay on the basketball court. Other than that, Coach is going to go with his starting guys that he feels most comfortable with.”
Williams back: Williams made his first playoff appearance in Game 1 since the 2011-12 season the 76ers. He missed last season's postseason with a torn right ACL.
“It was cool just to play and be back in the swing of things,” Williams said. “It’s like everything has come full circle, and I was happy to be a part of it.”
No place like the road: In the first 10 NBA playoff games, through Monday, the road team won six. The Hawks' Game 1 win over the Pacers being one such upset.
“It’s kind of strange,” Williams said. “I think, in a lot of those games, a lot of those teams are evenly matched. If you look at the records during the season with the teams that have had success on the home teams, they’ve been able to beat them in the regular season. I think some of the series are evenly matched.”
Plenty of tickets available: The Hawks-Pacers playoff series moves to Philips Arena for Game 3 on Thursday night and Game 4 on Saturday afternoon. A substantial number of tickets for both games remain.
According to the ticket map on the Hawks’ website, many tickets remain available in most sections. Only one section and the suites are sold out for each game.
Top coach: The Spurs' Gregg Popovich was named NBA Coach of the Year, the league announced Tuesday. Popovich has won the award in two of the past three seasons and three times overall. He led the Spurs to a 62-20 record this season. The Suns' Jeff Hornacek and the Bulls' Tom Thibodeau finished second and third in voting conducted by a panel of 124 sportswriters in the United States and Canada.
Budenholzer, who spent 19 seasons working for Popovich before taking over the Hawks, did not receive any votes.
“I’m a little biased,” Budenholzer said. “I think he’s the coach of the year every year.”
Per policy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not participate in voting for end-of-season awards.
