The Hawks reached the midpoint of the NBA season with a 22-19 record under first-year coach Mike Budenholzer. The three-games-above .500 mark is good enough for third place in the Eastern Conference. There has been some good, such as home victories over top teams in each conference. There has been some bad, such as the season-ending loss of star Al Horford.
Here is a look at the Hawks’ season through the first 41 games.
ALL-STAR CANDIDATE
The Hawks went into another season without a true center. However, through the first 29 games Horford and Paul Millsap made strides in developing real chemistry. On Dec. 26, the team’s fortunes changed when Horford was lost to a torn right pectoral muscle, the bizarre injury coming two years after he tore the left pectoral.
Millsap has filled much of the void.
The Hawks are 6-6 since the loss of Horford. In those games, Millsap has averaged 19.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks. He, along with Horford and Jeff Teague, were the Hawks’ representatives on the All-Star ballot. None of the players was elected as a starter, but could be named as reserves Jan. 30. It would be hard not to put Millsap in the mix among frontcourt players.
With the Hawks ranked third in the, albeit weak, Eastern Conference, should the team be represented?
“For me personally, I think somebody should represent this team whether it’s me, Jeff, Kyle (Korver),” Millsap said. “We deserve it. We’ve worked hard through the course of the year, especially after Al went down. We’ve done a great job so far, and hopefully we can continue to do it.”
Budenholzer credited Millsap’s leadership. In the past two games, wins over the Heat and Magic, Millsap brought the team together late to refocus their efforts and prevent a victory from slipping away.
“I wish they could put a leadership column on our stat sheet,” Budenholzer said. “… All the other (stats) are great and we appreciate the rebounds and the blocks, but it’s his leadership (that matters most).”
By the numbers: In Wednesday's win over the Magic, Millsap had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, five blocks and three steals. According to Elias Sports Bureau, no Hawks player has ever had the combination in a game.
UPS AND DOWNS
Budenholzer and staff installed new offensive and defensive principles. It continues to be a work in progress. The Hawks have been impressive at times with can-you-top-this consecutive wins at Philips Arena over the Pacers, Rockets and Heat. They have been equally bad at times. They trailed by 33 points before losing to the Nets in London last week. There were ugly back-to-back home losses to the lowly Celtics and Magic in November.
“We are building,” Budenholzer said. “There has been a lot of good foundation laid. We have a great group of guys who are competitive, unselfish and really want to play with each other. All of those things are what we value and what is most important. And we have a lot more to improve and build and work on to go forward. The general competitiveness, the general work ethic and approach, has been really positive.”
By the numbers: The Hawks were a best of four games over .500 at 17-13 on Dec. 28. They have never been more than one game under .500, the last time at 9-10 on Dec. 2.
TOPS IN ASSISTS
The Hawks lead the NBA in assists with a 25.6 per game average. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Spurs rank second with a 25.2 per game average. Budenholzer spent 19 seasons as an assistant in the San Antonio organization before joining the Hawks.
The Hawks have had at least 20 assists in the past 23 games and in 39 of the 41 games. In the only two games when they did not reach the 20-assist mark, the Hawks had 19 in each. The Hawks have had more than 30 assists eight times.
“We have to remember that we are an NBA team and not an AAU team,” Korver said. “That is really what it boils down to. When we run sets and we execute, we can be really good and score a lot of points. We can be an efficient team. But when we get away from that we have stretches, especially on the road, where we don’t execute. We just come down and try to go one-on-one and try to force something up.
“As long as we keep on fighting that urge to do that, as long as we do, we’ve shown we can score a lot of points.”
By the numbers: Teague ranks eighth in the NBA in assists at 7.4 per game. Shelvin Mack, who moved into the backup point guard role in a hurry, ranks fifth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.26.
THE SURPRISES
Easily the biggest surprise of the season has been the play of Mike Scott and Mack.
Scott, a second-year player, has shown much improvement and become a key component of the Hawks’ bench. The forward often is the first substitute and on more than one occasion has provided needed scoring punch. His steady progression has been a result of hard work in the offseason, according to Budenholzer. The coach also is pleased with the way Scott has learned to see the floor and become a playmaker at times.
“He has really gotten a better understanding of the vision of the court and the spacing of the court and is making plays for his teammates,” Budenholzer said.
Mack was the last player to make the roster out of training camp, except for the late signing of Cartier Martin. Mack beat out Royal Ivey for the final spot and was expected to be the third point guard. That notion didn’t last long. Mack simply stole the backup job from rookie Dennis Schroder.
The job was Schroder’s for the first nine games. Since that point, Mack has played in every game except one, that because of an ankle sprain. In the Hawks’ signature win over the Heat on Monday, Mack played the entire fourth quarter over Teague.
By the numbers: Scott has scored in double-figures in six consecutive games.
THE STREAK
No discussion of the Hawks’ season would be complete without mention of Korver’s 3-point streak. It has taken on a life of its own.
Korver has made at least one 3-pointer in an NBA-record 110 consecutive games. In his 1 1/2 seasons with the Hawks, Korver has failed to connect from long range once, in his first game.
The streak has come close to ending on a couple of occasions. The most recent came last week when Korver didn’t connect until late in the fourth quarter of loss to the Nets in London. Budenholzer left him in the game despite a 30-point deficit to try to keep the record alive. After Korver made a 3-pointer, on his eighth try, he was out of the game 26 seconds later. When he did score the basket, it induced the largest cheer from the O2 Arena crowd. Yes, notice of the streak reached overseas.
By the numbers: Korver's record is now 21 games better than the old mark of Dana Barros.
About the Author
