Can The Hawks Sweep The Nets?
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Hawks head to the Barclays Center to take on the Brooklyn Nets Saturday afternoon. With a 2-0 lead in the series, can the Hawks sweep the Nets?
In the series’ first two contests, Atlanta managed to earn two hard-fought victories over Brooklyn. Strong team defense has bailed out a streaky offense. Poor shooting performances from Paul Millsap in Game One and DeMarre Carroll last night in Game Two prevented the Hawks from generating comfortable leads.
Brooklyn PG Jarrett Jack has already had an outstanding series coming off the Nets bench. Starting Nets PG Deron Williams has been ineffective running Brooklyn’s offense thus far. HC Lionel Hollins may want to start Jack over Williams if he wants his Nets to avoid falling 0-3 to the Hawks.
Atlanta did improve on the defensive glass in last night’s game. Brook Lopez and Mason Plumlee dominated the Hawks on the boards in Game One. The necessary corrections made by Atlanta before Game Two held Brooklyn to one offensive rebound in the first half. Atlanta cannot afford to consistently give Brooklyn easy second chance opportunities in the low post, as every Nets big man is sound offensively near the basket.
Where I believe the Hawks can continue to exploit Brooklyn is in the mid-to-long range shooting game. The Nets are slow to rotate in their on-ball defense. Swingmen Bojan Bogdanovic and Alan Anderson have failed at containing Kyle Korver in the first two games. That’s problematic for Brooklyn as Korver led the Association in 3-point percentage. Lopez and Plumlee lack the foot speed to cover Al Horford and Paul Millsap’s long-range game. To put it bluntly, the Hawks’ quickness on both ends of the court and in transition is the easiest way for Atlanta to cut down the Nets.
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Brooklyn can make life difficult for the Hawks if they limit their turnovers and play within themselves offensively. We all know what SG Joe Johnson can do in isolation. Former Tech standouts Jack and Forward Thaddeus Young can put up points in a hurry when they catch fire. Bogdanovic has a nice outside that hasn’t fallen against Atlanta for some reason. Lopez is playing like an All-Star since coming back from a foot injury mid-season. And Plumlee is incredibly athletic for someone of his size. I cannot understand why he is completely lost at the free throw line.
The Hawks should win this series over the Nets. Most one-seeds do end up defeating their eighth-seeded opponent. But to say that Atlanta will sweep Brooklyn is a bit of a stretch. Atlanta didn’t dominate the first two games at home. Usually home dominance is a strong indicator that a sweep is coming. While it would be wonderful to play only four first round games, rest, and properly scout either Toronto or Washington, the Nets are certainly capable on winning a game at home in this series. I envision the Hawks defeating the Nets in five or six games.
Game Three starts at 3:00 PM Saturday from the Barclays Center.