Pace: The Atlanta Hawks' Secret Weapon Against Cleveland

Of the sixteen teams that made the playoffs, which team would you think plays at the slowest pace? It obviously was the Grit N’ Grind Memphis Grizzlies, right? Not Memphis? Okay, maybe a more defensive-minded team like the Chicago Bulls or the Milwaukee Bucks? So no Bulls, Bucks, or Grizz? Well, who is it then?

Believe or not, the Cleveland Cavaliers have played at a slower pace than any other playoff team this spring. The Cavaliers average 89.8 possessions per 48 minutes. By comparison the Houston Rockets play Moreyball at a 102.4 clip in 2015 NBA Playoffs. Atlanta sits in the middle of the pack at 94.4, good enough for seventh out of sixteen teams. So why does this matter? I believe that by controlling the game’s tempo, the Atlanta Hawks can get the Cavs off their game in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If you think about, Cleveland runs a lot of isolation heavy sets in their half court offense. It works well for them as both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving can create their own shots when they dominate the basketball. Often times both All-Stars will waste a third of the 24-second shot clock just sizing up their defender while holding the ball. Isolation works great if you have a player that can shoot for a high percentage from almost anywhere on the court (i.e, ‘Iso’ Joe Johnson). It’s problematic and frustrating to watch when a ball hog can’t shoot 40% from the field. Just look at either the 2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks.

Perhaps another factor about why the Cavs slow the game down so much on offense is to give their defensive-minded big men an opportunity to catch their breath and just let LeBron and Kyrie take over. It’s a creative way to let Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson focus most of their attention on the defensive end of the floor. Sure, David Blatt runs plays for both Mozgov and Thompson but nowhere near as many as he calls for James or Irving.

Where Atlanta can really test Cleveland is on the fast break, particularly with Al Horford and Paul Millsap on the floor as both Atlanta bigs run very well for men of their size. Yes, LeBron James will certainly slap a nonchalant Dennis Schroder transition layup of the back board at some point in the best-of-seven series. But Atlanta can certainly play numbers with 5-on-3 fast break attempts, when Cleveland’s bigs lag behind.

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Pushing the ball up the court in the Brooklyn series unraveled the Nets as Brook Lopez couldn’t keep up with Horford in transition. It didn’t work as well against Washington because the Wizards backcourt was just a bit faster than the Atlanta ball handlers. Going against John Wall and Bradley Beal might have actually been similar to what Atlanta will get from LeBron and Kyrie.

Atlanta is not going to win the series strictly on transition offense alone. It’s going to take great ball movement, timely outside shooting, sound perimeter defense, and of course the type of lucky breaks that tend to fall in the favor of a championship team. Both clubs are evenly matched in most team statistical categories. The Hawks and the Cavs play solid defense and like to shoot threes. But Atlanta is more flexible in terms of tempo than Cleveland. While Atlanta can slow down and play Cleveland’s half court style of basketball, the Cavs may not have as easy of a time adjusting to when the Hawks look to push the ball in transition.

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Pace: The Atlanta Hawks’ Secret Weapon Against Cleveland

By John Buhler | May 18, 2015