A Better Understanding of the Hawks Perimeter Game

The Atlanta Hawks had unprecedented team success in 2014-15 due in large part to how the team played out on the perimeter. During the regular season Atlanta dominated opponents with its outside shooting (.380 3P%). While no team in the Association allowed more 3-point field goal attempts than Atlanta (2112), the Hawks had the seventh best perimeter defense in 2015 (.341 Opponent 3P%). That means the opposition took a lot of difficult shots from three-point land, just like Coach Mike Budenholzer intended. And this worked during the regular when the team’s wings were healthy as the Hawks did just enough on the defensive glass (31.8 DRB/G, 22nd league rank) to become a top ten defensive team (6th in Defensive Rating: 103.1).

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But once the injuries started to take their toll on the roster, especially out on the wing, the Atlanta Hawks weren’t as able to contest all those outside jumpers. Their opponents sank 37.5% of their three-point attempts against the Hawks in the playoffs, the fourth worst of the sixteen qualifying teams. Offensively, Atlanta struggled to hit open looks from three as their team percentage from long-range dropped to 31.7% in the postseason, slightly below the current playoff average of 34.5%.

There was very little margin for error with this team out on the perimeter. With Thabo Sefolosha out for a combined 46 games (30 regular season and all 16 playoff games) over the span of two significant injuries, Atlanta really missed their sixth man. You can try to argue that either Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, and even Pero Antic’s claim for that role, but Sefolosha meant everything to the Hawks defensively. Losing him to a broken ankle severely hindered the Hawks’ defensive tenacity. Though everybody stepped up in Thabo’s absence, I really think Atlanta could have won the East and possibly an NBA Championship this season had he been able to play in the postseason.

May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward James Jones (1) shoots against Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) during the first quarter of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

While the team’s perimeter defense was a vast improvement over last year’s trying times guarding the arc, 2112 is an insane amount opponent 3-point FG attempts! Next year I want our team to give up only a Van Halen number of outside shots (1984) as opposed to allowing a Rush number of attempts (2112) once again. I wonder how many members of the Hawks know who Neil Peart is. But that’s beside the point as knowing anything about the Canadian Triumvirate doesn’t help you defend the perimeter but I wish it did. Concert Hall!

I look for Atlanta to improve in the offseason with regards to their outside defense. It still feels like an Achilles’ Heel for our team and it’s clear just how indicative it is to the team’s overall success with the way it’s currently constructed. No, we’re not going to out rebound Cleveland or Detroit any time soon. We’re not built to clean the glass like either big team from the Central. But I don’t think the Atlanta Hawks are all that far away from turning into a Chicago or Milwaukee type of defensive team out on the perimeter.

If Atlanta re-signs DeMarre Carroll, goes with a 3-and-D wing at 15 in this month’s draft, and Sefolosha has a speedy recovery, the Hawks could find themselves back in the Eastern Conference Finals next spring. What we learned this season was just how important perimeter defense was to our team’s success. It was the real relation, the underlying theme to our season.

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