Atlanta Hawks: Will Team Rebounding Improve in 2016?

The 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks had an outstanding campaign, having arguably the best season in franchise history. Atlanta finished with 60 wins during the regular season and made its first ever appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. It only took 44 years.

Atlanta was able to achieve new heights in 2015 due in large part to how well-rounded and team-centric its basketball team was. The Atlanta Hawks finished in sixth in the NBA in both offensive and defensive team rating ( 108.9 and 103.1, respectively). Head Coach Mike Budenholzer’s team shot 38% from three-point land as a team and assisted on 2,111 buckets, good enough for second place in the NBA in both categories.

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In about all important statistical categories, the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks were a Top 10 team. Outside of 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors who led the Association in OTRG, DTRG, and Pace, there wasn’t a more complete team in the NBA than the Atlanta Hawks.

But once the Hawks reached the Conference Finals, the team couldn’t solve LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ highly inefficient, yet highly effective brand of offensive basketball. Cleveland simply dominated the Atlanta Hawks on the glass in a four-game sweep of Atlanta.

Combined with the outside shots not falling in the ECF, one could easily say that poor team rebounding cost the Hawks a chance at an NBA Championship in 2015. Will Coach Bud and his staff make the adjustments this offseason so that Atlanta is not a liability on the glass heading into 2016?

With last year’s squad’s construction by Bud and former GM Danny Ferry, you knew right away that team rebounding would be an issue all season for this quick but vastly undersized team. The Atlanta Hawks finished 22nd in defensive rebounding and dead last on the offensive glass in 2015.

Knowing that last year’s roster had a definite ceiling in the rebounding department, Coach Bud and new GM Wes Wilcox decided to make this year’s team a little bigger, trading for San Antonio Spurs C Tiago Splitter and bringing over 2014’s 2nd Round Pick 7’3” C Walter Tavares from Spain. Though Tavares will likely play sparingly in his Rookie Season in the NBA due to offensive inefficiencies, Splitter is a significant upgrade over backup C Pero Antic who chose to return to Europe for 2016.

Splitter is very familiar with Coach Bud’s system from their time in the Alamo City together and averages 9.6 RPG in 36 minutes played. That means if Splitter were to start for the Hawks some nights, he will likely have double-digit boards for the Hawks.

At 7’3” Tavares will probably be a factor in rim protection right away when he does get on the court. Though he may start his NBA career out as a strong rebounder, he might get pushed around down low in his rookie year on the glass. But his length and prowess in rim protection should help enough to alter many opponent’s shots to the point that the Hawks’ team can collect more rebounds as a unit thanks to Edy.

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