How Atlanta’s D Fared Against Rondo
John Bennett examines how big of an impact the Hawks defensive choices on Rajon Rondo had as they fell short in Game 6.
The Art of the Thief
The Hawks offense dragged them down in a defeat to the 76ers, but Jeff Teague still contributed quite the stat line. In the first half, he notched five steals that helped Atlanta build a 47-39 halftime lead. With 31 steals on the season (which put him in second place behind rookie sensation Ricky Rubio), he is making the league take note of his presence on the defensive end of the floor.
Any good thief has either quick hands or great instincts. The special ones, like Jason Kidd, have a combination of both. Against Philadelphia, Teague showed he may be in that elite category.
On the first possession of the game, the Sixers look to post Jrue Holiday against the smaller Teague. Holiday gets solid position in the post and frees himself for what seems to be short range turnaround. However, Teague flashes his great hands and reaction time by swiping the ball away as Holiday rises up. Here is the play:
That wouldn’t be the last time Teague terrorized the normally steady Holiday. Two other times in the half, Holiday finds himself relieved of the ball thanks to Hawk’s point guard. In the first play of the following video, Teague actually finds himself switched onto Elton Brand early in the possession. After thwarting Brand’s attempt to score against him in an iso, Teague to switches back to Holiday after a ball screen. As Holiday drives toward the middle, Teague nabs the ball to starts a break the opposite way for Atlanta.
In the second clip, Holiday comes off a down-screen looking to enter the ball down low to Brand. Being loose with the ball probably isn’t good idea around Teague and Holiday finds himself turned over one more time. Here is the video:
Those first three steals showcased Teague’s quick hands and his ability to aggressively hound the ball handler on defense. The following video shows that Teague also has great instincts off the ball as well. In the first clip, he spots Nikola Vucevic moving out of control toward the baseline and times his jump in front of Holiday. Notice the timing he has on this first play. Too soon on that play and Vucevic may try to save the ball in a different direction. Too late and perhaps Holiday as a lay-up. In the second clip, Teague just make a fantastic read from the weakside and breaks on the ball for a breakaway the other way. Check it out.
With regular playing time, Teague is proving to be quite a force on the ball and in the passing lanes. While this brief stretch isn’t enough to knight him a top tier pickpocket, it certainly is putting Teague in the conversation. Even still, opposing offenses better take notice.
Quick Hitter: Chicago Starts The Game With A Dunk
Going into game six, the Chicago Bulls were looking to take control of the game early (especially considering the team that one the first quarter won the game every single time this series). To do so, the Bulls ran a creative set that offered a number of different options and resulted in an easy dunk for Carlos Boozer:
We pick this set up after Derrick Rose brings the basketball down and kicks the basketball to Keith Bogans who was sharing the court with him in a two guard look. After making the pass, Derrick Rose loops around a Joakim Noah and flashes to the opposite wing as the basketball goes to Carlos Boozer at the elbow.
Why The Atlanta Hawks Are So Frustrating
Usually when the Atlanta Hawks lose a game in the fourth quarter, the problem is on the offensive end. More specifically, their offense turns into a stand and watch someone shoot it type of offense. What makes this so frustrating as a neutral fan (and probably more so as a Hawks’ fan) is that they actually have a fair amount of strong sets they can go to.
Out of the seven halfcourt possessions the Hawks scored on, six of them came off of smart sets with an actual gameplan. My favorite one came with 6:30 left in the game and the Hawks trailing by 8 points:
The play starts with Teague entering the ball to Joe Johnson on the wing and then cutting past Al Horford, who steps up a little past the elbow to receive the basketball. After Teague cuts past Horford, he changes direction and gets in position to set a backscreen for Johnson.
Has Atlanta Found A Way To Exploit Chicago’s Defense Late?
After an inadvertent whistle, the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks found themselves in a jump ball situation at center court with 2:27 left and the Hawks holding onto a six point lead. After winning the tip, the Atlanta Hawks came down, milked some time off the clock, and then ran a great play to get Al Horford a wide open look in the paint:
On this play, the Hawks use the threat of Joe Johnson coming off of a Al Horford pindown screen to draw the defense to him, allowing Horford to cut into the lane wide open. If this play looks familiar, it should. In fact, the reason why I didn’t break this play down frame-by-frame is because I have already done so once in this series. In game one, the Hawks used this same exact play in a similar situation (time, score, and quarter):
The Hawks Failed To Recognize, Attack Doubles Correctly
After seeing the Atlanta Hawks have success against them in game one, the Chicago Bulls decided to switch some things around and start throwing doubles at the Hawks’ top isolation players (Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford) late in the game (end of the 3rd/start of the 4th). Instead of attacking the double team correctly, the Hawks took it easy on the Bulls’ defense and settled, proving Chicago’s gamble correct:
On this play, Joe Johnson makes the catch on the wing with 12 seconds left on the shot clock. When that happens, Chicago decided to send a double team to him. The Bulls send Luol Deng at Johnson, and since he was matched with Al Horford, Taj Gibson rotates over to pick him up. The result is that Josh Smith is left open along the three point line, and this is exactly what Chicago wants.
Now, when Johnson makes the catch, Al Horford flashes to the basketball, with Gibson following him. This creates a lane for Josh Smith to cut through, and with nobody defending him, it would force the defense to react. In this case, Ronnie Brewer would probably rotate over, leaving Jamal Crawford in the corner.
Quick Hitter: Atlanta Gets An Easy Bucket Late
With an 8 point lead and 1:44 left in the game, the Atlanta Hawks were looking to come out of a timeout and put the game away. To do that, Larry Drew designed a play that got the Hawks’ players moving, taking advantage to get Al Horford wide open in the paint for the easy dunk.
The play starts with Jeff Teague getting the basketball and taking it to the top of the key. As soon as that happens, Jamal Crawford (who inbounded the basketball) dives through the middle to the corner. At the same time, Joe Johnson comes across two screens at the elbow to make himself available at the wing. After setting his screen, Josh Smith flashes to the basketball.
Examining Orlando’s Final Play
Trailing the Atlanta Hawks by three points, the Orlando Magic had the basketball on the side and were looking to tie the game coming out of their timeout. Stan Van Gundy decided to run a set for Hedo Turkoglu, but he was unable to get off a comfortable look:
The set starts with Hedo Turkoglu coming off of two screens set (one at each elbow) as soon as the ball goes to the trigger man, as if he is flashing to the basketball.
After setting his screen for Turkoglu, Dwight Howard comes over and sets a pindown screen for Gilbert Arenas. Arenas comes off of the screen and gets the ball at the top of the key.
Atlanta Uses A Familiar Set To Get Joe Johnson In The Lane
In game three, the Atlanta Hawks utilized the pick and pop with one side of the court cleared out to get Al Horford a wide open jumper to clinch the game. In case you didn’t see the play, here it is:
The whole design of the play was to clear out the left side of the court, run the pick and pop with Jamal Crawford as the ball handler, force Orlando to hedge, and hit Horford popping out in an area where nobody can rotate over.
Communication And Rotation Stops The Magic Late
After proper floor spacing lead to their go-ahead basket, the Atlanta Hawks needed to stop the Orlando Magic coming out of a timeout. The Magic looked to run their bread and butter play, putting it in the hands of their playmaker Hedo Turkoglu. The Hawks were able to stop the Magic by communicating and rotating properly:
After getting the ball to Turkoglu, Dwight Howard comes over to set a screen. It’s a very good screen and Joe Johnson ends up getting caught in it, forcing Al Horford (Howard’s man) to switch onto Turkoglu. There is a lot of action taking place up top, but the man to watch here is Josh Smith, who has help responsibility.
