NBA PM: Ambitious Hawks Look To Overachieve Through Hustle

Atlanta Hawks second-year forward Taurean Prince continues to talk playoffs despite external expectations that the team will have one of the worst records in the NBA this season. Prince said the team hopes to emulate the surprise success of last year’s Miami HEAT. After the Hawks defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 100-88 Monday at Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion to improve to 2-2 in the preseason, it has become apparent that coach Mike Budenholzer’s strategy to reach that goal will be hustle and speed on both ends.

“Back in training camp, Coach Bud said the focus was us pushing the ball and playing fast,” said first-year forward John Collins, who received votes as the potential steal of the draft in NBA.com’s annual GM survey. “I think we’re starting to work into that and build on that. I think it’s something you’re going to see a lot more of.”

Budenholzer concurred, and added that he will go deep into his bench this season to ensure the team can meet the physical demands of an up-tempo style.

“You talk about running and everybody says they want to do it, but it takes a real commitment from the players and conditioning and effort,” said Budenholzer. “You’ve got to play a lot of guys to do that.”

On the defensive end, Budenholzer added that he’s seen a willingness from his team to dive on the floor for loose balls, take charges and make hustle plays that should help a young team make up for some of the deficit of experience it will face this season.

“From the first day of camp up in Athens, guys have been committed to taking charges, committed to making hustle plays,” said Budenholzer. “It’s a different way to protect the paint. It’s a different way to be good defensively. Ersan [Ilyasova] obviously has a knack for it, but I think other guys have picked [it] up. A lot of guys will jump in and take a charge.”

While Collins had a modest reputation as a defender at Wake Forest — in part because coach Danny Manning instructed him to avoid foul trouble — Collins said he’s looking to impress on that end as a pro.

“I want to earn minutes by playing my [rear] off on the defensive end,” said Collins. “Coach stresses to me to be as athletic as possible, switch, rebound [and] block shots.”

Budenholzer said he’s already pleased with the progress Collins has shown in making reads as a passer in Atlanta’s motion offense.

“He’s learning NBA rotations, NBA reads and where guys are,” said Budenholzer. “For a first year player, I think it’s pretty significantly different than how he’s played in the past. We put our bigs in position to make reads and make decisions. I think there’s a willingness to pass [and] a willingness to learn and get better, which is exciting.”

A key component of Atlanta’s defense is second-year wing DeAndre’ Bembry, who made his second appearance of the preseason after battling injury. Budenholzer also liked what he saw from Bembry.

“It’s nice having DeAndre’ get to play some minutes,” said Budenholzer. “He can impact the game with his defense, keeping guys in front of him, making it tough to shoot and finish over him.

“On the other end, he drives and kicks it to Ersan for a three, he gets in the paint and finds other guys, gets to the free throw line. When you’re getting stops on one end, it’s creating running opportunities and hopefully playing against a defense that’s not set. I think his defense leads to us being able to play well on both ends. He’s just got a natural feel for the game.”

Budenholzer said it’s been a mixed bag in the preseason for point guard Dennis Schroder, who will be counted on as the centerpiece of the team this season.

“It was probably not one of his best games but he still has 21 points and a handful of assists,” said Budenholzer. “He had some turnovers and a little bit of sloppiness late. I think he can play a lot better but you still look down and he’s got a pretty solid game. Conley’s a great matchup for him, a great point guard. Dennis can be better but there’s still a lot of positives.”

For Prince, he simply is not backing down from the high internal expectations he has for his team, saying the goal is to “come out with as many wins as you can, find your spot and get to the playoffs. That’s the main goal. Anybody has a chance at that point.”

Prince echoed the comments of his teammates and coach — that hustle and competitiveness will be keys for the team to have the kind of season it aspires to.

“Coach Bud knows he wants, guys that compete,” Prince said. “I feel like we’re getting more into our offense, realizing the multiple options we can get out of a lot of the sets. I think we can be hard to guard.”

Budenholzer concurred, and said he sees good signs from a very young, but very ambitious team.

“I think there’s a lot of positives with how hard we’re playing, how we’re competing on both ends of the court,” said Budenholzer. “If we’re going to exceed expectations, that’s how it’s going to happen.”