Does Dwight Howard Clash With Budenholzer’s System?

When former Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer was signed by the Hawks to be their next head coach in 2013, he brought immediate change that yielded success that Hawks fans hadn’t seen in a long time.

IN BUD WE TRUST

In 2013, Mike Budenholzer inherited a 44-38 Hawks team, previously coached by Larry Drew, that had lost in the first round of the playoffs two straight years and appeared to decline under Drew after some success under Mike Woodson before him.

Coach Bud did the best he could with what he had in his inaugural season in Atlanta. After Al Horford suffered a torn pectoral 32 games into the season, it was up to Budenholzer to do what he could to keep the Hawks (the three-seed at the time) a playoff team. By rotating different role players into the lineup and getting the entire team to buy into his system, the Hawks did make the playoffs as the eight-seed and gave the top-seed Indiana Pacers all they could handle in the first round. The Hawks eventually lost the series in seven games, but went into the offseason knowing that they were a very dangerous up-and-coming team.

The Hawks went into the 2014-15 season with semi-high expectations. NBA experts said that Atlanta would most likely be a 4-6 seed in the East and lose in the first round of the playoffs. However, Coach Bud’s squad made just about every prediction look bad en route to a 60 win season that sent four starters to the All-Star Game. Budenholzer won the NBA Coach of the Year Award  during this season and gained the respect of the Hawks’ players and fans.

More importantly than any award, however, was the fact that the Hawks became his team. Coach Bud was doing a great job of emulating the Spurs teams that he was an assistant coach on for 17 years. Too often in the NBA, teams’ identities are based solely around one or two star players, leaving the team helpless in the case of an injury of losing the player in free-agency. By establishing a strong team-first system, the Hawks have been able to better handle the loss of key players in their rotation.

What Exactly Is Budenholzer’s System?

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To put it simply, the Hawks are often referred to as the “Spurs of the East” which is an accurate title when analyzing the similarities between the two teams. Here is a position-by-position break-down of the Budenholzer/Spurs system:

• Attacking, floor-general point guard. Able to run the offense and get his own shot. While Jeff Teague has certainly not had the career that Spurs’ Tony Parker has had, he was very able to fill this role with the Hawks. Dennis Schröder appears to be ready to handle this role as well.
• A shooting guard who can SHOOT. Danny Green and Kyle Korver are very similar offensively. Hawks’ Kent Bazemore, who may start this year for the Hawks at shooting guard, has shown that he can hit the open three, also.
• A physical, defensive-stopper at small forward. This player is able to guard the primary offensive wing player for the other team. Kent Bazemore filled this role with Atlanta last year and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Kawhi Leonard plays this role perfectly for the Spurs.
• The front-court is where the Hawks and the Spurs begin to look very different. While Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap as are physical and sound defensively as any front-court in the league, the tandem plays a completely different style of offense than the Spurs with Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge do.

While the Hawks’ player roles don’t need to be a perfect parallel to the Spurs in order to have success, one über-important skill that every player must have is the ability to pass the ball and hit an open jump-shot of any distance. Horford and Millsap excelled at both and enjoyed great success. However, Howard may be the complete opposite of Horford on the offense.

Will Dwight Howard Fit In Budenholzer’s Offense?

Howard is exceptional at three things: rebounding, rim protection, and efficient scoring inside the paint. Two things that Howard has never been good at in this career: hitting a jump-shot of any length (including free-throws) and being a smart passer. It’s really hard to project how Dwight Howard will fare with the Hawks because he really is the opposite of what is expected from a Budenholzer/Spurs lineup. Here are some reasons why Howard could either succeed or fail with the Hawks:

Reasons Why Dwight Howard Could Succeed In Atlanta

• He instantly addresses the rebounding woes that the Hawks experienced in the past with Horford at center and adds a real shot-blocker in the middle.
• He appears to be an excellent pair with Millsap in the front-court defensively. Offensively, Millsap’s ability to score from outside the paint figures to compliment Howard’s ability to score inside.
• He is playing for an established coach in an established system.
• He is not playing alongside any confrontational personalities.
• He is home; that has to count for something, right?

Reasons Why Dwight Howard Could Fail In Atlanta

• He will be in a system that he’s not accustomed to, a system that traditionally features a center who can also pass and shoot, nonetheless.
• He hasn’t shown any reason to believe that he will be a tremendously improved free-throw shooter and unless Adam Silver actually counters Hack-A-Howard, he could be a liability for the Hawks in crucial situations.
• His lingering back injury is exactly that: lingering. It’s unclear how healthy Howard will be which is a bit concerning as his numbers have gone down across the board ever since his back became a concern during his final season in Orlando.

My Opinion

I believe that Howard will be an effective player for the Hawks. The Hawks finished last in offensive rebounding and 24th in total rebounding last year and Howard is an immediate alleviation. Also, I noticed in the Finals that the Cavaliers had trouble finding a rhythm offensively when Andrew Bogut (a legit shot-blocker) was on the floor for the Warriors. While Bogut’s injury might not have changed the outcome of the series, LeBron absolutely took advantage of Bogut’s injury and the Warriors’ small lineup plenty of times and had no trouble getting points in the paint. Howard won’t be the perfect player, but I think that his good (which can be really good) will outweigh the bad (which, admittedly, could be really bad).

Next: Hawks Acquire Malcolm Delaney