Playoff Roundtable: Atlanta Hawks-Brooklyn Nets Preview

Mar 27, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer talks with forward Paul Millsap (4) as guard Dennis Schroder (17) is shown after a time out in the fourth quarter of their game against the Miami Heat at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 99-86. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

What adjustments, if any, does Coach Bud need to make from the regular season for this series, and the Playoffs in general?

AMcG: There’s no adjustment needed really, this team won over 60 games. People talk about the decrease in pace and the extra physicality that come with the Playoffs, but I think that’s exaggerated.

If the Hawks play as they’ve shown they can, results will look after themselves.

VM: I think the adjustments come from game to game but things are slower in the playoffs, more inside play may be required. Against the Nets who don’t have perimeter defenders, the style in which the Hawks won games all year will work.

But against teams with on ball defenders like the Bulls and even to some extent the Raptors, Coach Bud has to have a good diet of inside play from Horford and Millsap.

CR: For this series in particular, if the Hawks can find themselves comfortable, I’d like to see him play the bench players as much as possible. That way the whole roster is well-drilled and confident for some of the bigger challenges that will hopefully come along down the road.

MMcE: The only adjustment needed is to adjust back to operating as a unit and keeping the ball moving.

NK: I don’t think Coach Bud has to do anything inherently different going up against this team. Everyone has to plan for a slower paced, more physical game because it’s the nature of the playoffs, but when you’ve outscored your opponent by an average of 17.3 points during the regular season, you’re doing something right.

Budenholzer has a huge luxury in that there are a bevy of shooters at his disposal going up against a defense who has trouble defending the outside shot. Make sure speed and spacing are prevalent early and often and the Hawks shouldn’t have much trouble. The only glare is on the glass, where the Hawks were 28th in the league; hopefully, we can improve upon that some coming into the first round.

The questions from people who haven’t bought into Atlanta as a potential threat revolve around Atlanta maintaining this level of play in the rough and tumble postseason, where the Hawks haven’t made it past the second round since 1958. But Budenholzer has proven time in and time out that he has an exemplary system that the players have bought into.

This year, it’s more about how far the Hawks can take themselves in the playoffs and less about how the opposition can stop them.

Next: Who's Brooklyn's biggest threat?