Atlanta Hawks Grades: The Starters
Jeff Teague, B
16 Points| 6-16 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK |
Brooklyn’s interior and position by position size makes it more difficult for Jeff to take the Peach Pass to the rack. So when he does, all the more beautiful. Solid production from the floor general who clearly looked more active distributing and on the glass. His speed on Deron is a huge advantage and he needs to continue exploiting it.
Kyle Korver, B+
17 Points| 5-9 FG | 4-5 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 4 STL | 1 BLK |
There is nothing more beautiful than an off-balance Korver swish from the corner. How does he do it night in and night out? More importantly, how does a man whose always been slighted for his defense always seem to post big steal and block numbers? Hey Lionel Hollins, I thought he was an afterthought.
DeMarre Carroll, B-
2 Points| 1-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK |
The Junkyard Dog took it upon himself to work out the intangible production. No slouch on the rebounding front (second-most on the team) and great vision all night. All made up for a less than stellar shooting performance, only two points. But man what an important basket it was.
Paul Millsap, A
19 Points| 7-11 FG | 1-2 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK |
Shoulder pain, what shoulder pain? It clearly didn’t bother Millsap, who flipped his Game 1 script by pouring in 19 on efficient shooting. The scoring and rebounding boost were missed but he made the crunch time play with his passing game. Forgoes a three attempt, where he had not missed all night, to zip a pass to Carroll for an uncontested layup to cushion the tight lead late. Unselfishness at its finest.
Al Horford, A+
14 Points| 6-15 FG | 2-2 FT | 13 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK |
Make way for el Jefe. Horford drove the Hawks in all facets of the game, nearly posting a triple double. The most impressive stat is his rebounding has improved tremendously going mono e mono on Lopez. The stroke wasn’t deterred by a taped pinkie and Al is pretty adamant that it won’t be a concern going forward.
Next: Grades: The Bench