Game 1: Atlanta Hawks Grades & Reactions vs. Washington Wizards

Atlanta Hawks Grades: The Starters

Jeff Teague, C+

11 Points| 4-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK |

Wall revealed himself in the game and Teague will need to have a pretty dominant counter strike for Game 2. Looked lethal in the early stages but couldn’t get much to go from the inside or the outside later and only had two assists in the second half. He has to be more active against Wall and force steals, a category the whole team had considerable trouble in.

Kyle Korver, C

13 Points| 5-15 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK |

The Wizards contested Korver more closely in the second half and he didn’t get any luck on those forced shots. Towards the end, perfectly positioned threes were barely drawing iron, citing fatigue and a little frustration. Give a lot of credit to Beal and Otto Porter.

DeMarre Carroll, B

24 Points| 8-13 FG | 3-5 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK |

Playoff DeMarre is becoming a trendy topic. His streak shows no signs of stopping, coolly collecting 21 points in the first half. He’s the first Hawk in over 25 years to post five consecutive 20-point playoff games. Impressive as it may be, the Junkyard Dog got leashed in the second half and got taken completely out of the game.

Paul Millsap, B+

15 Points| 6-17 FG | 2-3 FT | 12 REB | 8 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK |

Big productivity, even if the shooting lacked consistency. He had been flirting with a triple double since the middle of the third quarter and if the Hawks made more shots, it would have been assured.

Al Horford, B+

17 Points| 7-19 FG | 2-2 FT | 17 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK |

Al Horford needs to be commended for his huge rebounding spike in the playoffs. Not sure how much the game would have turned for the worse if not for his eight offensive boards. I’d also love to see more of the two-man game with Millsap that led to so many first half buckets. It was a thing of beauty.

Next: Hawks Grades: The Bench