Kyle Korver Must Return To Regular Season Form
Kyle Korver has had quite the season for the surprising Atlanta Hawks.
His ability to contribute to an offense without touching the ball is a rare but valued trait in the NBA — of course, the ability to simply knock down some insane outside shots doesn’t hurt either.
The latter has been somewhat absent in the playoffs however, as Korver’s shot has seen a dip in efficiency since the end of the regular season. Shooting 38.6 percent from behind the arc in the playoffs is, in no way, a bad thing, but it is sub-par for Korver, and that simply can’t happen to this team.
While he’s had worse postseasons before, Korver has arguably never meant as much to a team in the playoffs either. For example: his first season with the Hawks — 2012-2013 — saw him shoot 38.8 percent from the field while putting up just 10.2 points per-game. That’s bad for sure. If we’re being honest though, that team — like many before it — was going nowhere. It was content with making the playoffs, parading around with a “hey, at least we’re not in the lottery” sort of mentality, and then making a first-round exit to a vastly superior team.
Today’s Hawks though, have a legitimate chance to win the Eastern Conference. To do so, Korver will need to return to his “subtle but deadly” sort of offense. A style that has to start with him making shots.
While his percentages have dropped, Korver’s scoring has seen a slight increase in the playoffs, an understandable translation, but one that isn’t necessary for this team to work. Korver has also seen an increase in shot attempts in the playoffs — he hoisted eight shots per-game in the regular season, while shooting 10 shots per-game in the playoffs. Taking more shots is not a bad thing but the offense has been shaky in the playoffs and everyone, not just Korver, should try to settle back into their regular season offensive styles.
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Game four of the Eastern Conference semi-finals saw just that. Al Horford took and made his mid-ranged jump-shots and Paul Millsap was efficient and deadly from the field. Jeff Teague stood out though, scoring 26 points on nine of 20 shooting — a far cry from his regular season play.
Korver saw just four shot-attempts in game four, all three-pointers. He made two of them.
Although this is a less-than-ideal scoring line, it shows that Korver is attempting to abandon the style he tried to push early on in the first-round against Brooklyn, as well as the first two games of the second-round.
Korver should stick to his guns when it comes to his shot-selection. His efficiency is what makes him one of the most important offensive players for Atlanta, not necessarily his scoring.
A breakout game would serve both Korver and the Hawks well, but he doesn’t need to go looking for one.
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A great quality of his game is Korver’s patience. He’s at his best when he’s taking what the defense gives, while leaving the shot-creation to his off-ball movement and his teammates.
Despite Korver’s efficiency woes, he still ranks fifth in postseason plus-minus at plus-60. It wasn’t really in dispute that he’s the most important offensive player for the Hawks even though he’s not the best scorer, but that should put it in perspective.
If Korver can knock down the shots at a higher rate going forward, Jeff Teague will suddenly have lanes to drive through, Paul Millsap will have more opportunity to take Nene one-on-one in the post, and Al Horford will have an abundant supply of mid-ranged shooting room. Bradley Beal will be unable to help defensively, changing the interior defense of Washington dramatically.
Even if Korver becomes a decoy after a single phenomenal shooting performance, he will have done his job: make defenses fear his shot. In fact, maybe that’s the best contribution that can be expected of him. I find it hard to imagine him dropping 30 in a playoff game, but that’s exactly where the beauty in Korver’s game comes from — he doesn’t have to score big to make you respect him.