Game 3 Grades: Atlanta Hawks Fight Adversity, Come Up Short

Atlanta Hawks Grades: The Bench

Dennis Schröder, D+

0 Points| 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK |

He got snubbed by Mike Budenholzer in favor of the less turnover prone Shelvin Mack. Coach must have liked the decision as Dennis only saw three minutes of action. We’ll see if the minutes improve in the next game but even on the bench he looked to be all in and in good spirits, cheering on his team.

Shelvin Mack, B

13 Points| 5-10 FG | 0-2 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK |

Mack got handed the keys as the second unit floor general and proved to be very effective. More of a game manager, he did well in setting up teammates for looks and was effective shooting the jump shot, arguably our best 1-guard in that department. Alas, in the final ticks he had a couple of good looks to send the game to double OT but it wasn’t meant to be.

Mike Scott, C

8 Points| 3-9 FG | 2-2 FT | 9 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK |

For the second straight game, he got the majority of the minutes in place of Mike Muscala. The good news was his rebounding effort (which was in sort supply for Atlanta) but the bad news was his shooting down the stretch. He went 0-5 from deep, missing two crucial looks in overtime that would have been desired. He had a costly mistake letting a loose ball trickle out of bounds after a Teague miss, assuming it hit off a Cavs player.

Mike Muscala, D+

0 Points| 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK |

Like Dennis Schröder, he didn’t see a lot of floor time. He started the third quarter in replacement of Horford over Pero Antic to hopefully provide a rebounding and scoring edge as the Hawks were depleted in height but it just didn’t happen. What he may be remembered for, unfortunately, was getting a personal view of a nasty LeBron slam.

Next: In the Huddle