Game 3 Grades: Atlanta Hawks Fight Adversity, Come Up Short
May 24, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Budenholzer, C
I’m torn over this because I thought Budenholzer did some equally good and bad things. The tactic of not doubling LeBron worked early as he went 0-10 but when James took over, Bud really couldn’t counter. The decision to play Mack was wise in limiting the turnovers and Mack stepped up well in that stat, as did the Hawks, committing only seven for the game.
However, his squad got hammered on the glass, allowing 19 offensive rebounds and 17 second chance points; it didn’t help that for the majority of the game his tallest player was 6’8″. Not sure why he didn’t try to intentionally foul Tristan Thompson late when Cavs had the lead but Coach hasn’t had the purest of schemes all series, despite injuries and lots of bad luck.