A playoff team’s bench can make or break their chances of advancing to the next round. What are the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards’ benches doing right or wrong?
After two games, the Washington Wizards are up two games to none on the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2017 Playoffs. As the 4th seed, the Wizards played their first two games at home, and retained their homecourt advantage, winning both games at home.
The Hawks shot 24.4 percent from the three-point line during the first two games and only shot 42 percent from the field.
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Dwight Howard is averaging a series-high 10.5 rebounds but scored a total of 15 points in the first two games. Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 28 percent over the first two games and has never taken the game over the way that he showcased he could during the regular season.
The starters in the series have played up to expectations, aside from Howard, Hardaway, and Otto Porter Jr., who is shooting 38.5 percent from the field and only 20 percent from the three-point line.
With both teams having relatively talented starting fives, the benches have had the opportunity to change the series. To this point, no reserve has made an extreme impact on the series but have played their roles in a semi-respectable manner. Of the ten bench players that played in both games, eight average at least four points.
How has each reserve impacted the series over the first two games?
Point Guards
Brandon Jennings (WAS): 5 PPG, 3.5 APG, 3.5 RPG, 19.8 PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in 16 MPG
Jose Calderon (ATL): 2 PPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 RPG, 10.5 PER in 8 MPG
Jennings has unarguably been the best backup point guard in the series so far. In Game 2, Jennings scored ten points on 4-5 shooting, only missing a three-pointer. Over a three-minute span, Jennings scored six points and sent the Wizards’ fanbase into a frenzy. Apart from his point guard play, Jennings played alongside John Wall in spurts and looked comfortable spacing the court alongside Wall.
Jennings has controlled the ball well since arriving in Washington. During the regular season, he averaged 4.7 assists with only one turnover. So far during the playoffs, Jennings has totaled ten assists with zero turnovers. Jennings has always taken good care of the ball, with his highest turnovers per game being only 2.7. In comparison, John Wall averaged 4.1 turnovers in the regular season during the 2016-17 season.
Calderon has been nothing short of forgettable during this series. His five shot attempts over two games show a lack of assertion on the court. His lack of standout play allows one to ask: Why hasn’t Malcolm Delaney played a single minute in the series?
Against the Wizards in the regular season, Delaney shot only 26 percent. He arguably played his worst basketball against his home team in all four of the team’s matchups. But, when Calderon is virtually giving the team nothing, there is an argument that Delaney is an upgrade.
Delaney, unlike Calderon, has proven that he plays with aggression on the offensive end. Against the Wizards in the regular season, Delaney attempted 5 (twice), 6, and 7 shots, all while shooting a poor percentage. Aggression out of the backcourt is one aspect of the game which the Wizards have shown better than the Hawks, and this has helped them take their 2-0 lead in the series.
Advantage: Wizards
Wings
Kent Bazemore (ATL): 10 PPG, 4 RPG, 2 APG, 9.1 PER in 26.4 MPG
Mike Dunleavy Jr. (ATL): 2 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.0 APG, 4.0 PER in 9 MPG
Bojan Bogdanovic (WAS): 5 PPG, 4 RPG, 0.5 APG, 3.0 PER in 17.9 MPG
Kelly Oubre Jr. (WAS): 6 PPG, 2 RPG, 0.5 APG, 15 PER in 16 MPG
The biggest oddity of the reserve wingmen is the exclusion of Thabo Sefolosha. Sefolosha was fourth on the team in Defensive Win Shares at 2.7 and was within the league’s top tier in DWS before he missed 15 games after January.
In this series, Sefolosha played only four minutes in Game 2 after not playing in Game 1. Sefolosha is arguably the best wing player on the team, as his 3.3 Win Shares (in only 62 games) during the regular season would suggest. Bradley Beal, who would likely be Sefolosha’s defensive assignment, has averaged over 22 points per game ove the first two games, and one could easily believe that Sefolosha would have limited that to some extent.
Bazemore has been one of the better players for the disappointing Hawks during the series. He is one of five Hawks averaging double figures and the only one who has come off the bench. His playmaking has aided the team as well, as his two assists per game are third on the team so far. As Malcolm Delaney has not played at all, Bazemore has played backup point guard in some cases.
Mike Dunleavy has done nothing of note during his 18 minutes on the court.
Bogdanovic was brought to the Wizards to score, and he has attempted to do so. He has attempted the fifth-most shots for the Wizards. Sadly, he has only connected on three of his 15 shots. He has, though, rebounded the ball well. His six rebounds during Game 2 ranked third on his team. Depth-wise, Bogdanovic has helped the Wizards immensely.
Oubre Jr., who was drafted by the Hawks and traded to the Wizards in 2015, has been a spark plug off Washington’s bench, similar to Jennings. His impact is not fully seen on the box score, as his energy and grit has shown as inspiration to his team to go on game-changing runs. He made waves after Game 1, speaking on the matchup between four-time All-Star Paul Millsap and Markieff Morris:
"“Millsap is an All-Star. But honestly, in my opinion, Keef is better than him,” Oubre said. “I tell him that every day. Obviously, people respect Millsap. I respect Millsap to the fullest, but we have one of the best power forwards in the game of basketball right now with this team. He goes out and shows that every day.”"
This was controversial, and Morris proved a point. In Game 2, Morris had 3 points, 3 rebounds, and five personal fouls.
Bigs
One may be able to decipher a trend within both of the team’s benches: they have yet to make a true impact on the game. This does not change in the frontcourt, where the series’ most ignorable players have come from. This comes from two places: the four frontcourt players (Howard, Gortat, Morris, Millsap) all having flashy storylines, and the backups not making any game-altering plays. Muscala and
Muscala and Ilyasova are quintessentially the same player: sharpshooting, hustling, well-rounded frontcourt role players. Against the Wizards, they have both been the same player, an irrelevant one. Combined, the two have only attempted 20 shots or 10 shots per game. For comparison, Ilyasova attempted 8.7 shots per game during the regular season by himself. Ilyasova has rebounded the ball impressively with his 6.5 mark actually being higher than Pail Millsap’s 6 boards per game so far.
Muscala showed flashes of possibly being worthy of more playoff minutes with his last few games of the season. So far, he has regressed in this series. He has amassed the same amount of total rebounds as fouls with 8 and is 0-2 from beyond the three-point arc.
For the Wizards, Jason Smith has used his odd combination of bone-shattering physicality and solid catch-and-shoot ability to aid his team in victory. His 9 personal fouls lead the series, which is even more baffling when his 20.4 minutes per game are accounted for. In basically double the minutes (40.5), Bradley Beal has only committed 5 fouls over two games.
Conclusion
Over two games, neither teams’ bench has given any unforgettable moments. In some cases, like Jennings’ and Ilyasova’s, their steady play is useful, but not game-changing. In other cases, like those of Dunleavy Jr. and Calderon, their lack of production has created a hole for the Hawks during their time on the court, almost forcing the Hawks to play 4 on 5.
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If either team’s bench can step up and make plays when genuinely needed, the series’ momentum could be changed. If not, the Hawks and Wizards’ starters will continue to battle, with the Wizards already delivering the first two blows.