Atlanta Hawks: 3 trends to watch for in Eastern Conference Finals

Atlanta Hawks trend to watch No. 2: the most efficient bench in the playoffs must stay hot

This postseason is funny. As most teams are riding their starters until the wheels fall off, the Hawks (and the opponent last round) exhibited a very progressive approach to things. Milwaukee has three players averaging over 39 minutes. Atlanta only has Young (39.6) above that mark with Collins the next closest at 36.1 minutes per contest.

It’s no surprise that the Hawks were third in bench minutes last round. But they were the most efficient bench in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, shooting 46.5 percent from the floor.

And despite the starters’ issues, the bench ranked fourth in three-point percentage.

Led by Danilo Gallinari’s 14.7 points per game, the Hawks bench did a lot to keep them afloat, even as it lost Huerter to the starting lineup after three games against Philadelphia. It stepped up again as Bogdanovic added injury to the insult of the way he’d been playing.

Even as Huerter was busy lighting it up with the starters over the last four games, Atlanta’s bench ranked third with 25.8 points.

Milwaukee’s bench played the fewest minutes in the last round, and have played the third-fewest in the postseason. At some point, the fatigue could start to catch up to the Bucks and the Hawks prudence could pay dividends.

The other issue Milwaukee faces from its bench is the strength of its opponent’s: efficiency. The Bucks rank 12th in field goal percentage this postseason and dead last in the Eastern Conference Semis. It’s one thing to not give them much run, but it’s another thing entirely for them to be ineffective when they do get in.

If the Hawks starters can keep pace with their Bucks counterparts, there could be opportunities to take and build leads. As long as Atlanta’s reserves keep cooking, that is.

This isn’t to let the offense off the hook though.

Atlanta Hawks trend to watch No. 3: Turnovers by the starters need to be cleaned up

We often talk about the Hawks turnovers in general. Even when we point out specific players, it can be hard to quantify how harmful they can be to a team trying to pull off a victory. Just ask the recently vanquished 76ers. For all the deserved grief given to Simmons, Embiid had eight turnovers in each of the final two games against the Hawks and had missed in others.

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With that in mind, Atlanta’s starters have to take better care of the ball. Careless passes cannot happen against this Bucks team that ranks third in steals this postseason.

Atlanta tied Milwaukee in the category last round and managed to clean up some of their own giveaway issues.

They can still take advantage of the Bucks here because, in addition to averaging the most turnovers in these playoffs, they were third-worst in the Eastern Semis.

Their length could be to the Hawks benefit but only if they capitalize on the other end.

Young will have to be especially careful as Milwaukee can throw all types of looks at him. Simmons was able to frustrate him and Holiday, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo will certainly look to do the same.

We could see Atlanta’s need for a secondary creator come into play here. Huerter has seven assists over the last two games and just two turnovers in four games as a starter this postseason. If this is the next step in his development, it couldn’t be happening at a better time.

Most won’t give the Hawks a chance in this series. But they haven’t been giving them much of one leading up to this point. It hasn’t phased the Hawks yet and doesn’t have to now.