Atlanta Hawks don't plan to change their style

ATLANTA -- The Hawks romanced Atlanta fans with the extra pass and 3-pointers all-day-from anywhere-from anybody. They were appreciated because they were such a melting pot of talents -- Jeff Teague’s reads and lickety-split drives, Kyle Korver’s 3-point eye, Paul Millsap’s diversity, Al Horford’s steadiness, DeMarre Carroll’s energy, and the long bench. Many fans squeezed in under the Hawks evangelical tent to hear of The Coming, the team that would replace the Superstar Model of the NBA and put ‘Humble’ on a pedestal in the place of the haloed star.

You saw what happened. LeBron James ripped the stakes of that revival tent right out of the ground. The Hawks’ enterprise cratered at the hands of a ferocious superstar trying to get Cleveland its first title of any kind in 50 years.

So who wants to preach wholesome, pass-first basketball after that LBJ maelstrom in the Eastern Conference Finals, a 4-0 sweep? Well, the Hawks have heard your taunts, but their identity is not up for debate, even with the crushing defeat to the Cavaliers. They won a franchise-record 60 games and no one here is ripping pages out of the team-first playbook. Share on offense; look out for each other on defense.

There really is no choice but to press on and sharpen up for another duel with LeBron.

“We definitely need to keep growing,” said point guard Jeff Teague. “We need to continue to do what we do good, which is to play as a team. We can’t get caught up in anything else but playing as a team.”

The Hawks did not give themselves any alibis for what happened in the Eastern Finals. Yes, they had injuries (Korver ankle, Carroll knee, Thabo Sefolosha leg), but they didn’t blame mishaps for losing that badly. What they did was make off-season moves to try and deal with their failings on the defensive boards and lack of inside offense in the half-court.

Budenholzer, who is now in charge of personnel moves after general manager Danny Ferry had his contract bought out, traded for 6-foot-11 free agent Tiago Splitter to help with defensive rebounding and to chase around the Stretch 4s of the NBA, the 6-9, 6-10 three-point shooters. Budenholzer has also decided 7-foot-3 center Edy Tavares, a second-round pick in 2014, is done with his grooming and will be in the rotation.

The Hawks simply had to add size. Cleveland out-rebounded the Hawks by an average of 10 a game in the sweep. “It’s what the stats show we needed,” Sefolosha said.

Splitter is familiar with the Hawks high-base sets on offense because he played in San Antonio for five seasons and that’s where Budenholzer received his training. Splitter will not pop out for the 3 off the pick-and-roll, but he will roll to the rim and pressure the defense.

Tavares will be counted on to do the same and allow Horford and Millsap to space and use their mobility on slower opponents.

“I think we’re going to have more pressure on the rim,” Budenholzer said. “Between Jeff (Teague) and Paul (Millsap) they have had the pressure on themselves to put the pressure on the rim; Tiago and Edy are going to take a little bit of that off of them.”

Budenholzer said Splitter and Tavares will also have to shore up the defensive end. “We needed a little rim protection and defensive boards,” the coach said.

The Hawks might win 50-55 games this season, but this version will be better-equipped for the playoffs, as long as Sefolosha stays healthy and the bigs contribute. No one is going to stop LeBron James from getting 25, but Sefolosha will make LBJ sweat for 30.

“He does so many little things, subtle things, and defensively his length and arms and sometimes you feel like he’s everywhere,” Budenholzer said of Sefolosha. “He’s a great rebounder, gets deflections, makes it hard to pass, shoot, score.”

The key with Sefolosha is keeping himself on the floor by producing offensively. Hardaway, Jr. is better offensively than Sefolosha, but not as savvy defensively. Sefolosha has to account for the 12-14 points that will be missing after Carroll signed with Toronto in free agency.

“Offensively he can be a playmaker and make reads and decisions and get guys the ball at the right times,” Budenholzer said of Sefolosha. “If he can improve as a shooter and be consistent from the three-point line, we feel like he has a lot to give.”

The wild card is Hardaway, Jr., who was acquired draft night from the Knicks. He seems to fit with the Hawks a lot better than he did in New York. Korver is going to stretch out a defense and is going to be the wing man, but the 6-foot-6 Hardaway is going to be a nice changeup to Korver because he can shoot and slash.

“His ability to shoot and make shots is something we value and is a big part what we do offensively," Budenholzer said. "He has an athleticism and an ability to attack and get to the paint, get to the rim, and finish with a little pop."

If Sefolosha struggles offensively, Hardaway can plug in on that side of the floor, too. The blue-collar Justin Holiday, who has worked himself onto an NBA roster with sheer effort, is going to buy in to the Hawks defensive philosophy and be an asset.

The Hawks bench is going to need some new juice from Hardaway/Holiday because forward Mike Scott and his microwave offense of a sudden 9 to 12 points is an uncertainty. He faces career-ending legal problems from a summer drug arrest.

Mike Muscala, a 6-foot-11 forward who can shoot the 3, cashed in his playing opportunities last spring, and will be a bench player Budenholzer will trust.

Korver, the NBA’s best 3-point shooter, is healed after two offseason surgeries (ankle, right elbow). Sefolosha has been cleared after suffering the broken leg in New York. Reserve point guard Shelvin Mack is also back from offseason surgery (shoulder). Millsap, who missed five games before the playoffs with a shoulder injury, is also healthy.

So the Hawks, once again, will be a team of pieces. Their structure is still structure. That culture is not going to change, and neither are the taunts that you can’t win an NBA Championship without a ferocious player like LeBron James, or Steph Curry, or Kobe Bryant.

“Everybody always questions what we did,” Horford said. He just shrugged and added, “We’re not getting caught up in it.”