I was suggested an interesting YouTube video this morning about the 1991 Denver Nuggets and it got me thinking about the Hawkers. The Nuggets had a historic season where they had a 113.7 Pace and the centerpiece of this offense was this little 5'10" PG named Michael Adams.
He had a 25/10 season and I couldn't help but take a screenshot of all of the players that were on the list, which included our own Trae Young. There are parallels certainly between the two teams from different eras, each having a short PG who is among the best scoring and passing in the league. But I also think this video provides an interesting outlook for this upcoming's seasons playstyle – albeit at a less preposterous and (hopefully) successful level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ymt_tGXHn0
The video got me thinking about our current roster construction, how we are building for the future, and the way Snyder wants to play the game. The Nuggets were a terrible team playing at a spectacle Pace 113.7 Pace, but only winning 20 games. We don't want those results, but the parallels in how we can play with a player like Trae are there.
Generally speaking, the Hawks need to play really fast. They need to attack teams with traps and use our length on the wings now to create turnovers and be one of the top teams in fast break points each year. Trae needs to launch more 3's IMO. Having the #1 Pace in the NBA should be a yearly occurrence and by a good margin.
Last year the Hawks had the #6 Pace in the NBA at 100.84 and that is with DJ Murray being an isolation player who could snag a rebound but casually take his time before initiating offense. The ball would stick, and having that playstyle paired with Trae was terrible, as we know, and despite that, the Hawks were #6. With this roster construction of Bufkin, Daniels, Risacher, JJ, Bogi, Hunter, Gary Bird and Okongwu/Nance the Hawks have a great mix of guys for this style of play and I think we will be a lot more successful.
TLDR; I think the Hawks will have the #1 Pace in the NBA next season by a good margin and it will be our identity as a team. Let's run 'n fucking gun
by mundane_marietta
6 Comments
That Nugget team was something else. Who knew that the Loyola Marymount system wouldn’t work at the highest level with a talent deficient roster? Adams shot under 40% overall and under 30% on threes that season (a whopping 8.6 a game though).
Their whole goal was to gas teams playing at altitude and using their superior conditioning on the road. But that team was absolutely awful despite the pace.
Honestly, hawks plugging in Hunter in the starting line up only hurt them until he got injured and the staff had no choice but to start Jalen. Even before then some of us saw what Jalen could be with Trae. He doesn’t stop the ball. Look how great that worked out.
Some of these moves seem obvious. Like the run’n’gun playstyle. I just hope the fans aren’t the only ones thinking this.
Jalen Trae Dyson and Risacher are all good to very good in transition. Including getting live ball turnovers and pushing after rebounds. When those 4 play together our transition offense and defense will be very good. Hunter is a bad transition player both offensively and defensively. I hope we can push the pace this year.
Fatigue is usually the biggest factor in injuries occurring. Ramping up the pace that much might not be the answer for certain lineups. You have an older Bogdan who has knee problems, Hunter that is consistently injured, and an older Capela that has spent many years running and getting beat up in the paint. We complain every year that injuries play too big of a part on this hoxspital team. And Quin doesn’t go deep into his bench. He hasn’t used the young guys for the most part. He even leaves in his starters when they are down 25 in the fourth quarter and they have a B2B. Remember Jalen in LA? I can maybe see it with Trae and Jalen when they are running with some of the young guys and Zac being used because he’s quite good in transition, but I don’t see it being good for the overall health of the team to do this for a whole season. I think their pace was fine last year. And I actually want them to slow it down since they focused on so much defense this offseason and be better in their half court game. Which would in turn help the kind of offense needed in the playoffs always.
Small ball 2-way lineup that gets me torqued:
– Trae Young
– Dyson Daniels
– Bogdan Bogdanovic
– Zaccharie Risacher
– Jalen Johnson