CLEVELAND – A central portion of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ scouting report on the Atlanta Hawks: Stop Hawks shooting guard Kyle Korver.
Korver scored three points and had one official shot attempt – a missed three-pointer from the top of the key in the second quarter – in 37 minutes of Cleveland’s 104-93 victory against Atlanta in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series Monday. Game 2 is Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, TNT).
It was just the eighth time in Korver’s career that he has taken one field goal in a game in which he played at least 10 minutes.
“They don’t leave Kyle anywhere,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
Cleveland guard J.R. Smith was responsible for guarding Korver in Game 1, but it also was a team effort. If the Cavs switched, Korver often found LeBron James defending him.
“If they’re going to run two, three guys at Kyle, other guys are going to have good looks and good opportunities,” Budenholzer said.
The Cavaliers have made stopping Korver a priority because he does so much for Atlanta’s offense. Korver is not a volume shooter — just 7.7 shots per game, including five three-pointers. Nor is he a prolific scorer at 9.2 points per game.
But Korver is integral to Atlanta’s offense. He might not be the engine, but he is the gasoline that fuels it, the guy who makes the offense go. During the regular season, the Hawks scored 104.5 points per 100 possessions with Korver on the floor — a team high for a Hawks rotation player.
“We want to make sure we lock into Korver. … If we take him out of the game, they have a tough time scoring,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said, referencing the Hawks' first-round series vs. the Celtics. “We know in the last series (Atlanta) was a plus-78 when he was on the floor and a minus-24 when he was off the floor.”
Korver is rarely stationary. He cuts, uses screens and does all he can to free himself for open shots. His ability to space the court and make three-pointers creates opportunities for Paul Millsap, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Kent Bazemore, Dennis Schroder and any other player on the floor.
“We have a scouting report, and we followed that scouting report for 48 minutes,” James said.
It’s not the first time Korver has been the focal point of a Lue scouting report. Before he was named head coach, Lue ran Cleveland’s defense and understood Korver’s importance.
The last time Korver attempted fewer than two shots in a game in which he played 10 or more minutes? Against the Cavs early in the 2014-15 season, and Cleveland held him scoreless.
“They’ve done it for a couple years,” Korver said. “They are a very smart team. They are really good at it.”
Korver draws that kind of attention. Last season, former Hawks forward Elton Brand relayed a story about the time he played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Korver played for the Bulls.
“The scouting report was based on Kyle Korver,” Brand told USA TODAY Sports, disbelieving the accuracy of the report. “I played with him last season and then I understood why. He’s an amazing shooter. ... It’s unreal.”
Korver is familiar with the defensive attention. When he played college ball at Creighton, then-Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott, who is now the Creighton coach and father of Bulls guard Doug McDermott, played a box-and-one on Korver and held him to zero field goal attempts. Creighton still won 83-56.
"That is a true story and one that Kyle reminds me of often!" McDermott told USA TODAY in an e-mail. "We always kept a fresh body on him thinking if we took him out of the game, it would disrupt their offensive rhythm. In true Kyle fashion, he simply became a screener and ball mover. They beat us badly. His expression never changed. The guy is a winner, plain and simple."
The Hawks don’t want to force Korver’s offense. Budenholzer said if it turned into a four-on-four game in the half-court, “The looks and the opportunities for everybody else should be high-quality. We’d like to get Kyle some shots and get him going. But historically the way we play, we’re much more just let it flow to other guys.
Don’t expect major changes from the Hawks’ offensive attack.
“Within what we do, if we’re screening harder, cutting harder, moving with greater pace – all those things – even if they’re focused on him, he can come free,” Budenholzer said. “And we can screen better for him.”
The Hawks need some scoring and shooting from Korver for the offense to run better.
“After watching the film, there’s not going to be dramatic things that we do differently,” Korver said. “We can do a lot of things a little bit better though, and we’re going to need to.”
