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It's business as usual for the Atlanta Hawks who completed shootaround Tuesday morning at the University of Indianapolis in advance of Tuesday's Game 2 against the Pacers. Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer indicated that his team would make few adjustments from Game 1 and he plans to employ a similar rotation in Game 2.
Budenholzer used 10 players off the bench in Game 1 but tightened things up somewhat in the second half. Coming off of a dominating performance, Atlanta has little incentive to make mass changes.
The Pacers on the other hand have changes to be made whether they are in attitude or via a lineup change. Jeff Teague has been the focus since he scored 28 points in Game 1. Frank Vogel hinted on Sunday that Paul George could see some time guarding Teague but wasn't willing to reveal any details at this morning's shootaround.
Lance Stephenson on the other hand is never one to shy away from a question. Stephenson credited Teague on his Game 1 performance but told the media that the Pacers "have something" for him tonight.
Stephenson says "they have something" to keep Teague out of the lane and from creating shots. What do they got? "I can’t tell you."
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) April 22, 2014
Stephenson went on to say that the Pacers need to come out with an aggressive mindset in an effort to shape how the officials call the game.
In sum, Lance is saying that #Pacers need to start the game with a physical mindset; that way refs officiate the game differently
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) April 22, 2014
Indiana was whistled for 29 fouls in Game 1 while the Hawks were whistled for 20. Atlanta went 24-29 from the free throw line while the Pacers were 16-23. Its not uncommon for teams especially in the postseason to use the media to try and leverage the officiating but it is odd in this case. Anyone that watched Game 1 knows that the officials had zero to do with the outcome and that the Hawks took it to the Pacers for 48 minutes.
Still Atlanta should expect a somewhat desperate Indiana team in Game 2 in what could turn into a very physical contest.