Mike Scott reaping the benefits of improved defensive game
It's 6:45 and per his usual routine, Mike Scott has made an alcove where there isn't one.
An hour and 15 minutes before each NBA game starts, teams open up their locker rooms to the media. It is not, if you were expecting such a thing, 15 players lined up one per locker.
Instead, players dart in and out of the room, dropping off pieces of equipment or grabbing what is left of a nutritional shake that they started drinking earlier. They leave headed for any number of destinations: the players' lounge, the training room, a pre-game chapel service, and, of course, the court itself.
In the half hour that the room is available to the media, most players stay just a few minutes. Scott stays seated for the duration, shrouded by his study aids and his focus.
He sits with his back to the room and everything else in it, while he locks his eyes intently on the iPad spread across his knees. A phone lying on a shelf in his locker pumps music to his cherry red headphones.
Getting Scott's attention in those moments involves breaching a wall of solitude. It's a wall that crumbles quickly when one speaks with Scott, who talks softly and warmly.
"What did you think of University of Virginia beating Wake Forest last night?" I ask the night after his former school won on a Darius Thompson banked three-point shot at the buzzer.
"You should probably ask him about the game." Scott nods toward Jeff Teague (who played at Wake) and grins.
Teague stops his conversation with someone else and looks over from nearby. He asks with a hint of fake hostility, "What did you say?"
"Nothing." Scott's grin crawls into smile.
He has good reason to smile too. The numbers say that the cram sessions are working.
Since Jan. 1, Scott and his teammates from the bench have been some of the most efficient defenders in basketball. The Hawks have yielded just 90.6 points per 100 possessions with Scott on the floor, the best mark in the NBA over that time among players averaging more than 15 minutes per game.
"He's taking a lot of pride in being a team defender and being in spots," Head Coach Mike Budenholzer said.
Scott isn't doing it alone. He often shares the floor with Thabo Sefolosha, who has been an absolute defensive menace in 2016: jumping passing lanes, contesting outside shots, and smothering primary scorers. In addition to Sefolosha (93.1 points allowed per 100, 5th), bench players Dennis Schröder (90.9, 2nd) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (93.0, 4th) have turned up the intensity on opposing backcourts.
For his part, Scott has focused on adding physicality to his game, and his studies have helped him in that regard. By keeping sharp on the mental side, he can make quick reads in a defensive system that relies on rotating and reacting to ball movement. The first part of being physical is optimal positioning.
"His defense has just improved a lot," teammate Al Horford said. "I feel like he is more aware."
Scott has also taken a physical, team-first approach to rebounding.
"I've just focused on getting hits," Scott said. "I watched some film with Bud a while back and he showed me clips of guys just boxing out their man and being physical and making contact. Sometimes you might not get (the rebound) – most times you might not get it – because you're so worried about getting hits and boxing your guy out and letting somebody else pick it up – whether it's Al or Paul. Sometimes I do get it, but the main part is getting hits and keeping guys off the offensive boards."
The tactic has worked. The Hawks have collected 77.2 percent of available defensive rebounds with Scott on the floor, compared to 73.4 percent without him. Budenholzer noted the same trend.
"It's an interesting thing," Budenholzer said. "It may not lead to him actually rebounding it, but as a group we rebound better. I want to be sure that he stays in that mindset. It has helped him help us more. And it helps him too (because) he gets more minutes."
Scott's defensive skill supplements the main reason he sees time on the floor: his offense. Scott has averaged 6.5 points per game this season, but what stands out is the remarkable efficiency with which he has scored.
"It's beautiful. He's shooting with confidence," Sefolosha said. "He's a guy who can come in and get hot really quickly."
Scott has converted on 39.8 percent of his three-point attempts this season, which not only marks a career high but also ties him with Teague for the team lead. In addition, Scott has made 64.1 percent of his shots in the restricted area, where he always seems to pick the option most likely to keep the defense off balance, whether it be a layup off the glass (with either hand), a turnaround jump shot, or his specialty: a crafty baby hook.
Shots near the rim and threes are the two most efficient shots in basketball. Scott is converting both at an above-average rate – and doing it while making those quality shots the bulk of his field goal attempts.
With Budenholzer opting to keep either Horford or Millsap on the floor at almost all times, Scott, the backup power forward, plays more with Horford, the starting center, than he does with any other player. Scott appreciates the benefits of playing alongside a four-time All-Star.
"(Horford) does a lot on both ends," Scott said. "A lot of teams key in on him, (then) they don't look at me much where I can just sneak in and get some points and get a few buckets."
If Scott keeps scoring as efficiently as he has this season, his teammates might soon be talking about the easy opportunities that his presence opens up for them, too.