ATLANTA –- Mike Budenholzer's voice is already deep and raspy.
But on Saturday, the Atlanta Hawks coach sounded extra scratchy and gravelly. This is what happens when your opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers, has made 3-pointers at a historic rate. The Hawks trail 3-0 in the series and have not been able to remotely slow LeBron James and his teammates.
"I can't remember three games at this rate, at this clip," Budenholzer said on a conference call. The Cavaliers have averaged 20 3s a game while shooting 53 percent (61-of-115) from behind the arc in this series.
"Cleveland is playing at a really, really high level. We are seeing in three games the level it takes to advance to an NBA finals or even an Eastern Conference finals."
If there is any team in the East that has received a brutal tutorial on what it takes to contend in the conference, it's Budenholzer's Hawks.
Last year, Atlanta was swept by Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals when James averaged an unreal 30.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists. On Sunday, they face being swept again.
The Hawks entered this best-of-seven series believing they were better than a year ago. Everyone can see that Atlanta's roster doesn't have the star power or talent that Cleveland possesses. But the Hawks thought they were armed with an improved defense from a year ago.
In the two competitive fourth quarters of this series so far -- Games 1 and 3, when the Hawks held a lead and had a chance to win -- Atlanta was completely outclassed by the Cavaliers during crunch time.
In Game 1, Atlanta led by one with 4:28 to go and lost by 11. In Game 3, the Hawks led 101-93 with 9:14 to go and lost, 121-108, after Cleveland went on a 28-7 run.
After taking those leads, the Hawks were outscored 45 to 12 and shot 4-for-21 while turning the ball over seven times.
James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have shown the Hawks how to win playoff games.
Now the Hawks are wondering if they can even win one game off Cleveland just to keep their season on life support.
"Someone (was) like OK, we got to get four in a row," Hawks forward Kris Humphries said on Saturday. "I was like, 'No, we just got to win one game.' Can we win one game? Like tomorrow. One game. We know we can win one game… It is too big of a hurdle to look at in terms of four."
Like his voice, Budenholzer might have exhausted his counters. Before Game 3, he tried to give his team a jolt by starting Thabo Sefolosha for Kyle Korver. The hope was to give the team more energy and defense early and also jumpstart Korver's offense.
The Hawks played with energy and trailed 31-28 after the first quarter and Korver rediscovered his shot in the second quarter, making four 3s in the quarter before finishing with 18 points.
Budenholzer also altered his rotation, making Humphries the first off the bench and playing significant minutes that usually belong to Mike Scott and Mike Muscala.
The Hawks coach made it sound like he could stick with Sefolosha starting for Korver. He also said that he liked what he got out of Humphries.
Defensively, the Hawks might just have to hope Cleveland cools off. The Cavs are still getting some uncontested 3s in transition and when the Hawks are either caught in rotation after trying to keep James or Irving out of the paint or trying to force the ball away from a shooter like J.R. Smith. But Budenholzer says sometimes the Hawks have to pick their poison with Cleveland's shooters.
When the Cavs put a shooter at every position on the floor like they did with Channing Frye, Love, James, Smith and Irving, it can be quick death by 3 for the Hawks.
"They are obviously killing us from 3," said Korver, who noted how the Hawks tried a few defensive coverages that they had not worked on, also without success.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Cleveland became the first team to hit 20-plus 3s in two straight playoff games with a record 25 in Game 2 and 21 coming in Game 3. Elias notes that prior to this year, only three teams had ever made 20 treys in the 2,647 playoff games played since the NBA instituted a 3-point arc in 1979. And no team had made more than 20.
Budenholzer hopes the Hawks have learned a lesson or two on what it takes to contend on James' level. James will be looking to improve his personal playoff record against the Hawks to 12-0.
"It's amazing to think about how they are built and how they are playing this year," Budenholzer said of the Cavaliers from last year to this season. "At times, with Frye at the 5 and Love at the 4 and J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, just so much shooting and so much offensive talent, firepower.
"Last year, you felt like it was almost a blood bath… all of a sudden you have a lot of shooting and the court is spread. Kyrie is playing at a very, very high level. If we could do a better job there on Kyrie, I think that is somewhere where we can improve. I'll just say it's significantly different last year to this year."
