The Atlanta Hawks were very successful last season as they surprised a lot of people by winning 60 regular season games and making it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Coming into this season the Hawks won't sneak up on anybody but they did suffer a key loss from last year's roster in DeMarre Carroll who signed with the Toronto Raptors. The Hawks have some options for how they want to replace Carroll but one of the more interesting options they are considering is playing Paul Millsap at small forward, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Millsap came over to the Hawks from the Utah Jazz as a free agent in 2013 and he has flourished since joining Atlanta. Millsap has been to two straight All-Star games (his first two) and has helped make the Hawks into true contenders in the Eastern Conference. Throughout his career Millsap has been a power forward and although he is a bit undersized for the position (6 foot-8) he is a plus defender and a very good rebounder.
A couple of years ago it would have sounded crazy to play Millsap at the small forward position but in his two years with Atlanta he has extended his range to the three point line where he has shot 36 percent. Millsap might struggle defensively against quicker small forwards but on offense it could possibly work.
The reason for a potential lineup with Millsap at the three is that the Hawks brought in Tiago Splitter from the San Antonio Spurs. Splitter is a solid center who really developed in San Antonio and should be a big contributor for the Hawks in year one. The lineup combination of Splitter, Millsap and Al Horford is an interesting one because it goes against the trend in the NBA. Nowadays teams are trying to find ways to get smaller but Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer is testing out a lineup that is bigger than normal and he might use it during the season.
It makes sense for Budenholzer to at least give this lineup a shot as these are three of his best players but it will be interesting to see how it works as they will be losing a lot of speed. Although they will likely try this lineup at times during games it likely won't be the starting lineup as Splitter will probably come off the bench with Millsap starting at his natural four spot and Horford at center.
As for the natural small forwards on the Hawks roster they have Kent Bazemore, Justin Holiday, Thabo Sefolosha and Tim Hardaway Jr. who could compete for the minutes available with the loss of Carroll. Bazemore is likely the favorite to start as Sefolosha recovers from a broken leg but he might be able to earn that spot back once he is healthy enough.
