Hawks looking to finish strong in final two exhibition games

Lauren Williams, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Oct 15, 2024

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ATLANTA — The Hawks finally got to face off against people other than their teammates Monday after almost a week of extra practices. Though they valued having the additional practice time nothing really compares to getting live game reps.

“Yeah, (practice) helps,” Hawks guard Dyson Daniels said. “To be honest, I think it helps more playing games – getting used to playing with each other, getting the feel of 48 minutes up and down, playing at game speed. Whereas practice, we see each other every day.

“So, we kind of know what we’re going to run. So, it’s just good, you know that we added a few more sets in, getting used to those sets, was able to get more shots up and stuff like that. It’s always better being at home as well. So, that’s always good. Yeah, we’ve got two road games now, so looking forward to these coming up, and these are important leading into the season, making sure we get off on the right foot.”

The Hawks head on the road for back-to-back exhibition games against the Miami Heat on Wednesday then the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Before heading out on their two-game trip, the Hawks will look at the film from Monday’s 104-89 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

They generated 94 shot attempts but made only 35, with the 76ers defense playing strong physically. They forced the Hawks into traffic inside the paint or forced them to take their shots on the outside, where they made 13 of their 44 attempts. None of the Hawks attempted midrange shots.

The Hawks also will continue to take the time to look at their rotation and different lineups as they monitor the health of their roster.

Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic made his exhibition debut after missing the team’s first game against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 8. With the Hawks set to play back-to-back games, they likely will explore their lineups a little more judiciously.

“So we’ll see some different combinations,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said at the team’s shootaround Monday. “And it’s hard, we’re getting to the point where there’s a lot of guys on our team that are deserving of playing, but it’s difficult to play everybody. So, I think it’s going to be the course of the season, whatever decisions we make now, all those things evolve. And obviously, we don’t want anybody to be injured, not at full strength, but that’s something that invariably occurs as well.”

The Hawks have a couple of players who are dealing with nicks and bruises.

Fifth-year center Onyeka Okongwu has been in the process of ramping up after undergoing a procedure in April to address a left big toe injury. Okongwu has missed the first two exhibition games, after missing 24 of the past 26 games.

“Hopefully we’ll have him out there before the preseason is over,” Snyder said pregame Monday. “As you know, he’s been doing more practice, kind of ramping up, and I think we’ll continue to monitor that and all the return-to-play stuff.”

Hawks wing, Seth Lundy also has dealt with injuries and sprained his ankle warming up ahead of Monday’s game.

The Hawks have 20 players on contracts in camp and will have to cut their roster to 18 before the regular season begins Oct. 23 at home against the Brooklyn Nets.

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