If Summer League action is any indication, the Hawks should be one of the best teams in the NBA.
While the carry-over from Summer League to the NBA season is obviously very limited, it’s still impressive that the Hawks have gone 4-0 in Las Vegas this year. Even though they aren’t playing for the Summer League title, Atlanta’s done a good job of putting together a competitive squad that should create some interesting decisions for their roster.
After taking down the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets in Las Vegas, the Hawks narrowly pushed past the Memphis Grizzlies with a 92-88 victory. They started slow as they struggled to find their offensive rhythym before turning it on late to secure the win. Kobe Bufkin and Adam Flagler each took turns hitting massive threes to ice the game and set Atlanta up for a Summer League finale against the Boston Celtics.
Despite not having a ton of recognizable names on their roster, the Celtics went 3-1 in Vegas largely due to strong performances from Jordan Walsh, Charles Bassey and Baylor Scheierman throughout the summer. Walsh became the Celtics’ all-time leader in Summer League points after dropping 17 points against the Lakers in Boston’s 87-78 win. Importantly, they will be without Bassey against Atlanta, who had a great Summer League for a Celtics team searching for a long-term answer at center.
It won’t be easy, but the Hawks have a good chance to go 5-0 in Las Vegas and keep up their positive momentum heading into training camp later in the offseason.
Game Preview
Jack McVeigh’s performance for the Hawks this summer has been very fun to watch. Even though he’s 29 years old and is playing against far younger players, he’s averaging 16 points on 44/37/87% shooting splits. Impressively, he’s been able to generate these stats off the bench and has a knack for working within the flow of the offense. McVeigh had another strong game against the Grizzlies, dropping 20 points and sinking three three-pointers on 54% shooting from the field. It’ll be interesting to see if McVeigh can keep those numbers up against a solid Celtics defense – he’ll likely get a good dose of one of Boston’s better defenders in Jordan Walsh or possibly, rookie Hugo Gonzalez.
Perhaps more importantly for Atlanta, Asa Newell has looked ready for NBA action despite being only 19 years old. Newell has been an excellent connective piece for the Hawks – he passes well, fights for rebounds and his jumper has been connecting at a good rate thus far in Summer League. He didn’t shoot the ball very well against the Grizzlies, going 6-12 from the field and only scoring 14 points while missing both of his three-pointers. However, he made up for it with a great defensive game. Newell had two steals and two blocks while leading both teams with 8 rebounds. Newell’s all-around impact is a good sign for his ability to contribute to Atlanta’s rotation as a rookie. He won’t be expected to be a standout shooter from Day 1, but the ability to do the little things will make him a hard player to keep off the court.
In terms of players to watch for Boston, the trio of Walsh, Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez are going to be priorities for Atlanta to slow down. The 21-year old Walsh is gunning for a firm spot in Boston’s rotation this season with the absence of Jayson Tatum and he’s averaging 15 points per game on 46.3% shooting from the field and 38.9% from the three-point line. Scheierman has been a good passer and rebounder for Boston, but his shooting efficiency leaves a lot to be desired. He’s only shooting 20.5% from three, which is a problem for a player that was billed as a sharpshooter coming out of Creighton University. Gonzalez has struggled to find consistency, but he’s finding his footing on defense and had a good game against the Lakers, scoring 13 points and grabbing five assists. Even without Bassey, the Celtics still have some solid options in their frontcourt. Miles Norris, Kenneth Lofton Jr and Amari Williams have all had strong performances for Boston throughout Summer League action. Norris is a former College Park Skyhawks and he’s been an excellent 3&D contributor for the Summer Celtics.
While Atlanta has gone 4-0, it’s been in spite of their consistently slow starts on offense. With the exception of their SL opener against the Heat, the Hawks have had double-digit turnovers in all of their Las Vegas games. That’s due to a few factors, but the most likely reason for this is that Atlanta’s ball-handlers aren’t making good decisions. This has to change against Boston – the Celtics have been consistently solid on defense and they could force enough turnovers to put Atlanta into a deficit that they aren’t able to recover from.
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