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What To Watch For In The Atlanta Hawks’ Preseason Games

By Xavier Cooper

Apr 28, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) and forward Kent Bazemore (24) celebrate against the Boston Celtics during the second half in game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) and forward Kent Bazemore (24) celebrate against the Boston Celtics during the second half in game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Atlanta Hawks begin their preseason with a match-up against the Memphis Grizzlies. The preseason doesn’t hold as much weight as the regular season does, but it’s a great stage to try new things out and measure talent.

Offense: 

Last year, the Atlanta Hawks were the second best defensive team in the league, and with the addition of Dwight Howard, they could have the best defense this season. However, they ranked 21st in offensive efficiency last season. The Hawks have to improve their shooting percentages if they want to be a threat in the eastern conference. Now that Jeff Teague and Al Horford are no longer with the Atlanta Hawks, someone has to make up for their absence, plus more. There’s no doubt Dwight Howard can average Horford’s 15.2 points per game, but can he average a little more? This will be Dennis Schroder‘s first year as a starter. It’ll be unrealistic to expect him to average Teague’s 15.7 points per game in his first year as a starter, but anything can happen. No one knows which players have gotten better or worse.

Guys like Kent Bazemore and Tim Hardaway Jr will have to score more if the Hawks want to get back to being the offensive monster they were during the 2014-2015 season when they were ranked 6th overall in offensive efficiency.

Hardaway has been working on his game over the summer and the Hawks staff is hoping he will be a decent contributor on offense.

Things like 3-pointers and mid-range shots will be something to look at this preseason. Will the Hawks gain another scorer in Kent Bazemore or Tim Hardaway Jr.? Has Dennis Schroder become a better perimeter shooter over the summer? Will the new guys adjust to the system and learn sets quickly? Has Dwight improved his free throw shooting percentage? How easy or difficult will it be for the Atlanta Hawks to score both in transition and in the half-court? The Hawks must be able to score. These are important things to observe in the next couple of weeks. They’ll be key factors for the Hawks this season.

Depth:

How deep are the Atlanta Hawks? This is a question that can be answered before the regular season starts. The Hawks have been so successful these last two years. A big part of why the Hawks have been so good is because of the bench. Atlanta’s bench has dug the Hawks out of some deep holes.

Most likely, the starting 5 for the Atlanta Hawks won’t play very many minutes. Coach Mike Budenholzer won’t risk his key players sustaining any injuries. This will give the rookies and bench players some ample minutes to show what they can bring to the table during the regular season. Mike Scott, Kris Humphries, Mike Muscala, Thabo Sefolosha, Walter Tavares, DeAndre’ Bembry, Taurean Prince, and Malcolm Delaney will all be fighting for minutes,  especially the rookies. The preseason will help both the coaching staff and front office determine whether they should keep a rookie on the roster for development or cut ties. This is bigger than just the 2016-2016 NBA season, it’s also about the future. Are their some star prospects? Which one of these rookies will serve the Hawks right away as oppose to later on down the line? These are questions that will be answered pretty soon.

Chemistry:

Chemistry will be very important this season for the Hawks. The Atlanta Hawks aren’t known to have locker room issues, or on the court issues, but the Hawks have some new players that will need some time to get use to playing with each other, and learning each other inside and out. I know, the preseason isn’t the real season. While this is true, you can tell right away if a team has chemistry by how they play.

Will the players be able to find the next man instead of trying to force up shots? Will everyone establish their roles early or later? Will the Hawks still share the ball, or will the addition of Dwight Howard make them play more iso-ball? Well see if the Hawks are compatible with each other in these preseason games.

No one can analyze everything in the preseason. There are too many variables that play a role in the regular season to make solid predictions before it starts, but the name of the game is to get an idea of who you have on your team, and what they can do. The Hawks will get a glimpse of their potential starting this week against the Grizzlies on Thursday night at 8:00pm ET.

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