
The Beginning
The Gary Neal era has begun.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) January 19, 2017
Gary Neal is in.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) January 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/821913087435505664
With 1:50 left in the third quarter of a 23-point blowout, Dennis Schroder came out of the game. With this, the Gary Neal Era began. A sign of new things to come for not only the Hawks but the entire United States as a country. Just over 90 seconds later, Neal found himself at the free-throw line, preparing to score his first two points as a Hawk. With the two shots both connecting, Neal had started his Atlanta time off right.
Hawks +/- extremes tonight...
— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) January 19, 2017
Gary Neal +6, Taurean Prince +5
Tim Hardaway Jr -23, Dennis Schroder -19
Gary Neal has Ryan Kelly's old locker.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) January 20, 2017
These two tweets are basically irrelevant but can be dissected to the point where they have meaning. In Neal’s 1st game, he totaled a +6 Plus/Minus, which led the Hawks. This was meaningless, as all of his minutes came during a 20-point blowout. But he was technically the best player on the court for the team, based off that single stat.
Before the Hawks’ Jan. 20th match-up against the Bulls, team writer KL Chouinard made the observation that Neal now uses the locker of 9-game Hawk Legend Ryan Kelly.