10 Takeaways from Hawks First Utah Summer League Game

After only a week and a half after the NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks actually played a basketball game!

That’s right, despite Hawks fans barely being able to comprehend who the franchise took in the NBA Draft, the team moved quickly into playing actual games – with a roster full of extremely young players, including the team’s most recent draft selections from 2017 and 2018.

Atlanta’s first opponent was the Memphis Grizzlies, who also brought the full battery of their recent draft picks to the Utah league, headlined by Jaren Jackson Jr. out of Michigan State – who led all scorers with 29 points on 9 of 15 shooting (8 of 13 from deep).

We’ve outlined 10 takeaways for this point 15-point loss for the Atlanta Hawks, as they fell to the Grizzlies 103-88.

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1. The headliner for the Hawks was, of course, first round pick Trae Young out of Oklahoma. Trae had a horrific night from the field, scoring 16 points on only 4 of 20 shooting, including a frightening 1 of 11 from downtown. Young’s vaunted shooting completely evaporated on this night. Though it was only the first game of the very lax Utah Summer League, Trae was completely overshadowed by JJJ via his long-range sniping.

2. Since Kevin Huerter will be unable to play in Summer League due to offseason surgery, the second headliner for the Hawks, other than the two NBA vets John Collins and Tyler Dorsey, was 30^th overall pick Omari Spellman. Spellman looked pretty good in 23 minutes of action. He acquitted himself well on both ends – he was playing passing lanes and blocking shots on defense (including a thunderous erasure on rookie Jevon Carter) and hitting threes, smashing dunks and handling the ball and leading the break on offense. He looked great out there, so we’ll see how he continues to develop going forward.

3. Second-year guard Tyler Dorsey played 28 minutes (1 less than Trae) and led the Hawks in scoring with 18 points. Dorsey’s shot was falling early, though he seemed to careen around the court with little idea of what he intended to do in the second half. Still though, Dorsey can score, and he has little to prove after a solid rookie year last season.

4. John Collins played sparingly (only 16 minutes), and he also suffered a scary, scary fall after attempting to defend JJJ in the post. Early on, his passing was looking good as he found Spellman twice around the basket for easy buckets. JC proved his abilities last season, and, as a Second Team All-Rookie member, he is really overqualified to play in Summer League, but he’s a good teammate, so he’s there. Good on you, John.

5. On that front, Collins and Spellman look to be a formidable frontcourt pairing, as both played well off the ball and both hit threes of various depth. They seemed to have an easy chemistry that should play up beyond the early goings of Summer League.

6. The Hawks played an insanely fast pace in this game, pushing the ball on offense at almost every opportunity in breakneck fashion, which definitely hurt their defense. Of course, if JJJ hadn’t been unconscious from distance, this would’ve been a much closer affair.

7. Antonius Cleveland, who played sparingly for the Hawks last season, did not impact the game statistically, but his length and athleticism was put to good use on defense, where he played the passing lanes and impressed in a few one-on-one scenarios.

8. Brandon Sampson, an undrafted free agent out of LSU, put forth impressive effort on both ends of the floor, and providing perhaps the Hawks best highlight of the night:

Summer League is all about making a name for yourself and vying for a spot in the league, and Sampson definitely deserves a look after an effortful performance for the Hawks against the Grizz.

9. With all the talk of Trae Young sharing the backcourt with Dennis Schroder next season, it was good to see Hawks two-way player Jaylen Adams co-exist with Young on the court, though it must be noted that Adams shot a whopping 43 percent from distance in his final collegiate season – a gaudy total that Schröd has never approached.

10. Lastly, forcing Trae to play against Jevon Carter, who terrorized him in college, in his first NBA action was cruel and unusual on the part of schedulers, but them’s the breaks, kid!

Keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all of your Hawks Summer League and free agency news. ATL plays tomorrow against the Spurs (and SDS favorite and #18 overall pick Lonnie Walker IV) at 7 p.m. EST on NBA TV.