Atlanta Hawks: 7 Takeaways from First Game of Regular Season

At long last, the Atlanta Hawks regular season started last night against the New York Knicks.

In the team’s first game of the regular season, the Atlanta Hawks got spanked by the New York Knicks 126-107.

While it was nice to actually see the team play after months of prognostication and excitement, the final product that was on the court was typified by first-game jitters, overexcited passes and meandering drives and an overall lack of poise.

Still though, there was a lot to pay attention to and we’ve outlined some of the key takeaways from the team’s first regular season game since April 10, 2018.

In terms of the actual game, Taurean Prince unsurprisingly led the Hawks in scoring with 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting with 6 rebounds, 6 assists and a glaring 6 turnovers. Former Hawk Tim Hardaway Jr. led all scorers with 31 points, and Knicks rookie Allonzo Trier actually outscored fellow rookie Trae Young while also smashing this hammer dunk in the first half:

With that recap in mind, let’s take a look at the takeaways from last night’s game against the New York Knicks starting with…

The Pace was Exceptionally Fast

Both the Knicks and Hawks were looking to push the pace at any opportunity and both teams put forth a lot of swift transition possessions. Both teams trotted out multiple rookies and younger players, and it showed, as these transition and fast break possessions almost uniformly ended in ill-fated drives or poorly thought-out pull-up jumpers. That’s okay though, it’s just the first game.

The Hawks Missed John Collins

One glaring omission from the Atlanta Hawks opening day starting lineup was John Collins. Of course, with JC out for a little while with an ankle issue, the team sorely missed his activity and all-around athleticism. Even though he’s only played one year, his presence in the middle would’ve helped steady this young Hawks team, which looked a little rudderless at times in this tilt.

Trae Young’s Passing As Advertised

Hawks fans that watched the team in Summer League and the preseason know that Trae Young, who is known mostly for his insane range from three-point territory, is an otherworldly passer as well. Young’s on-ball passing wizardry was on display tonight, though his teammates failed to convert many wide-open attempts that would’ve led to better all-around numbers for the rookie. A promising return for the #5 overall pick.

Extremely Sloppy Affair

While it was nice to get back to basketball after months without any significant contests, this game was, well, ugly. The Hawks had 24 turnovers to 19 assists (yuck), and both teams combined for 39 turnovers and 53 fouls (30 by the Hawks). First games are always a little lackadaisical, but this one took that term to the extreme.

The Tim Hardaway Jr. Revenge Game Was Real

If you’ve watched the Atlanta Hawks over the past few years, you might remember Tim Hardaway Jr. as the lovable scamp who birthed the “Timmy Shimmy” and whose hot shooting helped deliver some memorable games to the Hawks during his two-year tenure with the team. Hardaway fondly recalled his best moments in a Hawks uni by torching the Hawks defense to the tune of 31 points on the back of many different looks from all over the court. THJ was on one tonight, and for that, he deserves a tip of the cap. Props Timmy!

Rookies Rising

While Trae Young surely garnered most of the headlines, Omari Spellman and Kevin Huerter also made their NBA debuts on this night. With both John Collins and Dewayne Dedmon out, the big man Spellman was able to impact the game in more ways as he tallied 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in only 8 minutes of playing time. Spellman was all over the place, which was nice to see. Huerter only played 4 minutes (not scoring), but he did body up Frank Ntilikina on defense (though Frank Smokes is not known for his work on that end of the floor).

Vince Carter is a National Treasure

Lastly, it is still an absolute thrill to see Vince Carter in an Atlanta Hawks uniform. Though VC was stymied by a whopping 5 fouls being called on him as the team’s starting power forward, he still managed 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting and was a +7 in 23 minutes of action – the best number among starters.

While VC was mostly relegated to guarder burlier big men and carping at refs about ticky-tack foul calls, he was still able to showcase his work ethic at 41 years old on this awesome hustle play, which led to an insanely deep triple as the shot clock expired.

What can we say? He’s a legend.

The Atlanta Hawks next game is against the Memphis Grizzlies on October 19 at 8:00 p.m. EST.