Atlanta Hawks: 1 improvement for each draft pick after Game 3

The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 96-88 on Thursday bringing their Summer League record to 1-2. It was probably their most exciting game of the summer, as Philly got hot from downtown in the second half. Atlanta fell despite getting 20 points from Skylar Mays, who was second on the Hawks in scoring.

48th-overall pick Sharife Cooper led Hawks scorers with 21 points. He also had 12 assists and a lone rebound. Jalen Johnson, the 20th-overall pick, finished with 13 points and 11 boards for his third double-double in as many tries. He chipped in two assists and a block too.

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell continued to be a nice story with another 12 points and five rebounds.

The Atlanta Hawks draft picks have been great this summer but still have plenty to work on

They started off well enough, jumping out to a 23-14 lead after the first quarter. Atlanta would be outscored 61-45 the rest of the way. That includes getting blasted 10-2 in two minutes of overtime play. The Hawks will try to bounce back when they take on the undefeated Miami Heat on Saturday.

Back to this game, we’ve all spent a lot of time heaping praise on the performances of Johnson and Cooper and we’ve tried to highlight the progress of Mays.

But this game likely gave Nate McMillan all of the teaching tape he needs ahead of the next game. Cooper and Johnson both had moments in the fourth quarter they surely would like to have back. And while Mays played well, that in and of itself presents where he needs work.

The loss is actually the least of the concerns as the 76ers were led by Tyrese Maxey (31/6/5) who saw decent floor time in the postseason.

Improvement for Atlanta Hawks draft pick No. 1: Jalen Johnson will have to shake off the NBA’s irritants

It really has been an eye-opening Summer League for Johnson. He’s been all over the floor, running to the rim, hitting timely shots, and displaying a passing ability that was undersold in the predraft process. He truly stuffs the stat sheet but not with empty numbers.

Watching the game you notice the plays he makes because they often shift the momentum.

He and Cooper have made it a routine to connect on lobs reminiscent of their dazzling teammates, Trae Young and John Collins. They even began Game 3 with one.

But the night could have been way better after he started with seven points and six boards in the first quarter. Second-year man Paul Reed of the 76ers got under Johnson’s skin in the second half.

Despite Johnson scoring six of his 13 points in the second half, just two of his points came in the fourth quarter and overtime.

A pair of personal fouls in the third quarter — at least one of which could be considered questionable — saw him ride the bench from just under three minutes in the third until there were just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

It’s possible this was just part of the plan for a player who, again, had done a little bit of everything.

But it sure seemed like a little bit of a cool-down for Johnson who was clearly getting a little frustrated. He’ll have to learn to shake that off because, as far as trash talkers go, Reed doesn’t even register on the list of names that come to mind in the NBA.

Improvement for Atlanta Hawks draft pick No. 2: Sharife Cooper could use his first gear more often

Cooper, like Johnson, has done nothing but impress since Summer League play began. Following his 21-point outing in Game 3, he takes over as the Hawks leading scorer. The best part about watching Cooper has been his ability to systematically answer the questions about how his game and frame would translate to the NBA.

When he’s not setting Johnson up for the slam, Cooper has been finding his way into traffic and finishing at the rim quite effectively.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the former Auburn Tiger coming out of college was about his ability to hold up at just 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. Ignore the fact that Trae Young is of a similar build.

There is a possibility Young’s old critics moved on to Cooper with how similar their games are. The biggest difference is Cooper’s first scoring instinct is to drive whereas Young’s is more inclined to pull up. Perhaps Young can teach his new understudy his floater.

More importantly, he can teach him about altering his pace to maximize his athleticism.

Cooper sometimes moves too fast and it has led to a lot of turnovers. He has 17 in three games. Not all of them are on him. But enough of them were that McMillan made note that he was granting his rookie point guard two turnovers.

The rookie had five.

Three came in the third quarter. He made up for it somewhat with six assists in the frame and 10 fourth-quarter points. Cooper was also responsible for stopping several scoring droughts for the Hawks.

But he too had just two points in an overtime frame that saw the Hawks attempt just five shots.

Improvement for Atlanta Hawks draft pick No. 3: Skylar Mays needs his flashes to become streaks

You didn’t think we’d leave off the 2020 second-round pick, did you? Not after we highlighted how Mays has been steadily improving even as his rookie teammates get most of the publicity. It’s easy to dismiss Mays, who’s averaging 16.3 points per game in the Summer League. He didn’t get to have his time as a rookie thanks to COVID.

More from Hawks News

• Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
• Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
• When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
• Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
• Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic makes special dedication after FIBA win

Instead of getting some extensive run last summer, Mays was thrust into action during the regular season and playoffs.

That has led to an aggressive Mays as he’s taken less than one shot fewer per game than Johnson. He’s also averaging 7.0 threes per game as he set out to work on his shooting for obvious roster reasons.

He’s seen some success with his approach, knocking down multiple triples in a row at times. The problem is those runs give way to air balls, errant passes, and bad decisions in general.

Mays is shooting a respectable 48.6 percent from the floor. But he’s hitting his threes at just a 33.3 percent clip.

The 6-foot-4 guard has the size and athleticism to get to the rim and has shown an ability to get to the rim and finish.

He’s scored 20 points in an actual NBA game, after all.

Small decisions like driving or passing instead of pulling up for a tough jumper would go a long way to keeping him in the good graces of the Hawks. They’ve had to see Nathan Knight, whom they tendered Mays a qualifying offer over, have a really nice summer for the Timberwolves.

That can be a little bitter when we recently heard from management that they could still add another big before the season and a wealth of guards like Mays.