The Atlanta Hawks take the court for their first preseason game in just a couple of days. Training camp is already underway and it was a rather interesting media day around the NBA. The Hawks were free of that even amid several players dealing with injuries to start things. Luckily, all but Onyeka Okongwu are expected to be ready by the season opener.
To that end, forward De’Andre Hunter has been practicing in full and Kevin Huerter said he was about 95 percent following an offseason ankle procedure.
But what Head Coach Nate McMillan had to say about newcomer Delon Wright’s defense highlights a greater theme overall for the Hawks. That point about Wright, via Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, applies to the entire second unit.
The Atlanta Hawks bench boasts impressive two-way versatility at every position
NBA benches are stocked with specialists. Your typical Sixth Man of the Year, for example, is usually a great scorer but the rest can be defensive stoppers, or even rebounding mavens.
The crown jewel of the bench player is the ‘three-and-D’ guys. That’s where players like De’Andre Hunter are. But also, a guy like Cam Reddish hopes to see his name mentioned in the near future.
He’s already got a budding defensive reputation. He just needs to be healthy and on the floor to show consistency. His offense has been a bigger question mark so far but we saw him go off for 21 points in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s probably a decent bet that the same remedy is in order.
Reddish should have plenty of opportunities to show his impact off of the bench this season.
Kevin Huerter, he of the 27-point Game 7 closeout against the Philadelphia 76ers, was often tasked with guarding the other team’s best player in the postseason thanks to the myriad injuries they dealt with and came out better for it, per his head coach.
Folks might laugh at the notion that Danilo Gallinari provided “two-way versatility” at this stage of his career.
He can’t really move well anymore but is strong and 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan.
Newcomer Gorgui Dieng can block shots and shoot threes at a 42.9-percent clip from the center position.
This group didn’t make our list of lineup combinations to be excited about, but they certainly could and probably should have. It isn’t common to see a team as deep as the Hawks are but, even more, to have that depth also be so versatile without having to play anyone out of position is exceedingly rare.
After last season was marred by injuries and this season has started with some as well, all of those characteristics will be key this season.