The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Miami Heat in their preseason opener 125-99. The final score is of little consequence though, especially so early in the process. There were more than a few takeaways, however. Most notably, Trae Young’s contused quad. He said he’ll be fine but Nate McMillan said they could be extra cautious.
Aside from that, John Collins had a solid outing with 14 points and nine rebounds. But the story would have to be how Miami was dialed-in from beyond the arc.
Still, Collins wasn’t the only bright spot and the Heat weren’t the only ones to have multiple guys put in solid efforts on the night. Atlanta got some timely reassurance from some key members that bodes well for the season ahead.
Atlanta Hawks vets Gallinari, Williams give encouraging effort in preseason opener
By now, we know what we should expect from long-time veterans Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams. Both players, each in their first season with the team in 2021, averaged 10.0 points per game or better last year. They were stabilizing presences amidst a storm of injuries that kept the Hawks from having a fully healthy team all season.
On Monday, Gallinari — who averaged 13.3 points and 4.1 boards in 2021 — tied Young with a team-high 14 points on 5-fo-11 shooting and grabbed two rebounds just over 22 minutes.
We mentioned how his sneaky defense might get overlooked by most but that his stature allows him to be a tougher defender than expected. His offense is never a question. But it was nice to see Gallinari looking spry and knocking down shots.
The one negative was that he only hit 1-of-4 triples. Atlanta will need him to be his usual marksman self going forward.
Williams having fewer responsibilities this coming season should lead him to be even better than he was in the 24 regular-season games he played for the Hawks. As for his impact should they reach the postseason again, he should average more than the 7.7 points per game than he did during their run last season.
He had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, hitting 1-of-2 threes, and chipped in a couple of assists and a steal.
Having him and Gallinari able to come in cold and get hot quickly is a huge positive for a Hawks team that may still have some growing pains offensively this season. Especially early as guys who are missing the preseason get worked back in.
It was one game, sure. But both players look to be in mid-season form. How much more of them we’ll see this postseason is anyone’s guess. It’s just further evidence of the great depth of this team.