The Atlanta Hawks put any thoughts that their preseason struggles were the precursor to a regular-season hangover with a resounding 113-87 win over the visiting Dallas Mavericks. It mostly means a 1-0 start and starting the season with a winning record.
There were certainly some strong takeaways, even if they do come with a grain of salt.
More important than any stats accumulated was the fact that the Hawks exited the State Farm Arena the same way they entered: in one piece. That’s a blessing since they were without Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams in this one.
Still, some of the numbers to come out of this one were hard to ignore.
The Atlanta Hawks put on quite the performance in their season-opening win
Trae Young got his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 assists. But he went scoreless in the first quarter and shot just 37.5 percent from the floor. He did most of his damage during a 12-point, nine-assist third quarter. He also had just one turnover in the third quarter after having four of his five in the first half.
John Collins was solid from start to finish with 16 points and nine boards while going 7-for-11 from the field. He also hit 2-of-3 triples and was one of four Hawks to have two blocks.
Center Clint Capela got the start but was on a minutes restriction and wound up playing just 20 minutes. He still managed a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double of his own. The Swiss big man was 6-for-6 from the floor and also had a pair of blocks.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 11 points and was 3-of-5 from deep while Cam Reddish had 20 points off of the bench.
And yet, somehow none of them walk away with ‘stud’ honors for this one.