The Atlanta Hawks bench is going to be crucial against the Wizards
The Atlanta Hawks enter the fifth game of the season with a 3-1 record, taking on the Washington Wizards who surprisingly share the same record. It is surprising as they traded away one of their biggest superstars in Russell Westbrook over the offseason.
They have shown that a solid team can overcome the loss of a superstar. Westbrook was a huge part of their offense last season, leading the league in assists and helping Bradley Beal almost win the scoring title in a complete display of what teammates are capable of.
However, the Wizards were able to escape his massive contract by bringing in most of the Los Angeles Lakers role players. This has allowed them to structure their team over the offseason around their backcourt of Spencer Dinwiddie and Beal to go along with a solid young core.
Why the Atlanta Hawks bench needs to step up.
One of the reasons that the Wizards have had such a strong start is there is very little letup when the bench unit takes the floor. One of the main reasons for this is their center Montrezl Harrell who was part of the Westbrook trade with the Lakers.
He is third on the team in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game. Add to that he is also the top rebounder for the Wizards at 11.8 per game and it is easy to see why the Wizards have a good early record.
Much of the responsibility of stopping Harrell will fall to Gorgui Dieng, with Clint Capela, who will start, taking the rest of the time against the bullocking center. Dieng, who has been a really solid addition for the start of his career as a Hawk is more than up to the task.
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On top of this, the second unit has Lou Williams and Danilo Gallinari in it, both of whom played with Harrell at the LA Clippers. Williams was the player who helped put Harrell on the NBA map, meaning that he will have some good insights on how to stop him.