The Atlanta Hawks schedule has been a tough one for the entire team. They played eight of their first twelve games on the road and this is where they have been struggling. However, since the return to their fortress State Farm Arena, this has been a totally different team.
During the road trip, the Hawks assigned Jalen Johnson, Sharife Cooper, and Skylar Mays to their G-League affiliate the College Park Skyhawks. Unfortunately for the franchise, the Skyhawks lost both of these games to the Maine Celtics to be 0-2 on the season.
In the first Skyhawks game, it was the second-round pick Sharife Cooper who put on a show. Jalen Johnson struggled but showed the ability to bounce back in the second game. Then, by a ripple in the fixture, the Skyhawks have had over a week off.
The Atlanta Hawks fixture really helped the rookies
After five games out of six being on the road, and then the only home game was against the Utah Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back, the Hawks got some relief. They are in the middle of a five-game homestand and they are getting their season back on track with wins.
They had the chance to try Johnson during this homestand as Danilo Gallinari was struggling and the Hawks could have seen how they could work with Johnson coming in off the bench. Well, Gallinari has put paid to the trade rumors with a return to his usual solid game and Johnson has remained on the bench.
So, how is it, if Johnson, Cooper, and Mays have only played junk minutes, is the schedule helping these young guys? Well, they have had a full week with the varsity squad during the season, learning what it takes to make it in the NBA.
Johnson was able to learn a little more of what he needs to do to be a solid big man in the league. He can then take this back to the Skyhawks and work on it. Cooper is going to take the confidence back to the G-League of having scored his first NBA bucket. This would not have happened if the varsity squad had been on the road during this time.