The Atlanta Hawks faced the Los Angeles Lakers in an injury-riddled Saturday night game, where the Hawks won 122-102. The Hawks were missing four of their six best players: Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Kristaps Porzingis, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, while the Lakers were missing stars Austin Reaves and LeBron James.
This left Keaton Wallace, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu as Atlanta’s starters. As you would expect, the result was a game marked by unproven players and unforced errors, particularly from Los Angeles. While the Hawks were missing a greater number of key players, the teams were pretty evenly matched in terms of talent.
Midway through the third quarter, however, Atlanta clearly emerged as the better team. A dominant run to push the lead from single digits to 30 points sealed the deal in the mid-third quarter. The Lakers would throw in the towel after this stretch, subbing Luka Doncic out with 6:00 left in the third for his final minutes of the night.
The Hawks’ frontcourt is in excellent shape with Gueye and Newell in the pipeline
Gueye and rookie Asa Newell had coming-out performances in their increased role, with Gueye scoring 11 points in the first six minutes of the game and ending with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
His defense was stellar as always, but his offensive performance should give Hawks fans optimism for the player Gueye could become. He flashed moments of brilliance both on and off the ball as he continues to develop into one of the most fascinating young bigs in the league.
This was only the second game Newell played over four minutes in his career, and he didn’t let the opportunity pass. By 8:00 in the second quarter, Newell had already grabbed four steals and scored nine points. He would end with 17 points, 5 boards, 4 steals, and a block in 27 minutes, leaving a positive two-way impact and building on his impressive performances against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic.
Newell isn’t ready for a massive NBA role and may benefit from more playing time on the College Park Skyhawks in the early part of his career. Ignoring the developmental side, however, Newell could have a real role on this Hawks team. This rings even truer when you consider that Kristaps Porzingis will continue to miss games throughout the season, opening opportunities for Newell to gain some NBA experience. Expect more Asa minutes in Porzingis’s absence going forward.
Gueye, however, is ready for an increased role. Frankly, it is coaching malpractice that Quin Snyder has not found a way to get more Mo minutes into the healthy rotation. While his offensive performance today was an outlier, his defense and rebounding will help shore up Atlanta’s woeful interior presence.