Hawks vs Grizz Observations

[PandaKidd]

Went to the game Wed night, what I saw for anyone who cares:

So I was panicked that we lost Carroll and our starting SG/SFs were coming off severe injuries. I still am somewhat concerned but looking at the team vs the Grizz:

We are incredibly deep at multiple positions. I still think we lack TALENT, but depth wise they really shored up a lot of positions. We have 3-4 rotation people at almost every position.

Horford/SPlitter/Tavares/Muscala- Center
Horford/Millsap/Muscala/Scott-PF
Millsap/Bazemore/Thabo/THJ/Korver-SF
Bazemore/Thabo/Korver/THJ-SG
Mack/DS/Teague-PG (I heard that Patterson COULD play PG in emergencies).

If you factor in that Splitter COULD play PF, Patterson makes the team you have another G, Holiday isnt even listed in my rotations. Have to think that one of those guys will show as much improvement as DMC did in the CMB system.

So , Macecase was right, i think the panic over the lack of SF depth was a little overstated especially by me. The starting 5 last night was
Teague
Korver
Baze
Millsap
AH

Off the bench was Thabo and Splitter. CMB mixed up the rotations vs the Grizz and at one point PM did play the 3 with AH and Splitter in the game.

Bazemore played decently, he does seem a little erratic at times but he is such a freak athlete. I will say, Jeff Green made him look TINY. I didnt realize how big Jeff Green was.

Overall the offense looked good, decisive, Teague played very well , AH shot 2 3 pointers in the first 5 minutes. Korver looked MUCH IMPROVED from when i saw him at the open practice. He was elevating and he looked "normal". Def looked like he had gained some conditioning. Thabo looked ok for about 2 min then looked gassed. He did make some nice plays on def, and hit a corner 3 .

THE #1 THING I NOTICED:
SPlitter and DS jawing at each other and DS being VISIBLY pissed off at TS. Towards the end of the half Splitter came up to set a pick and DS waived him off, but he waived him off by pouting and mouthing "WHAT THE ****". There was a foul, and Splitter came up to talk to him and DS just kind of shook his head and walked off. Splitter ended up talking to THJ who seemed to be explaining something to him.

There were SEVERAL instances where DS and TS were visibly upset with each other. Im not sure who was at fault, I would think it has to be TS since he is new, but Im not sure i like the body language out of DS.

[PandaKidd]

Oh, the second rotation i hope CMB was playing with, because it was AWFUL:
DS
Thabo
Baze
Muscala
Splitter

Absolutely NO OFFENSE on that squad. With DS and TS not on the same page, it was basically DS dribble dribble frustrated pass late in the shot clock or , dribble dribble 1 on 3 to the basket that he left short. There was literally no one on that squad that could create their own shot or get free. It was awful to watch.

[ATLHawksfan21]

I agree with everything mentioned. The ability to play Teague/Dennis together or Millsap/Horford/Splitter together should alleviate any issues we have with our weaker depth on the wing. The second unit offense will be a work in progress at the beginning of the year. That's where Dennis needs to step up and be the man. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if he is capable of doing it. We would be Eastern Conference favorites if that kid was as good as he thought he was.

I think we are in for another great year that will hopefully end with a healthy playoff appearance this time. I'm ready to kick things off in Phillips on opening night.

[PandaKidd]

There were some stretches where DS and Teague played together, but DS wants the ball in his hands so much Im not sure how that will work.

Teague to me looked like he was playing at 80%, not injury wise or anything, but you could tell he had another gear and wasnt using it. He looked SO much more confident than i have seen him in the past, and this was with Conley out there (not exactly a pushover). Teague looks like the CLEAR leader on the team especially at PG. I was impressed and I think he has another huge year.

I know im usually down on DS, but I really didnt see much but the same out of him. Same tendencies, same issues. He did shoot, and brick, a couple of 3s. He did have a few cuts to the basket where he laid it up off the glass beautifully. But, i personally get this impression from him of 1 or 2 amazing shots followed by 4-5 bad possessions.

In his defense, he was playing with an awful lineup as well.

[jayu70]

Good info, thanks for posting. I've got my opening night tickets....I'm ready

Good article on Teague's next step: http://www.sportingnews.com/nba-news/4658078-jeff-teague-hawks-atlanta-point-guard-dennis-schroder

Excerpt:
Budenholzer says Teague is doing everything he asks with the ball in his hands. But there’s the operative phrase. Teague’s next move may be a full-circle one, sliding to shooting guard at times to make way for his protege.

“With Dennis' emergence and Dennis just becoming somebody that's doing so many things well for us on both ends of the court — obviously, Jeff is doing a lot of good things, too — as a coach, it's your challenge to get the players that are playing the best or having the most positive impact (on the floor),” Budenholzer said at Hawks media day. “So I do think there will be opportunities to play those two guys together. I wouldn't say it's something we're planning on a lot, but you'll see it some. And if it's working well, it's probably on us to figure out how to do it more.”

Budenholzer won’t commit because he doesn’t have to and because the pair has not practiced much together — who would guard them? But Teague and Schröder enjoyed playing together toward the end of last season.

“It’s really hard to stop for the other guys,” Schröder said, praising Teague’s guidance during his first two NBA seasons. “Two quick guys with the point guard skill sets. We can attack right off the rebound. I think it's great and hope the coach is going to let us play like that."