C.J. Miles

atljwilson

Finally it's here!  Opening week in the NBA, which for the Atlanta Hawks means just two games (they only have three over the first 10 days of the NBA season).  Nevertheless, basketball is finally back, so let's get right to it.

Details:  7:30 p.m. (ET) | Air Canada Centre | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game

The Raptors are almost a mirror image of the Hawks.  Think about it: exciting, fast-developing point guard, versatile frontcourt, plays with pace, exciting to watch.  Not to mention both teams' offseasons were identical: keep the starting five and spend money adding depth where needed.  Two of Toronto's most important offseason aquisitions actually came in a trade with Atlanta.  The Raptors picked up veteran wing man Lou Williams and exciting prospect Lucas Nogueira in a trade the Hawks ultimately made to free up cap room to add depth to their own bench.  With both teams seemingly on the rise, this is one of the most underrated season-opening games.  The Raptors won both meetings handily in Toronto last season, and it'll no doubt be a challenge for Atlanta with one of the best fan bases in the league rocking the Air Canada Centre on opening night.

Details:  7:30 p.m. (ET) | Philips Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game | Get Tickets

The team that ended the Hawks' 2013-14 season makes an early visit to Philips Arena this year.  The Pacers have already been bit by the injury bug, as Paul George is lost for the year due to a broken leg and David West's status for this weekend is still unclear after spaining his ankle last week.  Indiana also lost Lance Stephenson in free agency over the summer, so this will be a different-looking team than the one we saw in last year's exciting 7-game series.  Despite some key losses, the Pacers are still a formitable foe.  7'2" Roy Hibbert is back and has been working all summer to diversify his offensive game.  Offseason aquisitions C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey are expected to start on the wings, and both players have the ability to create instant offense for themselves.  Frank Vogel is one of the best coaches in the league and will have this team competing for a playoff spot.

Jeff Teague vs. George Hill on Saturday.  After Teague dropped 28 points with Hill guarding him in Game 1 last season, Vogel adjusted the matchup and put Paul George on him.  Vogel doesn't have the luxury of a first team all defensive player this season, so it'll likely be up to Hill to contain Atlanta's speedy point guard.

IT PROBABLY WON'T HAPPEN, BUT WE HOPE IT DOES...

Mike Scott will score 17 points in a quarter against the Pacers.  Oh, the Game 5 memories.

IT PROBABLY WILL HAPPEN, BUT WE HOPE IT DOESN'T...

The referees will actually call Jeff Teague out of bounds when he steps out of bounds.  They didn't in Game 3 last year, and Teague was rewarded with what could have been the best shot of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

John Jenkins (Blister):  This kept him out of the preseason finale but sounded like it was just a day-to-day thing.

Many talk about Indiana's struggles at Philips Arena, but the Pacers have actually won five of the past seven games in Atlanta's building.

Here's where the various sports websites have us in their rankings this week:

ESPN:  16USA Today:  19Sports Illustrated:  19FOX Sports:  20Bleacher Report:  18HoopsHabit:  17

hawks-face-tall-task-in-season-opener

Hawks Face Tall Task In Season Opener

With the draft fast approaching, we will be taking a look at potential draft prospects with writers who have covered the prospects in college or -- in the case of international prospects -- spent a great deal of time scouting them. Today we’ll look at James Young (G/F - Kentucky) with the help of SB Nation NBA draft guru Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie).

James Young is one of the more interesting prospects in this draft, and he's something of a project. His best game this year given the competition level probably came against Florida the first time they played, when he knocked down seven of his 10 shots, including four of five from 3, and scored 19 points. He dropped 20+ points nine times, but never with the type of efficiency that he displayed against what was consistently the best team in the country this season.

Where Young excels is as a jump shooter. His shooting form is pristine, and he gets excellent elevation on his jumper. He's an incredible athlete, and has great length and height for both wing positions. Athletic shooters can make quite a career in the NBA, so it's not hard at all to envision him working out well.

His weaknesses though have to do with those strengths. Young was a shooter that only shot 35 percent this season from 3, although that has more to do with the fact that he was the only spacing option that Kentucky had this past season with the Harrisons, Julius Randle, and Willie Cauley-Stein. He had to take a lot of contested outside jumpers just to keep defenses honest, which slightly depressed his percentages. I'd envision that these will leap in the pros. He already has NBA range (or at least as much as any NBA prospect does).

But that's not his biggest problem. His best way to fit in the NBA is as a "3 and D" guy, but he's not a good defender yet. At all. He doesn't get after it on that end, and doesn't seem to have great instincts there. Of course, most NCAA prospects have poor defensive instincts coming out of college. That's just kind of the way it is. They could come along for Young, and he could be fine on that end. But defensive lapses just seemed more common for him than other guys, and a lot of the time it was effort-related.

How do you think his game translates to the NBA?

Given his athleticism and shooting, his game is extremely translatable, especially once he is put into a slightly better role in the NBA than he was in college. Assuming the shot falls more consistently as I expect it to, I can't see him failing to the point where he doesn't reach a second contract quite yet.

What NBA player would you compare him to?

He's athletic and young enough to the point where he could develop into a Richard Jefferson-type that can both score by shooting and by getting to the rim with his athleticism. Or he could be an big shooting guard like a Klay Thompson. Or maybe he ends up like a C.J. Miles, more of an instant offense in small doses off the bench shooter.

What do you see as his NBA ceiling (All-Star/Starter/Spot-Starter/Rotation Player)?

My guess is that he's closer to the Miles level than peak Jefferson level, but who knows. Young is only 18 and hasn't really been used in a way to maximize his talents yet. I have him at 15th on my big board, just outside the lottery. I tend to think shooting is the easiest thing to project into an NBA role, so Young at worst probably ends up as a solid role player.

C.J. Miles

Hawks Face Tall Task In Season Opener

Scouting Profile: James Young