Hawks schedule

atljwilson

The Hawks have spread the season's first three-game losing streak across the tail-end of an 11-day road trip and their first game back in Philips Arena. 

Kyle Korver wants the team to keep pushing for success, even though they have gotten to a point in the season where there isn't much to be motivated about.

"At this point in the season, it's not about little things anymore. It's just bigger picture stuff. I think why we have so much respect for San Antonio -- there's a lot of reasons -- but for them to keep their mental edge over the years. They win championships, but they keep that edge. They keep playing so hard. We're at a point in the season where we have a good lead in the standings. We know the playoffs are coming, and we've had this long road trip, and it's easy to kind of relax a little bit. But the good teams are able to keep their foot on the pedal."

MINI-POWER RANKINGS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK

Orlando (Wednesday | 7:00 PM | Amway Center | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game)

Miami (Friday | 7:30 PM | Philips Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game | Get Tickets) 

Charlotte (Saturday | 7:00 PM | The Time Warner Cable Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game) 

1. Atlanta: After the Spurs loss, Jeff Teague commented on the task of guarding Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker in consecutive games, and on whether or not the physical toll of the season had started to add up. 

"I've been tired and banged up," he said with an emphasis toward the past tense to indicate just how long he has been nagged by ailments. "It's a long season. They're tired and banged up too. I don't think it was about Parker and those guys tonight. I think it was about us. I think we just played poorly altogether."

2. Miami: It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Hawks and Heat go head to head in the first round of the playoffs. The Heat are currently ranked 7th with a 32-37 record, but the teams currently ranked 7th through 11th in the Eastern Conference are separated by only 2.5 games in the standings.

3. Charlotte: As a team, the Hornets are 11.0 points better per 100 possessions with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on the floor. The young forward is a difference maker, especially on defense.

4. Orlando: It may too late for guard Elfrid Payton to get involved in the Rookie of the Year chase, but that won't stop him from trying. Payton had triple doubles in consecutive games against Dallas and Portland last week.

Hassan Whiteside vs. Al Horford.  This one is just a fascinating contrast in styles: the aggressive shot-blocking and rebounding skills of an newcomer on display against the levelheaded scoring and passing and positioning of the veteran Horford. 

Paul Millsap had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and a pair of steals against the Warriors Wednesday. Here he facilitates on a DeMarre Carroll cut on a play that started with a heads-up Kent Bazemore steal. 

“They've got five guys on the court, almost all the time, that can score and have to handled and can't be left alone. So you can't come off one guy and go help any way you want. They've got threats on the floor everywhere.  They execute first at the defensive end really well in the sense that they know the game plan. They give up a lot of threes, but it's hard to get in the paint, and the more you get in the paint, the more you turn it over. And that fuels their offense. And they all believe in it, and they all do it.” -- San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talking Sunday before the game about the the basketball elements that have fueled the Hawks' success this season.

Thabo Sefolosha is out with a right calf strain. He has been out for about seven weeks, and if the original timetable holds true, he should return to action relatively soon. 

After further evaluation, it was determined that Mike Scott actually suffered an acute sprain of the big toe in his left foot. The timeline for his return is roughly 2-4 weeks.

Today is the 60th birthday of former Hawks center Moses Malone. Malone holds the all-time NBA record for career offensive rebounds, a stat the league started tracking in 1973-74. 

In his career, Malone grabbed 6731 offensive rebounds, which is more amazing considering that 1) no other NBA player even came close to 5000, and 2) that number doesn't include the 651 offensive rebounds he collected in two seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Robert Parish is second on the all-time offensive rebounds list with 4598. 

Malone spent three seasons with the Hawks, and his 364 offensive rebounds in 1989-90 led the NBA that season.

Story by KL ChouinardTwitter:  @AnaheimAmigos

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After First 3-Loss Week of Season, Hawks Aim To Bounce Back

The Hawks enter the week with a pair of resourceful wins in hand. They mounted a substantial rally in the fourth quarter against Phoenix Friday, then Dennis Schröder and Al Horford scored 45 combined points to help a team missing four of its regular starters to a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Hawks now enter the second, more challenging week of their six-game Western Conference road trip, plus a game at home against Mike Budenholzer's former team, the San Antonio Spurs.

Once this upcoming week is complete, Atlanta will finish the regular season with 11 of their final 12 games against the Eastern Conference.

Sacramento (Monday | 10:00 PM | Sleep Train Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game)

Golden State (Wednesday | 10:30 PM | Oracle Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game)

Oklahoma City (Friday | 8:00 PM | Chesapeake Energy Arena| SportSouth, 92.9 The Game) 

San Antonio (Sunday | 3:00 PM | Philips Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game | Get Tickets) 

1. (tie) Atlanta, Golden State: Good luck picking the top team from between these two. The Warriors have a better record, but the Hawks won the head-to-head matchup. Golden State plays in the better, tougher Western Conference, but the Hawks actually have a better winning percentage against the West than the Warriors do. Let's leave this one to be settled on the floor Wednesday.

3. San Antonio: The Spurs are a different team with Kawhi Leonard on the floor. San Antonio outscores the opposition by 9.6 points per 100 possessions with him in the game, compared to just 0.3 points per 100 possessions without him. Also: Manu Ginobili sprained his ankle this weekend and it expected to miss at least a week.

4. Oklahoma City: The margin of error for the Thunder as they finish the regular season is a slim one: They only lead the New Orleans Pelicans by 1.0 game in the race for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference.

5. Sacramento: The lineups may look different tonight than they did a week ago when these two teams played. Rudy Gay missed a recent Kings/Wizards game with a knee issue and he is listed as 'questionable'. Kyle Korver broke his nose and won't play. It's also not out of the question that Al Horford gets a night off after playing last night in Los Angeles.

Russell Westbrook vs. Jeff Teague. Since the All-Star break, Westbrook has averaged 33.2 points, 10.7 assists, 10.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. He is doing everything he can to drag the Thunder into the playoffs. 

It makes sense that Budenholzer chose to rest Teague against the Lakers coming into a week where he will be guarding Stephen Curry, Westbrook, and Tony Parker in consecutive games.

Elton with the block, Dennis with the no-look dish, DeMarre with the shot. The Hawks would surely love to have more of this stuff tonight in the rematch with the Kings.

“Oh, it was a war, and I’m not going to say who said what. But there was a debate among the coaches: What do we do with him?” -- Assistant coach Kenny Atkinson on the Hawks' coaching staff back in 2013 trying to plot the future of forward Mike Scott and ultimately deciding he should focus on emphasizing agility over power, (from a New York Times story by Scott Cacciola)

Thabo Sefolosha is out with a right calf strain. He is almost six weeks into an absence that was estimated to last six to eight weeks. 

Mike Scott broke the big toe in his left foot. The timeline for his return from injury is not yet known, but he is visiting a foot specialist today.

Kyle Korver broke his nose in the game against the Lakers. He did not travel with the team to Sacramento and will be re-evaluated today in Los Angeles. 

Jeff Teague is one of the NBA's best at scoring through the use of a hand-off, a play which is defined as one where "the screen setter starts with the ball and hands the ball to a player cutting close by."

Among players who have completed 30 or more hand-off possessions, Teague is tops in the NBA, scoring 1.16 points per possession and shooting 58.8% on such field goal attempts. Al Horford and Pero Antic deserve credit too for setting the bulk of those screens and making the exchanges that led to those shot attempts.

Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @AnaheimAmigos

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Hawks Face Challenging Quartet of West Opponents

The 40-win Hawks face their most challenging week of the season, including three consecutive games against teams with 30 or more wins. Sandwiched in the middle of those three is the long awaited game between the NBA's two top teams.

MINI-POWER RANKINGS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK

New Orleans (Monday | 8:00 PM | Smoothie King Center | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game)

Washington (Wednesday | 7:30 PM | Philips Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game | Get Tickets) 

Golden State (Friday | 7:30 PM | Philips Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game | Get Tickets) 

Memphis (Sunday | 6:00 PM | FedExForum | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game) 

1. Atlanta: If the season ended today, the Hawks' winning percentage of 0.833 would be the fifth-best mark in NBA history. The team is on pace for a previously unthinkable 68 wins.

2. Golden State: The Warriors lead the NBA in net rating, outscoring opponents by an astounding 12.6 points per 100 possessions. The Hawks rank second with a net rating of 7.8.

3. Memphis: This game is the trap game for the Hawks, even if the streak ends earlier in the week. Two days after the biggest game of the season, the Hawks hit the road again for a game with the 35-12 Grizz. Memphis, a physical, defensive-minded team, has won 9 of 10 games since acquiring Jeff Green from the Celtics.

4. Washington: On Dec. 29, the Hawks and Wizards were tied for the Southeast Division lead with identical 22-8 records. Since then, the Hawks have built up a 9-game lead and Washington has played 0.500 basketball (9-9).

5. New Orleans: Somehow the bottom team in the mini-rankings has the player who is arguably best player in the NBA. Anthony Davis is leading the NBA in blocks (2.9 per game) for the second consecutive season, while averaging 24.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. The 6'10" power forward missed the Pelicans' most recent game Friday with a left abductor strain after being listed as 'questionable'.

Stephen Curry vs. Jeff Teague. Until this season, the lowest three-point percentage compiled by Steph Curry in a single season had been 42.4%. This season, he's at 39.5%. On the other hand, Curry is playing the best defense of his career and the Warriors have a 37-8 record. 

For his part, Teague keeps reiterating the primacy of winning. "We just want to wiiin," he said recently, delightfully dragging out the vowel sound for emphasis. "I don't think anyone cares (about the stats). As long as we win, that's all that matters. Winning is the whole thing. Points and assists and stuff like that, we really don't care. We just want the 'W'." For the record, if the season ended today, Teague's averages of 16.8 points and 7.5 assists per game would be career highs.

Kent Bazemore stuck with Wes Matthews before the catch and held himself down on the pump fake. Then he smothered the shot off Matthews' face AND collected a reflexive rebound. Perhaps the best part is Coach Budenholzer wasting no time as he urged Bazemore to the other end of the court.

"Yeah. You can thank Kent Bazemore for that. He brought that to us. His energy from the bench, when he gets into a game, he brings a whole different attitude to our team. And we needed that. He livens up the whole locker room."

-- Jeff Teague, when asked about the high enthusiasm level of the players on the Hawks bench

IT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN, BUT WE HOPE IT DOES...

If the Hawks win in New Orleans, their 20-game winning streak would tie the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the fourth-longest single-season winning streak in NBA history. Only the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33 games), the 2012-13 Miami Heat (27 games), and the 2007-2008 Houston Rockets (22 games) had longer streaks. 

IT MIGHT HAPPEN, BUT WE HOPE IT DOESN'T...

Grizzlies center Marc Gasol has earned 4 or more assists in 8 of his last 9 games. For a center, he is an extremely gifted passer, and the Hawks will have their hands full trying to deny Gasol in the low post while scrambling to the correct defensive assignments after he passes the ball.

Thabo Sefolosha is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks as he recovers from a right calf strain. DeMarre Carroll (left Achilles strain) and Shelvin Mack (left calf strain) also missed the games from this past weekend. 

Coach Bud sounded optimistic about DeMarre Saturday, saying, "I think we're hoping it's fairly short term, but we'll continue to evaluate him each day."

Al Horford has a strong case for the Eastern Conference Player of the Month Award: 17.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. Horford shot 58.8% from the field, and the Hawks became the first NBA team to earn 17 or more wins in a month without a loss.

The ten most recent Hawks opponents are 1-9 in games immediately following their loss to the Hawks (excepting the 76ers, who haven't played another game yet). The Hawks aren't just winning. They're leaving a mark.

hawks-face-most-challenging-week-to-date

Hawks Face Most Challenging Week To Date

atljtaylor

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks today announced the seven-game 2014 preseason schedule, which includes contests at Philips Arena against the New Orleans Pelicans, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets.

The Hawks play host to the Pelicans on Monday, Oct. 6 (7:30 p.m.), the Pistons on Saturday, Oct. 18 (7:30 p.m.) and the Hornets on Monday, Oct. 20 (7:30 p.m.).

Atlanta will take to the road for four games during exhibition play – Saturday, Oct. 11 at Memphis (8 p.m.), Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Miami (7:30 p.m.), Thursday, Oct. 16 at Chicago (8 p.m.) and Wednesday, Oct. 22 at San Antonio (8:30 p.m.).

The games against the Heat, Bulls and Spurs will be broadcast live on the Hawks flagship radio station, SportsRadio 92.9 The Game, with the Voice of the Hawks Steve Holman announcing the action.

The 2014 Hawks’ preseason schedule is listed below (all times are Eastern):

atlanta-hawks-announce-2014-preseason-schedule

Atlanta Hawks Announce 2014 Preseason Schedule

View Full 2014-15 Regular Season Schedule

ATLANTA, GA -- The National Basketball Association today released the 2014-15 regular season schedule and announced the Atlanta Hawks will begin the campaign on Wednesday, Oct. 29th in Toronto before the home opener against Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 1st at Philips Arena.

Every game will air live on the Hawks flagship radio station, SportsRadio 92.9 The Game, with The Voice of the Hawks Steve Holman announcing the action. The local TV schedule on Fox Sports South and SportSouth will be released at a later date. Atlanta is scheduled to appear on national television four times – Nov. 10th at New York (NBA TV), Jan. 14th at Boston (ESPN), Jan. 19th vs. Detroit (ESPN) and Feb. 2nd at New Orleans (NBA TV).

During the 82-game regular season schedule, Atlanta will take on each Eastern Conference team four times with the exception of Boston and Chicago (once at Philips Arena, twice on the road), and New York and Indiana (twice at home, once on the road). The Hawks face each Western Conference opponent twice.

The Hawks will find themselves at home for several games surrounding the holidays, including contests against Toronto (Wednesday, Nov. 26th), New Orleans (Friday, Nov. 28th) and Charlotte (Saturday, Nov. 29th) just before and after Thanksgiving, and the LA Clippers (Tuesday, Dec. 23rd), Milwaukee (Friday, Dec. 26th) and Cleveland (Tuesday, Dec. 30th) in late December.

Of the 41 contests at Philips Arena, 22 will be weekend games (13 Friday/five Saturday/four Sunday). The Sunday contests feature earlier tip times – Dec. 7th vs. Denver (3:30 p.m.), Jan. 11th vs. Washington (3 p.m.), Jan. 25th vs. Minnesota (6 p.m.) and Mar. 22nd vs. San Antonio (3 p.m.).

Other notable matchups include the Cleveland Cavaliers (Dec. 30th and Mar. 6th), Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 18th) and Miami Heat (Nov. 14th and Mar. 27th).

Atlanta’s longest homestand consists of seven-in-a-row from Jan. 19th-31st, highlighted by matchups with the Pacers (Jan. 21st), Oklahoma City Thunder (Jan. 23rd) and Brooklyn Nets (Jan. 28th). Earlier in the month, the Hawks play eight-of-ten away from home, including a three-game West coast trip (Utah Jazz Jan. 2nd, Portland Trail Blazers Jan. 3rd, Los Angeles Clippers Jan. 5th) and a four-games-in-five-nights trek to take on the Philadelphia 76ers (Jan. 13th), Boston Celtics (Jan. 14th), Toronto Raptors (Jan. 16th) and Chicago Bulls (Jan. 17th). The annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday game at Philips Arena is set for Monday, Jan. 19th against Detroit (2:30 p.m. tip).

Atlanta’s final game before the All-Star break is Feb. 11th at Boston, and the Hawks resume play on Feb. 20th vs. Toronto, a span of eight days between contests. The Hawks hit the road for their longest trip in late March, playing six straight away, starting with Denver on Mar. 11th and finishing at Oklahoma City on Mar. 20th.

Among 21 total back-to-back sets, the schedule includes two home/home back-to-backs (Friday, Nov. 28th vs. New Orleans and Saturday, Nov. 29th vs. Charlotte; Friday, Jan. 30th vs. Portland and Saturday, Jan. 31st vs. Philadelphia). Atlanta’s busiest home months are November and January (nine games during each) while they take to the road a season-high 10 times in March.

All Hawks home games will start at 7:30 p.m. except the four Sunday games listed above, and the aforementioned Jan. 19th MLK Day game vs. Detroit (2:30 p.m.).

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Hawks Home Opener Set for Saturday, Nov. 1 vs. Indiana in Playoff Rematch

Now that the 2014-15 Hawks schedule has been released, here are nine interesting things to know about ours:

- Two of the 21 back-to-back sets (Nov. 28-29, Jan. 30-31) have the Hawks at Philips Arena for both games, meaning no travel is involved.

- Of the 19 back-to-back sets that require travel, Atlanta will play on the road on the second night 15 times.

- Despite more back-to-back sets, the Hawks actually have fewer stretches of four games in five nights.  Atlanta has just one off day from Nov. 25-29, Jan. 13-17 and March 27-31. Those three occurances are lower than last season's total of four such stretches.

- The Hawks will host three Sunday matinee games (Dec. 7 vs. Denver, Jan. 11 vs. Washington and March 22 vs. San Antonio) as well as a Sunday evening game (Jan. 25 vs. Minnesota).  Last year Atlanta did not play a home game on Sunday.

- Each team plays four non-divisional conference opponents just three times.  For the Hawks, those teams in 2014-15 are the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics.  The Celtics and Pacers were expected because they're the only two intra-conference, non-divisional teams the Hawks saw four times in each of the past two seasons.

- The Brooklyn Nets come to Philips Arena on Jan. 28, 2015 for the first time in 22 months.  The two teams did not meet in Atlanta last season because of a scheduling quirk that left the teams' matchup in London as the only Hawks home game of the 2013-14 series.

- Atlanta plays the New York Knicks twice in a row (Nov. 8 &amp; 10), as well as the Orlando Magic back-to-back (Dec. 12-13) and the Milwaukee Bucks back-to-back (Dec. 26-27).

- The Hawks have three home games surrounding Thanksgiving (Nov. 26, 28-29) and three home games surrounding Christmas (Dec. 23, 26 &amp; 30).

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9 Things To Know About The Hawks' 2014-15 Schedule

The Hawks dropped their first game at Las Vegas Summer League to the Wizards by an 90-74 margin. Adreian Payne led Atlanta with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting along with six boards, while Mike Muscala added 11 points and five rebounds. Otto Porter led all scorers with 25 points and Glen Rice, Jr. had 22 points for the Wizards.

- Payne’s activity. After the game Coach Ham highlighted the activity shown by Payne on both ends of the floor, and said that despite the high foul number he was encouraged because it would be easier to slow him down then try to get him to play with more pace.

- Payne said that he’s still not comfortable with the offense, and is trying to get a feel for where his shots will come from.

- Muscala was very active, and looked great putting the ball on the floor. Mike had a number of drive-and-kick plays and made excellent passes off the dribble. Ham noted that Muscala has developed that ability to put the ball on the floor and it’s something they think can be a weapon for them.

- Ham said the biggest improvement he wanted to see was for them to move the ball more. The Hawks finished the game with only eight assists -- one in the second half. Atlanta's identity on offense is all about ball movement, so that’s an improvement Ham will still emphasize.

- John Jenkins made his debut in game-action since his back surgery after being cleared last week. Jenkins was not pleased with his performance and said he physically wasn’t 100 percent. He said his focus is on being a leader on the floor even when he’s not playing well, and also rounding himself back into basketball shape and rhythm.

- Dennis Schröder struggled to finish at the rim and shot just 2-for-13 from the field, but played with a better pace than he showed at the beginning of last season. He was changing speeds and getting himself to the rim, but didn’t score well once he got there.

- Stephen Holt and Lamar Patterson each had solid showings in their debuts. Holt was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field with eight points and Patterson was active on both ends of the floor, finishing with 10 points and three steals.

- “[Edy Tavares]’s big.” Coach Ham’s opening statement about Edy was spot on. The 7-foot-3 Tavares made his presence felt with his length around the rim. Tavares had six points on 3-of-4 shooting in 11 minutes of play. He had four fouls in those 11 minutes, and Ham said they were working on getting him to play with more verticality rather than making an “umbrella” with his arms where opposing players could draw fouls. 

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Rookies Shine In First Summer League Game

The Hawks released their 2014 Summer League roster Tuesday, and there are a lot of exciting pieces.

Back for another stint in Las Vegas are John Jenkins, Mike Muscala and Dennis Schröder, all of whom were part of the 2013-14 Atlanta team.  Jenkins will be playing in the Summer League for the third time as he continues to work his way back from a season-ending back injury last year.  Hopefully he can re-gain the shooting form he had his rookie year and last summer.

Muscala played 20 games with the Hawks last season and said he wants to continue to get stronger, play better defense and expand his range.  He'll be challenged defensively with a number of great prospect big men in Las Vegas, and he'll have a chance to expand on the range we saw from him, similar to what Mike Scott did last summer when he unveiled a newly-crafted three-point shot.

Schröder had some tough luck as rookie with limited minutes behind Jeff Teague and Shelvin Mack.  Still, a year in the NBA helped him, and another summer of playing 25+ minutes per game won't hurt either.  He still needs to develop a consistent jump shot, and he'll have plenty of chances to let it fly in Atlanta's free-flowing system this week.

All three of the players the Hawks acquired in the 2014 draft will be in uniform as well.  First-round pick Adreian Payne will see his first taste of NBA action, and I'm sure fans will be watching closely to see how he'll do.  On paper it appears his style of play fits well with what the Hawks want to do, so we'll see how well that holds true once game action starts.  

Edy Tavares, as General Manager Danny Ferry said, is a unique player because of his size.  He could very well end up being the tallest player in the tournament, so we'll see how he takes advantage of that.  As most people know, the international game is very different from the NBA game, even in Summer League, so Tavares' ability to adapt to how physical things will be in Las Vegas will be a good indicator of how close he is to being ready to make the jump.

Lamar Patterson is a guard who can shoot and create for himself, which is sometimes the best offense in the summer because of the fast and chaotic play.  Games are shorter, sometimes sloppier and usually faster, so Patterson's style may actually fit well considering he can run, shoot and drive.  I loved the trade when it happened on draft night, and I hope this is a step toward him getting a Training Camp invite.

Atlanta filled the rest of its roster with some undrafted rookies, a few international prospects and some guys looking to make a team once again.  You may recognize Eric Dawson's name, as he both played for Atlanta in last year's Summer League and was also part of the Hawks' Training Camp before eventually being the final cut.  He played for the Austin Toros and the NBL in China last season.

A few SEC alums made the roster.  Florida's Casey Prather teamed up with Scottie Wilbiken to form an elite backcourt for the Gators.  Prather shot better than 60% from the field and 40% from three in helping Florida reach the Final Four this season.  Alabama's Trevor Releford, also on the roster, finished fifth in the conference in scoring and was named to the first team All-SEC for the second straight year.

Several other players who played college ball in the states are on the roster too.  Abraham Millsap, brother of Hawks forward Paul Millsap, played six games for Tennessee State in 2012-13.  Stephen Holt, the 6'4" guard out of St. Mary's, started all 34 games as a senior, averaging 15 points as a team captain in his final season.  Washington State forward D.J. Shelton averaged a double-double last season in 30 minutes per game. And 6'10" Travis Wear is a perfect fit for the Hawks' style because he can stretch defenses.  He shot 44% from three last season for UCLA.

Greek-American Michael Bramos has been playing in Europe since 2009 but did attend school in the states at Miami-Ohio University while Edo Muric, of Slovenian decent, helped his team to win the past four championships in Slovenia from 2011-2014.

All in all, the Hawks have a roster diverse in skillsets, but they all seem to be able to contribute something to a system predicated on pace and space.  It should be a fun week.