Boxscore
The Hawks raised both their energy and execution levels Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas, beating the Bucks 83-60. I hypothesize that the former had a little something to do with Randolph Morris being absent from the starting lineup. During his brief appearance later in the game, Morris contrived to get beaten down the court by John Bryant.
Richard Hendrix replaced Morris in the starting lineup and again displayed the ability to get good post position and an array of effective moves upon receipt of the ball. He could be a fine undersized four off the bench, though it should be noted that the bulk of his damage was done against Tiny Gallon and Sean Williams rather than the delightfully and ridiculously long-armed Larry Sanders.
Jeff Teague bounced back nicely from his disappointing second game. At this point, it's best to concede that Teague isn't going to shoot jumpers in Summer League. His ability to get past his defender or split the defenders on the pick-and-roll keeps him going to the basket on a consistent basis. That the majority of pump fakes (this works regardless of who is pump faking) succeed in this setting takes care of most other instances. Again, Teague attacked without forcing things (for the most part) and his assist-to-turnover ratio improved to 5:3.
Matched up against an NBA-quality defender (DeMarcus Nelson) for the first time, Jordan Crawford struggled to score as efficiently as he did in the first two games. The three-year age difference between Nelson and Crawford was visible on their similar frames. Nelson has filled out. Crawford hasn't yet. Despite struggling to score, Crawford again displayed good basketball instincts and is a very willing passer. His on-the-ball appears at least acceptable already though he tends to lose contact with his man when he doesn't have the ball.
Look for more from me on Crawford later at ESPN.com.
Trey Gilder would not be playing in Summer League if he could shoot. He's athletic, active, and aware but no defender need pay attention to him until he gets within 15 feet of the basket.
Alade Aminu came alive late with a couple of impressive blocks (though he only got credit for one) and strong work on the offensive glass.
James Augustine recovered quickly from his left ankle sprain and did James Augustine things: defending hard, rebounding hard, and fouling hard.
Luke Jackson alternated sharp shooting with ambitious, unsuccessful passing.
Sergiy Gladyr struggled again but his grasp of the motion offense the Hawks are trying to run looked stronger. That goes for the whole team, really.
Jermareo Davidson got his most extended run of Summer League so far. He was active, not dissimilar to Aminu. I doubt he's a candidate to make the roster but he'd be a better use of minutes here than Randolph Morris.
Landon Milbourne broke his Summer League duck late but still doesn't look comfortable at all out there.
Pape Sy was listed as a DNP-CD but he didn't even participate in warmups so I suspect it was again the sore achilles that kept him on the bench.
1 comment:
That was Teague's game in college as well. Draft Express detailed how he took relatively few jump shots yet was among the top guards in the draft at getting to the rim. That's his instinct, and it is one that I hope Larry Drew can integrate into the game plan. I love to see a point guard that can drive and dish.
I think the Hawks should bring Hendrix to camp, regardless of whether he's considered undersized. He's a wide body, and that's something the Hawks do not have a lot of.
I will say that I do like Aminu's length though and feel that he would be an excellent developmental guy at the end of the bench.
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