Hawks practice report: 'Gifted and talented' defensively, 'learning curve' on offense

I agree that the starting five will be good defensively. I think they’ll have trouble scoring (maybe even more so than the second unit). There’s just not a lot of consistent play-making or shooting and, really, the two best shooters are on the bench (see chart).

But I could be wrong. If it turns out I am wrong, I’ll say so.

(Edited to add: The shooting numbers for Hawks players are projected by the Simple Rating System at Basketball-Reference.)

Anyway, Budenholzer said earlier in the preseason that Hawks players first would have to learn the principles of the new offense before they can play "randomly" within it. How is that process going?

“It depends on the day and the possession, probably,” Budenholzer said. “I think it’s all to be expected. I think there is probably going to be some of that learning curve for a while. I think when you play with an offense with a lot of movement, a lot of reads and reactions, it’s going to kind of ebb and flow a little bit. I think it’s part of what makes it good and effective. But there’s definitely a learning curve where we probably will want it to be better."

Notes

Budenholzer said new point guard Isaiah Taylor will join the Hawks in Dallas tomorrow. ...

Josh Magette is traveling with the team. As a two-way player he's limited to 45 days on the NBA roster (with an NBA salary) but that clock doesn't start ticking until G-League training camps begin on Tuesday. ...

The Hawks said today was their last session on the Philips Arena practice court. The new facility in Brookhaven awaits them when they return from five-game trip to open the season.

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