Hawks’ Asa Newell starts, capitalizes on opportunity in exhibition vs. Heat
Exhibition games in the NBA may not count toward the Hawks’ record at the end of the regular season. But they can have a much bigger impact on a player in the long term.
That’s how rookie Asa Newell got some crucial reps in his debut in a Hawks jersey at State Farm Arena.
For Monday’s exhibition game against the Heat, the Hawks rested their top players. Instead, they started Newell alongside Keaton Wallace, Vit Krejci, Jacob Toppin and N’Faly Dante. The Heat, though, used what could be their top rotation for the season, which featured Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware, Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell and Dru Smith.
Newell seized the moment, attacking the basket, exploiting slower defenders and playing through contact. With 1:10 to play in the second quarter, Newell rotated to the lane from the corner, where guard Lamont Butler found him for an offhand floater. Heat guard Norman Powell closed out a second later and bumped Newell as he released the shot.
The Hawks rookie finished another player through contact, scoring a put-back layup despite Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. hooking his elbow.
But Newell also showed patience, waiting for multiple defenders to get in the air before going up and finishing a two-handed layup.
He didn’t hesitate either when teammates found him on the perimeter for jumpers. Though he finished the evening 0-of-9 on 3-point shots, his confidence remained high. He went back to punishing the paint.
Newell finished with 19 points, but his relentless energy didn’t stop there. Much like his time at Georgia, Newell leaned on his brother Jaden’s advice to hone in on the glass.
“I just felt like my circle has always told me to crash the boards. As a big, that’s how you get paid,” the younger Newell said. “Seeing my brother Jaden, he was my biggest influence in basketball, and I caught him every time he got a (rebound), he said, ‘motor’ and that’s how I got that motor continue to attack the glass.”
Along with his eight rebounds Monday, Newell had two assists, two steals and two blocks that added to the defensive production from the Hawks’ bigs. The Hawks finished Monday’s game with 15 blocks to the Heat’s six.
Newell showed that he has the tools to more than impact the game. At the Hawks Media Day at the end of September, coach Quin Snyder praised the rookie’s ability to process and implement new information quickly.
Snyder had similar praise for Newell following the Hawks’ win when asked again about the rookie’s ability to do that.
“He’s consistently put in situations that are a little bit new to him, whether that’s playing out on the perimeter defensively,” Snyder said. “Offensively, I love the fact that he’s quickly kind of reading and taking a shot when he’s open. I think he’ll even begin to understand kind of more situational basketball, when he’s open and (whether) he can make one more.
“But I think you can see his instincts. ... He’s got a lot to work with. He made some plays. There’s couple times he finished, I don’t know how he did it. But he’s just strong going up. He’s got such a nose for the ball and the glass.”
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