Hawks could give starters a run in final exhibition game
The Hawks did not play their starters in their third exhibition game Monday. But that doesn’t mean that the starters are done with the exhibition season.
The team has one more exhibition game — Thursday at home against the Rockets — before it opens the season in one week, hosting the Raptors at State Farm Arena.
Of course, the Hawks want to strike the right balance between keeping players healthy for the regular season, while also giving them a chance to maintain their conditioning.
“We got a window between Houston and our first (regular-season) game (Oct. 22),” coach Quin Snyder said. “We played a number of our guys three quarters the other night. I think it could benefit us to let guys play minutes and get together and play.
“I think conditioning becomes something that’s important, even though you have some time, different play in the games, seeing where we are with guys playing extended minutes or not, and seeing different combinations. So you always want to be mindful being healthy, and that’s there for sure. And pretty soon, you start playing.”
The Hawks opened the exhibition season against the Rockets in Houston on Oct. 6. New Rockets forward Kevin Durant did not suit up for that, but the Hawks still had to navigate their two-big lineup.
The Rockets have deployed Alperen Şengün and Steven Adams together, and it has wreaked havoc on opponents.
The Hawks countered with centers Kristaps Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu, who had yet to play competitive minutes together. While Porzingis and Okongwu don’t have a season under their belt like Şengün and Adams, they can test their growing chemistry from the last week of practice.
The Hawks also have to potentially contend with Durant playing Thursday, which would add even more size to the Rockets’ lineup.
“But defensively, their size is significant,” Snyder said. “And you know, we know we were going to see zone. I thought we’ve done a good job not trying to overthink that too much. We’ve done a solid job attacking, and a lot of that comes down (to) making shots, but you’re gonna see it.
“You know, KD’s gonna play this time, is a guess. So they’ll get even bigger. I mean, we’re more than anything just playing a really good team and a really big team. It doesn’t change a lot of things that we want to do. It just puts emphasis on different aspects of your execution in order to have success.”
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