Hawks employ balancing act in setting rotations for exhibition games
When it comes to determining their lineups for the exhibition season, the Hawks think about everything.
They, of course, want to get a sense of how different lineups work together, but they also factor in the long-term availability of the players. The Hawks played their key rotational players only two and a half quarters in their exhibition opener Monday, with Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis playing in only the first half.
“Balancing something like health, you know, Kristaps had a really long summer,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said Friday. “First of all, he was recovering from that respiratory infection; he did recover fully, then he goes in and plays the EuroBasket, and that goes until late August, and then everybody’s coming back, kind of excited, getting ready to work. And that’s not the smartest thing for him, after the way his summer went. You know, (Zaccharie Risacher) had something similar. But everybody’s different in that regard. So, trying to be mindful of all those things.”
The Hawks have eased off the minutes for their key rotational players in exhibition games. They hold them out of the final game, giving the younger players on the roster playing time they might not get during the regular season.
As the Hawks navigate that, they ensure that everyone on the team understands the thought process.
“I think as a general rule, we try to communicate as much as possible,” Snyder said. “There are certain situations where it’s easier than others. If a player isn’t going to play, obviously, on a given night at all, they’re not dressing, that becomes something that you talk about.”
That’s why the Hawks continue to have the patient, yet urgent mindset when it comes to figuring each other out.
“I think it’s about minutes and getting in shape, honestly,” Hawks wing Vit Krejci said of the exhibition games. “And everybody’s got their role, I think, pretty clear on this team. They know what they’re supposed to do, and now it’s just basically up to Coach and up to matchups stuff to see who fits in what game. So, we as players, we just trying to do our best with the minutes we got.”
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