Hawks rookie Asa Newell capitalizing on teammates’ trust
ORLANDO, Fla. — Hawks rookie big Asa Newell can’t help but take advantage of his teammates trusting him.
In July, his first NBA bucket came seconds into his Summer League debut. He stepped right into a 3-point shot on the wing off an assist from Nikola Djurisic to kick off the Hawks’ 4-1 record at the annual summer tournament.
Now, two months later, Newell has made his regular-season debut with the Hawks down two starters in Kristaps Porzingis and Zaccharie Risacher.
Now, the games count, and Newell’s first regular-season bucket came amid a Hawks 12-0 run to rally from a 12-point deficit with 9:13 left in the game.
“It’s just my preparedness,” Newell said after the Hawks 111-107 win over the Magic at the Kia Center on Friday. “I work on my shots every single time and my teammates believe in me. And that’s the biggest thing. Coach was just telling me to stay ready today, and I just came in and just hit a big shot.”
With just under 7:40 to play, Hawks guard Trae Young dribbled to the post. He had shooters at the corners with Dyson Daniels on his left and Newell on his right. Newell had a clear look at the basket and no defenders close by.
So, Young turned the corner and hit the wide-open Newell. As Newell lined up for the 3, a Magic defender yelled, “Hell no.”
Newell responded, “Hell yes,” before the ball even hit the hoop.
Two possessions later, Daniels poked the ball away from Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Newell scooped up the loose ball. He threw an overhead pass downcourt to Daniels.
With a defender in front of him, Daniels found Young running. But the Magic defense recovered and sent a double team to Young. The Hawks guard rewarded Newell, who never stopped getting out in transition, with an alley-oop for an uncontested dunk.
“I remember saying before it was gonna be a 3, and that was a Summer League question,” Newell said when asked how he envisioned his first NBA bucket. “My first NBA points was a 3 in Summer League, and now in the league for the real one was a 3. So I don’t know, I kind of felt like it might have been a dunk or a 3.”
Newell’s 3-pointer and dunk helped the Hawks to tie the score at 93-93 and force the Magic to call a timeout. The rookie’s night ended after the stoppage and he finished with five points in four minutes.
“Tonight, I mean, he made two big plays, running down, got a dunk and that was a big 3 hit, and a lot of people may think that’s the easy shot,” Young said. “But sitting on the bench for that long and not knowing if you’re gonna even get in the game, it’s not easy, just coming in and being ready to knock it down. So, you gotta give (Newell) a lot of props.”
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