Hawks rookie center Henri Veesaar ready to keep playing with an edge
Hawks rookie Henri Veesaar has been figuring things out.
He needed to acclimate to the NBA pace and opponents’ size in his first two Summer League games in Salt Lake City. But the 22-year-old’s impact has increased over the last two games.
“I played really passive the first two games and didn’t play really how I should,” Veesaar told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “So, I feel like that third game I made it a conscious decision to keep playing kind of more aggressive and having that kind of edge when I play, rather than just kind of let the game come to me. And I feel like that just played over the next game as well.”
Veesaar averaged six points in the three games in Salt Lake City. He had 14 points in his Las Vegas Summer League debut.
He got to his spots with a little more decisiveness, beating his defender and drawing the foul from any contact.
He moved around the floor and battled for rebounds. He also influenced the trajectory of the Spurs’ shots, getting his hands up to create a wall and forcing opponents to attempt layups around his body.
“I feel like that kind of was me all the time in college as well,” Veesaar said. “The physicality, I’m not running away from it. I like the contact. I don’t mind it at all.
“So just keeping that and being also aggressive, being able to kind of find myself in this offense and being a learning experience, kind of over the summer league, trying to learn a new offense in a couple days. And I felt like after the first two games, I’ve really been able to kind of apply it.”
As Veesaar adjusted to the Hawks’ offense, his screening skills stood out. On several early Hawks’ possessions in Salt Lake City, Veesaar positioned himself at just the right angle, opening up a clear lane to the basket.
“Me and my coach, Sean May, we just worked on it a lot, touched on screening angles, being able to read the defender, trying to make him go over the top, and then after you clip him a little bit, being able to roll down, create room or greater depth in the lob, so you kind of create an extra advantage that way as well for the guard,” Veesaar said.
The Hawks have three more Summer League games on their schedule, and their record will determine when they will play their final game. Three more wins and a favorable point differential could bump them into the Summer League championship game.
Veesaar and his teammates will look to carry over their competitive spirit the rest of the tournament.