Five observations from the Hawks’ 99-93 exhibition win over the depleted Cavaliers Monday night at Philips Arena:
1. Howard inside: Immediately following the game, and without a video session, one area of the Hawks win that pleased coach Mike Budenholzer was the way the team found center Dwight Howard in the post. Howard finished with 26 points on 11 of 15 shooting. Howard opened the game with a 15-foot back shot. Other than a nine-foot hook shot, the rest of his makes were from two feet in or less, including four dunks. On one example of Hawks' ball movement, Kyle Korver passed up a 3-pointer to find Mike Muscala in the corner and he passed up a 3-pointer to find Howard underneath for a lay-in.
2. First-rounders shine: Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry both showed their skills in limited action. Each played just 16 minutes and Prince had 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting and Bembry had seven points on 3 of 5 shooting. Prince went to the basket on hard slashes several times and showed an ability to finish with his left hand. Budenholzer has commented several times on the competitive nature of this training camp and the rookies are making his decision about playing time tough. "We've got a lot of good players, the decision and the competition is great," Budenholzer said. The pair will likely still see limited time early in the regular season with a depth on veteran wings but they are getting their points across.
3. Sefolosha shooting well: Thabo Sefolosha has shown a smooth outside shot in the early going. The win finished with 12 points on 3 of 3 shooting in his 19 minutes. He had one 3-pointer and added five rebounds and three assists. Sefolosha also noted following the game that he played some power forward late in the contest when mixed with a group that included Malcolm Delaney, Bembry, Prince and Muscala. In three exhibition games, Sefolosha is 8 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He and Prince are the team's second leading scorers at 27 total points behind Howard at 32 points.
4. 3-point shooting woes: The Hawks continue to shoot poorly from 3-point range this preseason. In three games, they are a combined 15 of 58 (.259). In the win over the Cavaliers, the Hawks missed their first 13 long-range shots before Korver hit a 30-footer in the third quarter. For the game, they were 2 of 19 from 3-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr., in particular, has struggled. He was 1 of 7 (0 of 4 from 3-point range) against the Cavaliers and 2 of 20 (0 of 8) in two preseason games.
5. Scott returns: Mike Scott saw his first action of the preseason after being held out the first two exhibitions with left knee soreness. Scott finished with four points, all from the free-throw line, with three rebounds in 11 minutes.
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