Normally NBA exhibition games offer a chance for veterans to ease their way back into action and allow teams to evaluate their prospects all the way down the roster.
That's not the case this season, and especially not for the Hawks.
There will be only two exhibition games instead of five or six because of the NBA's shortened preseason. An injury to guard Kirk Hinrich means the Hawks have to quickly determine which of its young point guards can help.
So expect Atlanta's veterans to treat the exhibition opener at Charlotte on Monday as more serious than the usual preseason game. They need to get sharp and develop chemistry before the first game on Dec. 27.
Coach Larry Drew, meanwhile, said not all of the team's 17 players will see the court. He needs to find out right away if Pape Sy, Donald Sloan or Brad Wanamaker can be productive rotation players while Hinrich recovers from shoulder surgery.
None of those players has proven he can play in the NBA.
“I've got my hands full,” Drew said.
Sy, Atlanta's second-round draft pick in 2010, played a total of 21 minutes for the Hawks last season. Wanamaker wasn't drafted after playing four years at Pittsburgh and Sloan's pro experience has been limited to the NBA Development League.
For now the Hawks are focused on evaluating the three young guards and not on adding a veteran free agent. Jeff Teague is the starting point guard and shooting guards Joe Johnson and Tracy McGrady can fill in but, realistically, Atlanta needs another reliable player at the position.
"You can swing Tracy to a little [point guard] and Joe can bring the ball up, too," Drew said. "But that's not something you are looking at on a permanent basis. We can't ask that of Tracy or Joe. So we are really taking a look at the young guys: Sloan, Wanamaker and Pape.”
Each player offers a different skill set.
Sy, at 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, is the biggest and perhaps most athletic of the three. Sy has played both guard positions but Drew said he thinks he's more suited for point guard.
Drew said Sy has been more aggressive and confident during training camp after he gained some experience in the D-League last season and while playing for a club in his native France during the lockout.
“I try to play hard, to be aggressive," Sy said. "I'm ready to get some action.”
Sloan's main asset is his explosiveness with the ball. He wasn't drafted out of Texas A & M in 2010 and was waived by Sacramento before the 2010-11 season.
He averaged 10.7 points and 4.4 assists in 27.7 minutes for Reno last season and then came to Hawks camp after averaging 24.8 points and 8.4 assists in five games for Erie this season.
“The talent level is unbelievable, which I knew that coming in," Sloan said of the competition at camp. "You've got All-Stars like Al [Horford] and Joe [Johnson] and even Josh [Smith] .”
Wanamaker isn't as athletic or quick as Sloan and Sy but Drew said he likes his craftiness. Wanamaker also was a proven shooter at Pittsburgh, where he was only the second player to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists.
“You've got to go hard every possession which playing basketball you always want to do, but the guys are stronger and more athletic,” he said. “The competition is definitely better and it makes you push yourself even further.”
Drew said Hinrich is “ahead of schedule” in his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery. Hinrich had the procedure in early November and the Hawks said he would be out 3-4 months.
Drew said the Hawks have discussed whether they can hold off on signing a veteran and get by with one of the young guards until Hinrich heals. But the lack of a definitive date for his return complicates that strategy.
“Do we try to keep our head above water until he gets back or do we get some help?” Drew said. “Right now we are going to go with what we have.”
Etc.
Drew said he probably would open with his regular lineup: Teague, Johnson, Smith, Horford and Marvin Williams. . . .
The game will be televised on NBA TV at 7 p.m. . . .
Hawks center Jason Collins (knee) and Magnum Rolle (foot) are questionable.
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