The Hawks moved Paul Millsap to the bench — at least temporarily.
Gustavo Ayon started at center, and Al Horford moved to power forward for Friday’s game against the 76ers. The lineup change was the first of the season for the Hawks.
“If you would say what is the biggest reason, it’s working and trying to get as many good combinations (on the floor),” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “To be honest, this might be short-lived. I don’t know if I’m going to do it tomorrow. I don’t know if I’m going to do it the next day. This is not a ‘he is coming off the bench for the rest of the season’ decision.
“We are going to look at it (Friday). Just like everything, we will continue to evaluate and try to find good combinations, good groups, who help us have the most success.”
Millsap was the Hawks’ major off-season acquisition. He signed a two-year, $19 million contract this summer
Millsap has battled several injuries of late. He has dealt with a sore left Achilles, a sore right elbow and now a sore left thumb that was heavily taped Friday morning. Budenholzer said that injuries were not the impetus for the move.
“Something that I believe, and have always been a part of, is you don’t always start your five best players,” Budenholzer said. “As a coach you are always thinking about combinations and keeping groups on the court that can function and play well. How you manage a game start to finish, there are lots of different ways to do it. …
“I think it’s important to figure out how can I finish with guys who are fresh and ready to close a game. When it comes time to close the game, they are in a physical conditioning, freshness — and really the whole group is — and sometimes doing something like this really benefits everybody including that (off-the-bench) player.”
It’s not uncommon for players to come off the bench and play major roles for their teams. Look no further than the Hawks’ Lou Williams. Before signing as a free agent, he led the Sixers in scoring one season without a single start. Manu Ginoboli is one of the Spurs’ Big Three coming off the bench.
In eight games, all starts, Millsap averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks in 32.0 minutes.
The move allows Horford to move to power forward, his more natural position. It will allow Millsap to play major minutes against the opposition reserves. Ayon, at 6-foot-10, can help protect the rim, which has been an issue for the Hawks early this season.
Ayon has not appeared in a game. He missed the first five games with a right shoulder injured suffered in the first exhibition. He has been medically cleared to play the past three games before Friday.
Horford, Millsap, Teague on ballot: The NBA opened All-Star voting Friday, and three Hawks are on the ballot.
Jeff Teague is one of 24 players named in the backcourt for the Eastern Conference, and Horford and Millsap are two of 36 in the frontcourt. The ballot features 120 players — 60 each from the Eastern and Western conferences. Voters select three frontcourt players and two backcourt players from each conference.
For the second consecutive year, fans can vote via social-media networks, including Facebook and Twitter. Twitter voting allows fans to tweet a vote for 10 unique players each day throughout the balloting period. The tweet must include the player’s first and last name, along with hash tag #NBABallot.
Balloting concludes Jan. 20. Starters will be announced live on TNT on Jan. 23. The All-Star game will be played Feb. 16 in New Orleans.
Williams active: Lou Williams was active and available for the Hawks for the first time since tearing his ACL 10 months ago.
Budenholzer said that if Williams played he would be limited to about 16 minutes. Initially, the veteran guard won’t play back-to-back days.
“I’m glad just to be in the conversation,” said Williams, who was injured Jan. 18. “That is exciting for me to be in the conversation. Whatever I can do to help this team win in the near future, I’m excited for. …
“It’s been difficult for me to sleep this past week once I got (medically) cleared. I excited to resume my career at the level that I am used to. Ten months off is an extremely long time to be off for someone who has played since he was 5 years old. It’s the biggest break I’ve ever taken. I’m definitely anxious and excited just to get back to it.”
Guard John Jenkins was inactive.
