Atlanta Hawks: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener
2. Hawks place emphasis on small-ball
The Hawks’ starting lineup for opening night was:
- Trae Young
- Vince Carter
- Kent Bazemore
- Taurean Waller-Prince
- Alex Len
The Hawks were missing their two frontcourt starters in this one due to separate injuries to John Collins and Dewayne Dedmon. This forced the team to make a decision on the replacements for those two guys in the lineup.
Carter was likely the first choice due to his leadership and court presence, but it was interesting to see Alex Poythress as the first player coach Pierce brought in off the bench. He came in to replace Carter just a few minutes into the game and it is reasonable to believe he would have been in consideration to get the starting job had it not gone to VC.
The NBA is trending in a way that we don’t really see traditional power forwards anymore. Even Alex Len shot a couple 3-pointers, though he missed them both. As a team, the Hawks shot 36 3-pointers, connecting on just 10 of them.
The small-ball game plan is in place for this team and even when John Collins comes back, expect to see him spend a good amount of time at the center position while being surrounded by shooters.