The Hawks returned to the court after a day off, looking to attack the second week of training camp more aggressively than the first. With games set for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, they look to apply all of the competing they did in practice the week before up against live opponents.
“I think that’s where we want to see the carryover,” veteran guard Patty Mills said. “You know, we can do it perfectly in practice and at a slower pace, but you get game speed, game action, live looks in a real game and that’s where we want to see the carryover.
“So I think it comes at a perfect time with how we’re moving forward with a lot of the stuff. So bring on the games and let’s do what we’ve been practicing and doing such a great job of in an actual game.”
The Hawks open up exhibition play against the Cavaliers on Tuesday and it will be the first time that they can test out the actions that coach Quin Snyder has introduced. With Snyder embarking on his first full season as coach of the Hawks, the team has a bit of blank slate when it comes to what works and what does not.
For Snyder, the box of lineups that he can experiment with is larger than some of the other teams who have a coach returning from the season before.
“Because we’re trying to figure out, you know, even from a from a style of play standpoint, from a system standpoint, even some of the things we did in the Summer League, you know, Tony Laing was looking at me going ‘coach are you (sure)? What are you trying?’” Snyder said at Media Day. “(I said), ‘No, no. No, let’s try this.’ Because I want to see it and then you see (and) you learn more about your group.”
For now, the Hawks continue to keep some of the combinations they’ll look to try close to their chest. Snyder has an idea of how long he’ll try to run certain lineups but he has to be wary of the team’s exhibition schedule.
The Hawks play four games in seven days, with one of them schedule to tip off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“I think there’s a few guys that we’re watching from a conditioning and health standpoint,” Snyder said. “That said, I think we’re looking at everybody like that. Our schedule is a little bit unusual in that we play three games in five days. So I think, we’ll be smart about that. And then, just seeing multiple combinations of guys together.”
The Hawks coach cautions not to put too much stock into some of the things the Hawks run this week but they’ll get a feel of everything and adjust from there.
They have two and a half weeks until they open the regular season on Oct. 25 against the Hornets. For now, they know they have practiced a ton and with the system that Snyder has put in place, everyone will be engaged to make it work.
“We’ve practiced a ton of this, of knowing what looks we can get, but I think what’s going to make that even better is our ability too, to play defense and get stops to be able to run out the other way,” Mills said. “But at the end of the day what we’ve been working on is the ball being able to fly around because of the amount of ball handlers that we have. It keeps everyone engaged in the game and being able to make decisions and the right play. It really has been a hell of a first week of training camp and and working on things like that.”
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