Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu still has things he wants to add to his game.
Last offseason he promised to come back with a jump shot. Now this year, he has added facilitation, setting up plays, to the list of skills he worked on during the summer.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder has looked to find ways for the 22-year-old to take on more, particularly as the team looks to fill the hole left when John Collins was traded in the summer. Snyder has sought ways to bring out the strengths of Okongwu and others while also looking to help their games evolve.
“Whether catching the ball on the flashes or just getting the ball in the perimeter, trying to figure out what I want to do that keeps pursuing the ball, just making the defense respect more out there.” Okongwu said.
In Okongwu’s case, his improving jump shot gives the Hawks a lot more space, particularly with Snyder looking for more 3-point attempts from the team this season.
But as Snyder looks for ways to encourage unselfishness in the offense, developing Okongwu’s skills as a center will give the guards and wings a little more freedom to move off the ball.
Okongwu averaged one assist per game last season, tying his career high on Jan. 11 with five.
In training camp, the Hawks coaching staff has tried to put Okongwu in situations to work on that.
“Well, you want him to keep doing the things that he’s good at,” Snyder said on Wednesday. “And then, in addition to that, continue to to evolve as a player. Some of the things that he’s working on whether it’s a corner three or dribble handoff, taking the ball and driving, there’s some situations he’s in, they’re new to him, but he’s also very capable in those situations. I mean, when you see him, drive baseline, throw a left-hand pass along the baseline, he can do that stuff. It’s just got to become instinctive and that takes time but he’s putting in the work.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
When ask if a specific play or moment last season turned a light bulb on for Snyder as to how he could utilize Okongwu’s skills as a creator, the Hawks coach joked he had a lot of light bulbs. But the team used what it saw from the fourth-year center to decide how to move forward.
“Yes, you know, we see some possibilities,” Snyder said.
The Hawks coach said the same was true of veteran center Clint Capela.
“One of our strengths is pick-and-roll and we don’t want to go away from that,” Snyder said. “You know, we want to keep doing that. But we also want them (and) for our group to be connected in other ways, you know, pick-and-roll connects you one way, and there’s other actions and other concepts that can connect you as well. And those are the things we got to work on and get them to be the point where they’re instinctive and we can execute it. That takes time.”
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