The Hawks play their first NBA Cup game on Tuesday when they head to Boston to face the Celtics. Even though the in-season tournament adds another layer for the Hawks to think about, their hunger to win remains at an all-time high.
“We just want to go out there and be ourselves,” Hawks guard Dyson Daniels said on Monday. “With the last few games, we let them slip away from us. We had good opportunities in both those games to win it, kind of let it get away for it. So we gotta come in hungry.”
The NBA Cup will have games on Tuesdays and Fridays, with the tournament culminating with the championship on Dec. 17. All of the group play games will be played in NBA team markets, while the semifinals and championship will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
All 30 teams will participate in the group stage, with eight teams advancing to the second and final stage, the single-elimination knockout rounds.
The Hawks drew East Group C and first will play games the Celtics. They face the Wizards on Friday before facing the Bulls on Nov. 11 in Chicago. They wrap group stage play on Nov. 29 at home against the Cavaliers.
“We got to come in fighting,” Daniels said. “There’s gonna be tough game up there in Boston, but we’re gonna be ready. There’s gonna be tough game up there in Boston, but we’re gonna be ready. We know how (the Celtics) play. We played them already. So we know what they want to do on defense. We know what they want to do on offense, that and executing a game plan and playing ourselves.”
Winning the games outright would help the Hawks advance to the next round of the NBA Cup. But if they end up tying another team within a group, the tie would be broken point differential in group play, then total points scored in group play. If there is still somehow a tie, the league would take into account the team’s record from last season. In the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers, the league would do a random drawing.
The Hawks did not fare too well in last season’s NBA Cup (formerly known as the In-Season Tournament). They won just one group play game against the Pistons before dropping the next three to the Pacers, 76ers and Cavaliers.
The team has gotten even younger since then, with three of their five starters all under the age of 25.
“We’re so much of a work in progress right now, I think on a level that we knew that would be the case,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “When you look out on the floor and the average age of your two, three and four is like 20.5, there’s not a lot of teams that are starting guys that are that young.
“So, I think the opportunity to play in a game that’s more of an event is a great experience for them and a good experience for our team. But we’re, I mentioned it a while ago, that the runway for us is long. We want to win along the way. I would have loved Cade Cunningham’s sweeping left-hand hook to not go in. And those things always hurt. As much as we can focus on the positive aspects of not only individual players but those players connecting together. So I think this is an opportunity in a different setting to do that.”
Injury notes
The Hawks could get some relief soon with forward De’Andre Hunter’s potential return. The team has medically cleared the 27-year-old to play and he was back at the team’s practice facility on Monday following the early birth of his daughter over the weekend.
Hunter’s experience will give the Hawks a much-needed body on the defensive end because of his ability to handle some of the rotations they’ve missed early. Though the Hawks have shown more life on the defensive end, they’ve struggled to stop some of the second or third actions after the initial stops.
They’ll also regain some of the depth they’ve lacked early in the season because of their injury ravaged roster.
“I think as much as anything having more depth, you know, (if) Dyson picks up an early foul, we’re very aware of that,” Snyder said. “Not that we want him to foul when Dre is there, but it allows us to. ... He’s a good player. He’s an experienced player, and he’s a vet. No disrespect, our two-ways and other guys, it’s different when he’s out there. He knows what it takes to win this league. And congratulate him on his baby. Respect his privacy, obviously, but excited for that. I’m excited to have him back.”
Wing Bogdan Bogdanovic was also on the court following practice putting up so shots. It’s not the first time, though, that Bogdanovic has gotten out on the court.
Last Wednesday, Bogdanovic went through some ball-handling drills with Hawks assistant Igor Kokoskov. He also did light conditioning work.
Bogdanovic underwent a procedure to address right hamstring tendinopathy on Oct. 28 and the team announced it would re-evaluate him after four weeks.
The Hawks could provide an update on Vit Krejci, who did some light running last Wednesday, soon. They announced on Oct. 29 that he would receive his re-evaluation on a right adductor strain after two weeks.
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