Bo Churney of Hawks Hoop: “A bit under five minutes remained in the first quarter of the Hawks’ season opener in Toronto. Waiting at the scorer’s table was Mike Budenholzer’s first perimeter player substitute. It wasn’t Shelvin Mack, who had been revitalized the season before and is a stout backup point guard with a new three-year contract. It wasn’t Dennis Schröder, a young German prospect who is still trying to translate his sneaky athleticism and unique body type into the NBA game. Nor was it Thabo Sefolosha, the veteran defensive presence who had been a major part of Oklahoma City’s rotation during a run of major success for the Thunder.”
Brad Rowland of Peachtree Hoops: “I’m still not sure what happened in Philips Arena on Saturday night. Yes, the Atlanta Hawks snatched a 102-92 victory away from the jaws of defeat against the Indiana Pacers, but frankly, it wasn’t a fantastic overall showing by the team. It would be easy to pick apart the performance from start to finish, highlighting the obvious deficiencies of the wounded opponent while lamenting the rebounding issues that led to a giant gap in second-chance points, but we will have plenty of time for that.”
Chris Vivlamore of the AJC: “There were several glaring issues in the Hawks’ season-opening loss to the Raptors Wednesday. The Hawks allowed 16 offensive rebounds which led to 26 second-chance points. They also committed 19 turnovers and were just 9 of 17 from the free-throw line. It was the rebounding in the 109-102 loss that bothered coach Mike Budenholzer the most.”
