Atlanta Hawks Cap Exhibition Slate With 33-Point Loss in Charlotte

Box Score

I'll let Larry Drew take the lead in describing how much last night's exhibition game helped the Hawks:

"Zero. Zero. Nothing whatsoever."

Three of the starters played limited minutes, Mike Bibby sat the game out, and Josh Smith used his 29 minutes to attempt two of four shots from beyond 16-feet. He missed both. Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague both played 34 minutes. They combined for 23 points and 13 turnovers. I suspect no one wanted to be on the road for the second game of a back-to-back at the end of pre-season.

I cede the floor to Larry Brown:

"They seemed disinterested. They played last night, but still."

Michael Cunningham covered the issue of Josh Smith taking a ton of jump shots this pre-season:

L.D. said he doesn’t doubt Josh believes he can make long jump shots. He said he hasn’t told him to stop taking them altogether “because his stroke has certainly improved and he has worked on it.” But he doesn’t want them early in the shot clock, late in games or when the play calls for Josh to be in the post.

That latter point is how L.D. frames the issue: He doesn’t labor the point that Josh can’t make jumpers, but rather points out that he needs to be in the paint because he’s so effective there.

“I just tell him when I run something put him in the post don’t want him letting the defense off the hook shooting a fadeaway jump shot,” L.D. said. “I believe in his ability down in the post to get a basket or get fouled. Shooting a fadeaway is letting your defender off the hook.”

I think the belief that he can make jump shots is the root problem, but I don't have to work with him. 27 of Smith's 56 pre-season field goal attempts came from outside of 16-feet he made 8 of those shots (29.6 eFG%).

Also concerning are Drew's expectations for Josh Powell:

"He’s going to be a big part of us being successful."

Evidence and observation suggest that's highly unlikely. Either way, we'll add to our collective knowledge far more efficiently once the season commences.