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Recapping Atlanta Hawks Open Practice

The Atlanta Hawks created several highlights at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night.

Pat Benson

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The Atlanta Hawks gave fans the opportunity to watch the new-look squad scrimmage at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night. General seating was offered for the low cost of $5.

Since the team does not host any preseason games in Atlanta, last night served as a trial run for the entire organization ahead of Opening Night on October 19. Thanks to a lot of hard work from people on all levels of the organization, the night went off without a hitch.

The players were able to get in their second run of the day, and fans got to see plenty of highlights. Of course, head coach Nate McMillan never lets an opportunity go to waste. While everyone enjoyed the festivities, McMillan tried to make the Open Practice as productive as possible.

Rotations

After taking the floor in their practice jerseys, the team returned in their official 2022-23 Nike uniforms. Side note: we will miss the diamond Nike/Jumpman logos celebrating the NBA's 75th anniversary. But the newly-added Bill Russell No. 6 patch looks incredible on the right shoulder strap of the jerseys.

As we mentioned earlier, McMillan wanted the scrimmage to feel as much like a real game day as possible. He encouraged players to go through their normal pregame processes, despite all of the pomp and circumstance.

Essentially the starting five (minus one major player) wore grey and later red uniforms. Those players included Trae Young, Aaron Holiday, De'Andre Hunter, John Collins, Clint Capela, Jarrett Culver, and Chris Silva.

The bench unit, wearing black uniforms, was Tyson Etienne, Tyrese Martin, Justin Holiday, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, Armoni Brooks, Malik Ellison, and Frank Kaminsky.

Injuries

The most important storyline from Open Practice was the health of the roster. All-Star guard Dejounte Murray and two-way player Trent Forrest missed practice with a non-COVID illness.

Much to the chagrin of Hawks fans, AJ Griffin has not played in any scrimmages over the past few days after tweaking his ankle. The silver lining is that Griffin has been participating in workouts and is feeling better, according to McMillan.

We also received an update on the recovery of Bogdan Bogdanovic. The sharpshooter had knee surgery in late May and spent the entire offseason rehabilitating. On Media Day, Bogdanovic said he is nearing the final phase of his recovery. Last night, McMillan said Bogdanovic is the only player not yet participating in training camp.

Highlights

As expected, the red team won handily (by 27 points for those keeping score). However, each team had plenty of highlights. Young and Collins connected on an alley-oop, Okonwgu hit a corner three, and Etienne won the rookie talent show (see video below).

The Hawks resume their normal practice schedule today and tomorrow before leaving for Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Stay locked into AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the Atlanta Hawks for Sports Illustrated's All Hawks. He has covered the NBA for several years and is the author of "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)".

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