Three Atlanta Hawks Players to Watch In Tuesday's Preseason Game

Atlanta opens their preseason on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers

Apr 14, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci (27) passes the ball while Atlanta Hawks guard Garrison Mathews (25) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Don't look now basketball fans but the NBA Preseason is right around the corner and a new season is on the horizon. The Atlanta Hawks have had an offseason of change and we will get to see this new look team debut on the court Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. With that in mind, here are three Hawks playres that I am keeping an eye on in the first preseason game.

1. Zaccharie Risacher

What a surprise, I am going with the No. 1 overall pick. But it is for good reason. While we got to see glimpses of Risacher in the Las Vegas Summer League, we have not got to see him play alongside players such as Trae Young, Jalen Johnson or any of the Hawks other established players. While it is just a preseason game and he might not play long, I want to see Risacher play alongside these guys and showcase his skillset. In the Summer League, he displayed a great feel for the game, especially passing and finding the open guy, which was a question mark coming into the draft. It will be a highly anticipated debut for the No.1 pick.

2. Vit Krejci

Vit Krejci was one of the best stories of the NBA season a year ago and now he is back for another season with the Hawks. What kind of impact wil Krejci have in his follow up season? He displayed versatility down the stretch last year, he shot the ball well, and defended, three things that the Hawks needed in a bad way. Krejci has caught the eye of teammates so far in training camp with his performance:

"Vit has been awesome. Honestly, I didn't know much about Vit before I got here. The dude can really play like past dribbles he's shooting it, he's shooting the heck out of it and he defends like a true 6 -7, 6 -8. He's been super Impressive."

I am excited for Krejci's season and want to see how he plays on Tuesday.

3. Dominick Barlow

Barlow was a sneaky good addition by Hawks GM Landry Fields this offseason, but his role for this team is unclear right now, but one thing is for sure, he is talented.

Barlow appeared in 33 games (one start) during the 2023-24 season with San Antonio, averaging 4.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 12.7 minutes (.496 FG%, .333 3FG%, .690 FT%). He posted a season-best 19 points on 7-10 shooting from the field, in addition to eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in 30 minutes in a win over the Golden State Warriors on March 9.

He saw action in six games this past summer with the Spurs (California Classic: two games, NBA 2K25 Summer League: four games), averaging 15.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks in 26.2 minutes of play (.612 FG%).

The 6-9 forward was originally signed to a two-way contract by the Spurs after going undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft. He was signed to a second two-way contract by San Antonio prior to the start of the 2023-24 campaign and was converted to a standard NBA contract on March 2, 2024.

Over his two NBA seasons, Barlow has seen action in 61 games (one start), notching 4.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 13.6 minutes (.513 FG%, .701 FT%). During his rookie campaign, the Dumont, New Jersey, native recorded a 21-point, 19-rebound double-double in a win at Dallas on April 9, 2023. At the time of his 21-point, 19-rebound performance, he became just the fifth rookie in San Antonio history to register at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a single game.