Don’t tell Charles Lee summer league games are meaningless.
The Hawks assistant is serving as the head coach of the Las Vegas Summer League entry and couldn’t help a fist pump when after locking up an 84-82 victory over the Pelicans Sunday.
“This is a chance for all of us to get our competitive juices out, a chance for our young guys to get some quality game reps,” Lee said. “Every time you step onto the court you have to take it seriously.”
The Hawks (1-1) conclude the opening round of the tournament against the Bulls on Monday at 4 p.m. The 24-team field will then be seeded for an elimination round that will culminate in a championship game on July 17.
Here are several observations from the Hawks’ victory:
Young Gun No. 1: First-round pick John Collins had another solid game to start his professional career with a double-double. He finished with 22 points, on 9 of 11 shooting, and 10 rebounds. He had two highlight-worthy dunks (more on that later) and showed a mid-range game. "Coach told me today he wanted me to catch it on the post a couple times and make some decisions," Collins said. "Those two times, I made a move and did my thing. Nothing more."
Young Gun No. 2: DeAndre Bembry is stepping forward. He finished with 16 points, on 4 of 6 shooting, with seven rebounds, six assists and six steals. He had a couple of big rebounds in the final minute to help the Hawks secure the victory.
Young Gun No. 3: Taurean Prince finished with 17 points, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. He was active and Lee noted his leadership in helping some other young players. "I'm still trying to get some kinks out," Prince said. "(Friday) we played, I was all right. Offensively, I felt like I shot bad. Today, I still thought I shot bad but I was playing better defense and doing other things besides scoring."
Dunk City: The Hawks put a reel of highlight dunks together. Diamond Stone had a monster dunk, Bembry had a poster dunk and a 360 slam off a steal and Collins had a tomahawk dunk and converted an alley oop pass from Prince. "(Collins) tells us when he points throw it up," Prince said. "I didn't believe it until I really started throwing it up and he went and got everything.
Stone debut: Diamond Stone made his debut after being obtained in a trade last week. The center had just one practice with the team but played after sitting out the tournament opener. He finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Rotation: The group of Josh Magette, Richard Solomon, Bembry, Prince and Collins started for the second time. Five players did not play with Nate Britt, Tyler Cavanaugh, Isaia Cordinier, Quincy Ford and Winston Shepard. Bembry, Prince and Collins all played at least 25 minutes.
