Instant Takeaways From Atlanta's Summer League Matchup vs Utah

Summer League for the Atlanta Hawks began today in Salt Lake City against the hometown team, the Utah Jazz. It was an exciting buildup to this game, with both teams sporting top ten picks in Utah's Darryn Peterson and Atlanta's Kingston Flemings, but those were far from the only rookies playing today.

The Hawks came into Summer League with one of the best rosters and after shaking off some early rust, they played better in the second half and showed glimpses of what is to come over the next few weeks.

This was a game that was filled with good experiences for all players on the roster. The game went into overtime and there were multiple high-leverage sitautions for these players to be put in.

Let's breakdown the key takeaways from today's game.

1. Kingston Flemings flashes high-level traits

Was it the smoothest game for the Hawks' rookie point guard? No, especially in the first half, where he did not shoot the ball very well, but Flemings showed the ability to get to the basket, run the offense efficiently, and make high-level passes to set his teammates up well.

Flemings got the start today for the Hawks and while he did end up shooting just 4-16 from the field, including 2-5 from three, he finished with nine assists to just one turnover, while also getting four steals on defense.

For those that box score scout games and only focus on the shooting percentage (which needs to improve), then you would be missing the other various ways that Flemings was able to influence today's game, as well as being the guy to takes shots at the end of games.

Perfect? Far from it, but Hawks fans should be encouraged.

2. Zuby Ejiofor and Kobe Johnson show defensive versatility

Ejiofor was a bit of a surprise pick in the first round due to his size, but his positional versatility and ability to guard multiple positions were a part of the calculus for the Hawks. He showed that today, but he was not the only one.

Kobe Johnson, brother of Hawks star forward Jalen Johnson, has plenty of familiarity with the team and when speaking with the media the other day, he was excited to be one of the more experienced players suiting up for Atlanta. While he mentioned he wanted to show more versatility on offense, his calling card is defense and he was very good on that end of the floor today.

Johnson (+15 in 22 minutes) and Ejiofor (+10 in 28 minutes) were the best defenders for the Hawks today and Ejiofor finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, and three steals.

Ejiofor is a lock for the roster, but Johnson was very noticeable today on defense, which is not a surprise.

3. Solid games for Asa Newell and RayJ Dennis

Dennis and Newell got plenty of experience playing together in the G-League last season and are the "veterans" of this team and both had pretty solid, but not spectacular games.

Newell started this game and finished with 15 points and five rebounds, shooting 5-15 from the floor and 1-6 from three. Dennis came off the bench to score 13 points and dish out three assists, shooting 4-11 from the field and 3-5 from three.

Dennis is already on a two-way contract with the Hawks and Newell is heading into his second NBA season and both had solid games today.

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