Three Things I am Watching in The Atlanta Hawks Preseason Matchup With The Spurs

Atlanta is looking to get in the win column tomorrow night when they take on the Spurs and this is what you should be watching

Oct 5, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Jock Landale (31) shoots against the Memphis Grizzlies in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlanta Hawks did not get a win in their first preseason outing, but they are going to be back on the court looking for that first win on Thursday night against the defending Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs.

Now, the biggest question for any preseason game is who is actually going to be on the court. Because there are five preseason games, there are going to be games where each teams star players or starters are not going to be on the floor and because there are no injury reports in the preseason, it is tough to project how things are going to be on any given night.

With the Hawks, they were missing CJ McCollum and Lu Dort in their last game. The Spurs have one of the best rosters in the NBA and might not want to put any unneccessary mileage on their stars. Keep a close eye on who is actually available.

No matter who is available though, this is what I am going to be watching tomorrow.

1. Bench defense

The Hawks are hoping to be one of the NBA's best defensive teams this season, and even without Dort, their starters played good defense, holding the Grizzlies to just 22 points.

The problem was when the starters left the floor.

Atlanta was outscored 49-26 in the second quarter and the frontcourt trio of Corey Kispert, Asa Newell, and Jock Landale struggled mightily.

For the Hawks this season, they need their second unit to be better than this and I think it will. I think it will be rare for Quin Snyder to ever have none of Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, or Dort on the floor, but with Dort's absence, that was tougher.

2. More minutes for Zuby Ejiofor?

Zuby Ejiofor was the No. 23 pick in the draft this summer and a lot of why he was drafted boiled down to his defense, toughness, and physicality.

Ejiofor did not play in the first half of the game against the Grizzlies and ended up playing a little over 14 minutes in the second half. When he was on the court, the team played with more urgency, physicality, and toughness. It was not all because of him, but it was noticeable.

3. Better shooting night

Quin Snyder wants his teams to shoot the three and shoot it often. Whether it was the starters or the bench, the Hawks did not shoot the ball well enough on Monday night against Memphis.

The Hawks were 14-43 from three in the game and four of those threes came from Corey Kispert. Every one else was 10-36. This is not going to be an elite shooting team, but the Hawks need to get in a rhythm and get their offense going against the Spurs, who are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.