The Hawks Have a BG Decision to Make...

The Atlanta Hawks have a big decision to make at the backup center position. Zuby Ejiofor took over that role when Jock Landale was hurt. But since Landale's returned, he's played more. And Quinn Snyder now has a big decision to make between those two players. Welcome back to Hawks Digest. My name is Michael Kuprinski. And as we dive into today's video, we're going to be breaking down the backup center debate between Zuby Ejiofor and Jock Landale, who I think should be playing more, and why I think The decision is honestly more matchup based than just who is the better player or which player is playing better right now. Obviously, last game we saw the return of Jock Landell, and while Zuby Ejiofor played well in his stead, Landell is the veteran. He's been a more established player in this league, so it didn't shock me that he played more immediately returning, but Quinn Snyder did play Zuby Ejiofor for about four minutes in that first half, and based on that decision, we're going to be breaking down why he might have done that, and will that be a sign that he might move to a three center rotation in the future? Now, I don't think that's personally going to happen, but it definitely is still on the cards just based on what we've seen so far. But we're going to break down both center skill sets and what we might see against the Chicago Bulls when the Hawks face them on Friday. So a few days off here for the Hawks in the middle of the week. They've played the most games in the NBA dating back to Monday. So much needed and deserved days off for this Hawks squad during the middle of the week before they take on Chicago on the road on Friday. But before we get into all the nitty gritty details of this video. 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The Lakers won 124-114, obviously, and look, if you notice the minutes here in the box score, Zuby Edjiyfort, 3 minutes and 52 seconds, Jock Landell, 14 minutes and 11 seconds, and Zuby only played those minutes in the first quarter, recorded a block. Didn't come back into the game. Landale with five points, five rebounds, one assist, and a block in his 14 minutes. But, I'm really interested to see how Quinn Snyder is going to deploy both of these guys just moving forward. Because for Landale, we know what he offers. He's going to offer great three-point shooting. I really do think he's going to get better once he takes that mask off. And Quinn Snyder even pointed that out in his pregame presser before the Lakers game that the mask has really been bothering Jock. So hopefully he's out of that mask soon. interrupting his shot a bit, but we know who Jock Landale is. He's a guy who in the past has stretched the floor. He's a big body down in the paint. He plays physically. He's a good rebounder and he can pass well for his position as well. So for Landale. I do think it's a bit of a rough start to the season, but he kind of has a sample size of what he is and who we know he is watching him for about the past year and throughout his whole NBA career. But for Zuby Ejiofor, we're still trying to kind of gauge who he is. Now, I think he's done an excellent job at the backup center position while Landale was down. I think his physicality was really good. His defense and being able to switch one through five pretty much was amazing, honestly, I thought. And one area that he had questions surrounding coming out of St. John's was his defensive rebounding. But honestly, offensively, he's a really good rebounder. And I think defensively, he's been pretty good as well. But for Zuby, I think the biggest thing that stands out to me during this set is he was able to shoot the three ball pretty well. And that was one of the biggest question marks coming out of college for Zuby Ejiofor to this draft. And I think he's answered it pretty well, similar to how Asa Newell really stepped up when in his rookie season, he came into the NBA shooting it really well from deep, albeit on low volume for both of these guys. But it's still really great to see them knocking down those three balls. Early in their career, but Zuby Ejiofor and Jock Landale, they offer different things. While Zuby is going to give you more switchability, he's going to give you he's going to give you more athleticism. He's going to want to play faster. He doesn't stretch out the defense as much. You'll see defenses kind of daring him to shoot a little bit more because he's still establishing himself as a shooter in this league. Whereas with Landale, Jock Landale is going to give you that established stretch big opportunity opportunities. Even though he's struggled lately, I do think that's going to turn around like I've already mentioned several times. But Landale's going to give you... A post, a back-to-the-basket presence. The Hawks have played through him as a hub at the high post. Now, they haven't, I think Zuby Ejiofor has the ability to do that, but the Hawks haven't trusted him in that role, I don't think, yet. But for Landale, they will give him in the post, give the ball to him in the post, and have him make reads. And I think his passing has been really, really good so far in the early going of this season, hitting cutters on the baseline, whether that's Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels. So I think both of these guys will offer different skill sets. But for me, I honestly think Zuby Ejiofor has done enough to really make this a big decision for Quinn Snyder in just those five games where Jock Landale missed. Zuby Ejiofor really impressed me with how well he rolled to the basket, how well he finished around the rim. And one thing he does got to work on is just catching the ball. And it kind of sounds funny, right? Obviously, he's an NBA player. He can catch the basketball. But when he has rolled to the basket or when he finds himself in deep post position, oftentimes off that pass, he just hasn't caught the ball cleanly. And the sooner he can do that, the sooner he can go up. And go up before the defense is able to rotate over to him and really bring a man down there to contest a shot at the rim. So I think that's one area Zuby has to work on. But I think he's absolutely done enough to warrant getting minutes at the backup center. And that's why I brought up the intro of this video. I think, honestly, this should be a more matchup-based kind of decision here for Quinn Snyder. And speaking of matchups. The Hawks will take on the Bulls on Friday like we were talking about during the coaching portion of this video. And the starting center for the Bulls, Nick Claxton. And they also have Jalen Smith coming off the bench who we'll talk about in a minute. But Claxton is probably going to match up with Onyeka Okonwu more often. But he could play some minutes against the backup center as well. And I honestly think Zuby Ejiofor matches up that little bit better. with Nick Claxton defensively because Claxton is a guy who can handle the ball. He's a fast mover and he's not afraid to dribble the ball up the court even as a center and make plays. So I think Zuby Ejiofor defensively fits better against him but offensively I think Landale might be the better fit because that ability to stretch the floor brings Claxton away from the rim. And allows those driving lanes to be open for Dyson Daniels, Nikil Alexander-Walker, Kingston Flemings, Jalen Johnson, Aaron Wiggins, you name it. I think offensively, it might be a bit better for Landale. But I really do expect the Hawks to have an easy time getting great looks against this Bulls defense. Because Norman Powell is questionable for Friday. But when you talk about Powell, Josh Giddey, Matas Bouzelis, those three guys starting at the backcourt and on the wing for the Bulls, Their defense has been atrocious this season, and it's been rough to watch. I watched a few Bulls games here, and they have not been pretty. So I expect the Hawks' offense to really find their rhythm after some shaky, inconsistent performances early on this season. So that is one great thing that I think Jokic Landale can provide if he's matched up against Nick Claxton. But when matching up against Jalen Smith, I think Zuby Ejiofor is absolutely the perfect matchup for Jalen Smith. Because Jalen Smith is a guy similar to Claxton who's not afraid to run the floor. He's a much better shooter. He'll shoot the three ball if you leave him open. He's been really good so far in the early going this season. So for Jalen Smith, I think the perfect matchup for him, honestly, is Zuby Edjiyofor for both areas of the floor. Defensively, Zuby is not afraid to guard up on the perimeter. So if Jalen Smith is camped out at the three, top of the key, or in the corner, Zuby's not going to really be hesitant and able to close out and recover if Jalen Smith decides to drive. And offensively, Jalen Smith can move his feet pretty well. He's a pretty switchable guy. So I think having Zuby's speed. And just making sure he can try to get up the court and try to involve Jalen Smith in some pick and rolls. I think Zuby Edjiyofor is just quicker with that. And I think if Jock Landale's there. Um, Jalen, Jalen Smith is not as much of a shot blocker. So I think you can have Zuby Edjiyofor trying to get really, uh, um, and I think he's stronger than Jalen Smith as well. Um, I, I, Zuby, sorry. So I, so let me rephrase that. I think Zuby Edjiyofor is stronger than Jalen Smith in the post. I think Landale is as well, but Zuby on the roll, I think it's just going to be more impactful here, uh, against Smith because Smith is not afraid himself. To get out on the perimeter and guard Jock Landale as well on the three. So I really think this is an opportunity for Zuby to have a couple of good matchups. at the backup center, especially guarding Smith. I don't think you'll see him on Nick Claxton a ton, maybe a couple crossover minutes if there's a dead ball and maybe Zuby or Jock is waiting there at the table to take in for Okongwu. But I really do think I'm looking closely to see who's playing the backup center minutes. Will Zuby get any minutes at all? Or was that just a matchup kind of base decision, those four minutes there in the Lakers game because the Lakers went small and put Sandro Mamukelashvili. At center and Jalen Smith is a smaller center as well. So I'm really going to be watching that in the first quarter and how the rotation patterns look for Quinn Snyder on Friday. But with that, we are going to head and close out this video. Guys, we appreciate the support over here at Hawks Digest. Let me know in the comments below. What do you think the Hawks should be doing at backup center? Do you think it should be a three center rotation? I'm generally not in favor of three center rotations because I think And it's really hard to get a rhythm for even the starting guy at that point. And then the third center probably only plays like five to eight minutes a game. But let me know in the comments below, do you think there should be a three center rotation? Who do you think should get the backup minutes behind Onyeka Okongwu, Zuby, or Jock Landale? But with that, we're going to head and close out this video, guys. Make sure to subscribe to Hawks Digest, like the video on your way out, and we'll see you in the next one. Peace.