The Hawks frontcourt is FINALLY getting healthy...

The Hawks frontcourt is finally, I'm talking about, finally getting healthy. Almost brings a tear to your eye because two of the Hawks big men are closing in on returns and the timetable matters more than you think. So here is each return. We're going to talk about each guy in today's video and just a few little things that's coming up with the matchup against the Chicago Bulls tonight. So welcome back everyone to Hawks Digest. I am Chris Tip Moore. We have a few things we have to get into. I got you. I got you covered. Just give me a second as I get into this. And of course, before I get into that, please allow me to get into this and let you guys know that today's video is indeed brought to you by Kalshi. So guys, I want you to know. you're trading directly against others when you're using Kalshi you're not trading against like the traditional sport books the houses that's trying to snatch your money away you're buying yes or no contracts on the outcomes of politics if you're into that Weather, because we all need to see about that, and what we all love. Sports. So, guys, if you're interested in Kalshi, as you should be, go ahead and use the link in the description and the pinned comment. Digest NBA, just like you see it on the screen here, to get $55 added to your account instantly when you trade your first 25. Yes, indeed, Kalshi, thank you so much for sponsoring today's video. Now, let's get into the main thing. Mo Bamba targeting here a return for December the 12th. Yes indeed guys. Now let's back up just a little bit so we can get into exactly what happened to Mo Bamba. So what happened? In the summertime, you know what I'm saying, Gay had fractured his left foot during an off-season workout. It happened on July 8th, 2023. It was a big blow because it hurts, you know what I'm saying, the Hawks veteran leadership. Well, I'll say veteran presence at least. You know, being a guy that has been in the system for multiple years now. And remember, he was thrust into it because of injuries anyway. So speeding up his process. But the injury forced him to miss training camp, preseason, and Atlanta's first 12 games of the season so far. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, guys, because Moji indeed has an update. Mo Bamba, as of November 12th. Is indeed targeting another return, maybe a little bit sooner than expectations to the Atlanta Hawks announced that Moji has been cleared on progress for on-court activities. He will indeed be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks, so of course, re-evaluation doesn't necessarily mean he's ready, but it is meaning that he's getting closer to it. Putting the next update around mid-December, when you think about those four weeks as it is mid-November, it's November 13th as I am recording this video. So, he does not have an exact game return date, but this is still big. Meaning he will miss the remaining of November, but he's going to need to ramp up. He's going to need to ramp up, guys. Let's not kid ourselves about that. But having Moji back, guys, is big because that's depth that you're able to have in that front court. It's a possibility it's going to hurt Zuby Ejiofor's minutes, but I don't think initially. I think, you know what I'm saying, Moji needs to work his way back into game shape. Because it's different, I'm telling you, like for someone who plays sports himself, it's different from when you're just sitting around, not in game shape. And you try to run out there and your cardio not right is different, guys. So, Moji is not going to be just coming out there running like a gazelle immediately. He has to ramp up. But this is great because, again, we need Moji's presence, his defense, his attitude, his willingness, and just him being an all-around teammate. Moji, right, for the team, for sure. But also, not to be outshadowed, but... Asa Newell is also targeting a return for November 20th, so a lot sooner than Moji, of course, because he isn't dealing with what Moji had to deal with, but still, the foot, nonetheless. So, what happened to Asap? Well, he hyperextended his left big toe November 4th against the Washington Wizards. That sounds... Painful, boy, I ain't gonna lie to you, but he also, he exited, he only played about 10 minutes, he had about two points, three rebounds, about three assists and that, and then he was ruled out for the second half, but his engine and the motor is what you kind of miss from Asa Newell, because at the end of the day, Asa goes out and plays basketball, okay? He can hoop, you know what I'm saying, it's just, he needs the opps, you know, of course we all need the opportunity, so that's one thing that I can say about Asa Newell, man, but also when I'm thinking about it too, with Asa, November 6th, you know, I said the team announced that he'll be re-evaluated in two weeks. Now the timeline that targets is around that November 20th when Atlanta is going to meet Charlotte again. Now, as far as the actual return, he remains out as of November 13th, and he's missed his fourth straight game because of that, but it's going to be interesting to see if Asa will be able to return in that regard. Now, let's also talk about Atlanta, let's talk about Atlanta in the 2026 season so far. We're 7-5, despite, you know, us being, you know, depleted at the front court for the most part. Remember, we already had lost Jacques Lindell, we lost Moji, lost Asa Newell, and Double O is really, like, the only guy that has been the most healthy out of all the guys, you know, for whatever reason. But through 12 games, you know, us and the Hawks have been out-rebounded by an average of 1.4 boards per game, 43.8 to 45.2. Now, Moji, Newell, Vassir is out. Remember, he didn't even make it. He also got hurt on the offseason as well. So you got Lou Dort playing backup, small ball, power forward. And you have 6'11". When 6'11", Moji comes back, you won't necessarily have to see that anymore. When Asa Newell comes back, you wouldn't necessarily have to see that anymore. Think about this, too, as well. I'm going to go back, shoot back to Moji real quick and just tell you guys about also his defensive switch ability. Don't forget about that, too. Moji played a career high of 77 games. You know, that's an average of 15 minutes, you know, per game. But he's largely versatile, okay? He can guard multiple positions. That's another reason why you miss Moji as well. And he's willing. He's very willing. So. He's going to add to the bench unit. Asa's going to add to the bench unit. Because again, Asa was showing flashes. Just a little bit of an offensive punch, if you will, including, you know, it's in a 13.4 rebound effort against New Orleans on Halloween. So, I mean, and just having his contract at 3.556 mil, third year team option exercise as well out there. Newell is a guy that can get out in transition as well, run the floor. So having both of these guys back is going to be very key. Okay, very key. Just to add some more context to it as well, going back to Asa, sorry for the flip-flop, but let's talk about Asa here as well. You see the points in the production. The thing about it is, Asa is not getting a lot of minutes just yet, but he is showing that, hey, I am a serviceable big in this league so far. Of course, he needs to take it up a notch, but one step at a time because the oppos are not as plentiful as you would think. But of course, it does have to get better because you see the numbers here. But don't be too hard on Asa by just looking at the numbers, okay? Don't be too hard on him. You got to watch the game. Overall, again, yes, he still has some work that he needs to continue to elevate on, but it's all about how much confidence you can get with the opportunities that you're getting. So we're going to see where he can go from there. But one thing I love about Asa Newell is he is one of the best finishers at the basket. And you've seen that in his rookie year. He's really had some real good touch around the basket. He shoots 83.3% at the rim, and that's well above the 65.4 median for players who shoot as often. Also, his shot diet has him at 20 to 24 feet. He shoots 20% of his 20 to 24 feet against 35% of the median for players who take shots from there. So Asa can operate. In between and really all around the court because he can shoot the three. He's good around the rim. He can do a little bit in the mid game. That's honestly where I want to see some more growth from Asa along with the outside shot. And then he'll be almost three level scorer at the big man position. That'll be interesting. But regardless, guys, I have two questions of the day for you before I get to my next and last topic. I want to know, first and foremost, Because he's going to return first, most likely. Which return matters more for the Hawks frontcourt? Now, is it if you can type A for Asa because he's back sooner and stabilizes the bench? Or do you feel like Mo Bamba is more important when he comes back from the surgery and recovery as a bigger swing? Or is it C, both on, all hands on deck? I ain't going to lie, I'm going C. But, at the same time, I want to know from you guys, and the second question of the day, you guys can definitely put A for Mo Bamba, I mean, excuse me, A for Asa, B for Mo Bamba, you know what I'm saying, but you can answer this one as well, right with that one. When Mo Bamba returns, whose minutes take a hit? Is it A for Zuby, because he's going to lose big backup minutes, and A, the veteran is back, right? Is it going to be B, Jacques Lindell? Hmm. I think it may be depending on what happens with the matchup. You may see Jacques and Mo Bamba there. So for me, I'm going to see again. It's going to be Mo Bamba works his way back into slowly off the bench. And I think that's going to be the best method for him. Because by the time he gets back, Zuby and all those guys, especially with Ace, are still out until at least the 20th. They're going to get those minutes. So we'll see what they do. They do well. Moji may have to wait a little minute, a little bit longer, work your way back a little bit stronger. But let me know what you guys think. Also, of course, we do have a matchup tonight against the Chicago Bulls. So I'm going to give you a few things about that game. Money lines, Atlanta right now is between negative 260 to negative 275. They are the favorites tonight. Of course, I'll get into reasons why they're the favorites, but the Chicago Bulls money line is plus 210 plus 220 there because they're the underdogs to spread negative 6.5 negative 110 Bulls plus 6.5 negative 104 over under 244 and a half. So that's for the guys who are into, you know, that old sport. But let me tell you guys a few facts about tonight's game and just around this whole series. So, contrasting early records, I can definitely say that Atlanta enters the game 7-5, fourth in the Eastern Conference right now, while Chicago is near the bottom at 1-9. Yeah, it's not starting off too good for the Chicago Bulls at all. The Bulls are on a nice losing streak. Chicago is trying to snap an 8-game losing streak after falling to San Antonio. They lost about 5-1, 24-1, 19. And also, in cup play, the contest is going to be a cup game. So, matchup C, but, well, C matchup or whatnot, as far as the cup goes, where Atlanta is currently 1-0, because remember we did beat back-to-back against Washington. You know, I said first no cup, then the cup. And Chicago is 0-1. It is a little advantage, possibly, because the Atlanta Hawks, they are opening up a three-game road trip. You know, it's in three full days of rest, though. Bulls, they're coming off of one day of rest. Sometimes that helps you. Sometimes that hurts you. But as far as defense goes, Chicago is one of the league's worst defense teams right now, allowing over 128, nearly 129 points per game. While Atlanta ranks fifth in scoring offense at 118.3 per game, so you can look forward to that. Player news, Chicago did lose their big star of a rookie, Caleb Williams, excuse me, Caleb Wilson, sorry, Caleb Williams, looking at football before. But anyway, Caleb Williams is out for to six weeks after undergoing some surgery. He had a fractured right hand and suffered it against San Antonio. So he is going to be out and not going to see him no time soon. Alexander Walker, now is on a hot streak. OK, Nikhil Alexander Walker leads Atlanta with 21, nearly 22 points is 21.9. So there you have it. And he's also scored at least 20 points in five straight games. So let's see if he makes it six tonight against the worst defense in the league. One thing I can say about Chicago, well, a couple of things. Montez Bruzelis, for some reason, he's always thrived against Atlanta. The third year forward has averaged 19.7 points and shooting nearly 67% against the Atlanta Hawks, including 61% from the three-point line over the last three games against the Atlanta Hawks. The all-time series, Chicago owns it, partly because Michael Jordan was a part of the Bulls franchise, but nonetheless, Chicago leads the all-time regular series 144-122, and unfortunately they did sweep all three meetings against Atlanta last season by margins of 3, 2, and 5. So, Atlanta has won all three games this season when favored by negative 258 points or shorter on the money line, but the Hawks are 0-3 against the spread when they're favored by 6.5 points or more. So take that for whatever it's worth. At the end of the day, Hawks got to get this win, not only for the cup, but for the W column, period. And we just got to get our lick back against the Bulls because I just told you we got swept by them last year. Yeah, just, yeah, yeah, yeah. But until next time, Hawks fans, peace and blessings to you all. Let's see exactly what happens tonight. Be right back at y'all guys for postgame. So can't wait to see you again. Until next time, I will.