This Has Major Implications For the Atlanta Hawks...

This has major implications for the Atlanta Hawks. Could Lou Dort be the missing defensive piece for the Atlanta Hawks' upcoming season? Dyson Daniels definitely would love to have him on the court with him at the same time. And what would be also interesting is how Quinn Snyder could actually use these two weapons defensively to actually produce some type of offense, as well as get these guys in the best position as they can to potentially make a run for the Eastern Conference because, again, as the season gets closer, because it is coming closer, it is literally a week away. Yeah, about a week away. So, guys, the season starts in less than a week, and I am intrigued to see what can happen with the Atlanta Hawks. Many people are saying that these guys won't even get past the play-in tournament mainly because of how strong the East has gotten. But I have some corresponding information. I also have some nice little slides and stuff I want to show you guys because I feel as though Quinn Snyder can make some magic with Lou Dort along with Dyson Daniels while on the floor. Defense, I do believe, can win championships. And I do believe that the Atlanta Hawks might be on to something by being defensively minded going into this season. What's going on, everybody? My name is Walter Pollard. This is Atlanta Hawks Digest, and I do appreciate everybody for joining me today. I really do appreciate it. Myself, Chris Tiltmore, Micah Brinsky. We do our damnedest, okay? We do our damnedest to make sure that you guys are completely up to date with Hawks information. Make sure that you guys stay locked in with us as the season starts because, of course, things are definitely going to ramp up. The season is vastly on the way, literally a week away, guys. So, definitely make sure that you guys lock in with us. Also, too, man, make sure that you guys get in on the trading on Kalshi. Of course, listen, there's even, you know, we even trade on preseason games. You know what I mean? This is, of course, the Atlanta Hawks taking on the Dallas Mavericks this upcoming Friday. And, of course, right now they got the Atlanta Hawks trading downward at 49%. nine percent so make sure that you guys get to trading in on Kalshi and of course like this in every other video this month this video of course is sponsored by Kalshi okay on Kalshi you're trading directly against other users not the house like other traditional sports books you're buying yes or no on contracts on outcomes of events across sports politics music news weather all of that are all rolled up into Kalshi okay if you guys are interested in trying Kalshi make sure that you use the link in the description and in the pinned comment it is Digest NBA make sure that you guys use Digest NBA for you football lovers Digest NFL one of those two um and yeah you guys get $55 in your account instantly when you trade your first $25 so make sure that you guys use Koshi man make sure that you guys get in on all the action because I'm telling you this is pretty good now let's go ahead and jump right into this all right now Quin Snyder of course he explains Lou Dort's defensive role going into this season so of course uh you know again Hawks brought in Lou Dort uh and Lou Dort is really known a lot for his defensive prowess he's definitely a good defensive player somebody that can definitely help uh the Atlanta Hawks going forward he can guard almost every position uh there are some centers you can even put on him okay so Lou Dort you know is a big frame he's a big frame I don't think he's not the tallest but he has a big frame I do feel as though he is able to uh make those proper you know plays of course that's Lou Dort in the Oklahoma City you know uniform but of course he is now with the Atlanta Hawks but he's he's a he's a formidable guy and I do think he is the missing not missing piece but I think he's an added weapon to this year's defensive uh Hawks man again uh I do believe I'm one of those guys that believe defense can produce offense especially when it comes to basketball basketball is one of those things where you're gonna see defense and all offense all at the same time you know what I mean all at the same time so of course I do feel as though Lou Dort is definitely somebody that can do a lot with the Atlanta Hawks going forward. Now, of course, here is his defensive profile. Of course, the opponent's three-point or field goal percentage is about 43%. And, of course, he's able to lock things down. Guys have to get spot-ups, transitional shots. He leaves them at 16%. Now, his weakness, unfortunately, is about 34% shooting from three. So I do believe his three-point shooting is weak. His three-point shooting is pretty low, specifically for his position. But again, the defensive side of things, he gets about almost a steal, 0.9 steals per game, 43% from the field. um when on defense uh this is the the opponent's field goal percentage when he is on defense so again he is definitely a defensive guy standing at six foot four 220 pounds so again like I said before he has a pretty big frame and so I do feel as though that is something that can be uh pretty beneficial for Lou Dort and the Atlanta Hawks so why does this defensive uh fit matter why does it matter okay he contains the first action okay first thing that a team decides to do when they cross uh when they cross uh center court Lou Dort is more than likely going to be there or Dyson Daniels whether or not you feel as though he can pick up somebody from the center court uh I think Lou Dort definitely does a good job of containing uh the first action or the first option that some teams may have he can handle difficult switches so say for instance he might be guarding someone that could be um a shooting guard or you know i'm saying a three you know i mean a wing or something like that and they switch off and now you have another point guard controlling the ball and Lou Dort is still there guarding him i think he can handle certain difficult switches at least until some help gets there so i do see that as well as he reduces the emergency help He limits players or he kind of eliminates the option for some teams to give that emergency help. So, again, I pointed it out earlier in this show really quickly. I mentioned that, hey, Quinn Snyder, his objective for this upcoming season is to find a way for Lou Dort to fit in with this team defensively as well as offensively. And we'll get to the offensive part of things because I think that's an important thing that we definitely want to pay attention to. Now, I've got to point out a comment that actually came from one of our listeners in a previous video regarding Kingston Fleming. And he said, Kingston Fleming is already a very good player, a playmaker and defender. We need that in the starting lineup as soon as possible. And Nall was brought here to be the backup point guard. And that's the role he needs to go back to. Now, how does this even go into Lou Dort defense, whatever the case may be? And I'll go back to Quinn Snyder because the point that I'm making is I'm interested in seeing how Quinn Snyder can adjust with all of these new players, all of these new personalities, as well as how can you fit all of this into lineups? How are you able to get Kingston Fleming on the court? How are you able to get Lou Dort on the court? What are you going to do? Are you going to come out defense first, or are you going to come out trying to go straight up and down the court, fast, fast pace, quick offenses, get the bucket, get back on defense? How is Quinn Snyder going to adjust? Again, that was a suggestion by one of our listeners talking about Kingston Fleming being put in the starting position and putting Nall back on the bench and him coming off of the bench. What I would find interesting is if he's coming off of the bench, is Luthor coming off of the bench as well? Would Luthor come off of the bench with either one of these guys? Would Luthor come off of the bench as a starter? How is Quinn Snyder going to make this thing fit going into this season? Now, Dyson Daniels, I do feel as though he gains a defensive partner. Dyson Daniels is already a defensive guy. They nicknamed him the great barrier thief last season or the season before. So this is something that we definitely want to pay. Yeah, I think it was the season before because that was when he got most improved player. But yeah, Dyson Daniels, I think he does get a defensive partner in Lou Dort depending upon And again, as I, you know, run down this, these things and I'm bringing up all these different things. this is only if or or yeah if Quinn Snyder is able to fit all this stuff together how is he going to put these things together what lineups is he going to do is he going to start off with Dyson Daniels and Lou Dort on the court at the same time because I will point out if you have Lou Dort and uh Dyson Daniels on the court at the same time you do run the risk of sacrificing offensive production so how does this look going into the season with um Quinn Snyder what is Quinn Snyder going to do now these guys do have uh different defensive strengths but yet again they have defensive strengths again Lou Dort gets about a steal per game Dyson Daniels gets two you know what i'm saying Lou Dort three and a half uh rebounds per game Dyson Daniels gets six uh 0.8 uh three point uh percentage uh of course Lou Dort at a 34 unfortunately Dyson Daniels at 18.8 percent and that's what I'm talking about the offensive production defensively these guys they mark all my all my boxes you guys comment down below let me know how you feel because these two guys they definitely check off all of my boxes when it comes to defense but um the the the The shooting, the offense is what definitely makes me question things. But the potential division of labor between these two guys definitely can make things seem a bit better or help us out in some way. Dort can handle physical matchups like we talked about before or even switches. You know, if somebody switches up, he'd be able to be there. He limits some teams' first option. He makes them go to their second option off rip. Dort can handle that. Dyson Daniels definitely does a really good job of reading passing lanes. How do I know? Because he's also really good at using the passing lanes when he's on offense. When Jalen Johnson is at the top of the key, he needs to make a pass to somebody that's cutting. Dyson Daniels is normally, if you've been paying attention to highlights or even the game for that matter, Dyson Daniels is normally the guy that's hitting the lanes and stuff like that to get to the basket or make those easy layups or stuff like that. or he catches the defense sleeping. I feel as though Dyson Daniels on the defensive side can disrupt the passing lanes and could actually help the Hawks defensively on that end. And then, of course, both guys communicate. They can communicate with each other. They can also disseminate information to the rest of the floor or the guys that are on the floor. So, again, this is definitely a big, big physical taking by Lu Dort and Dyson Daniels, but I like this. I like this. I like how this could really shape up. I like how these guys can really complement each other defensively. But again, the offense is definitely something that I am not necessarily afraid of, but I want the offense to work. And I feel as though that's where the challenge comes in for Coach Quinn Snyder. Okay, now what would this, what would prove it? What would prove these guys being, you know, perfect for each other? Of course, fewer clean drives, fewer scramble rotations, and a disciplined pressure. I think they can add some really good pressure, apply really disciplined pressure to other teams, you know, force them into things that they can't do. Now, Lu Dort shooting shapes out Atlanta's options. And again, I've talked about this. I've talked about this. The offensive production definitely has to match up. Now, when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, you can see his numbers and stuff like that when he was playing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and when he wasn't playing with Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Obviously, the point differential isn't that far off. His shooting does kind of increase when he doesn't have Shai Gilgeous on the floor, but also, too, his assists go down when he's not on the floor. so obviously he does have more range but as you can see Lu Dort does acquiesce or gives way to whatever superstar or offensive players on the court so I don't see there being a problem with him sharing the court with a Jalen Johnson or Nickeil Alexander for that matter or even a CJ McCollum I definitely can see this definitely making some sense the offensive balance maintain incredible spacing maintain incredible spacing I'm not saying stay out the way but what I'm saying is get don't bring anybody near the ball stay away get some good spacing what I definitely like to see out of Lou Dort is a running kind of situation I like to see how the defense can force the offense into some unfavorable situations some unfavorable shots some unfavorable um possessions and it turns into automatic offense for the Atlanta Hawks I like that okay I definitely like that a lot and that's what I like to see uh avoid the shortcut okay good defense needs usable offense guys and that is the that's really all that I'm really pointing out I think the defense is great but the offense has to be usable the offense has to be uh um uh it just has to be there, okay? Because one of the things I do not like is empty possessions. I cannot stand empty possessions. When you get the ball, when you're able to take it back down court, make sure that you cash in. Make sure that you cash in. Lineup context changes the results, and that's something that I brought up and I'm pointing out again when it comes to Coach Quinn Snyder. How does he do the lineup? How can he fit the lineup? Who is he going to put with? You know what I mean? Is he going to put Jalen Johnson with these players? Is he going to put Lou Dort on the starting lineup? Is he going to have Lou Dort coming off the bench? All of that matters. All of that matters. And a small sample is not a verdict. What we see in the preseason is not what you're going to see for the remainder of the season. OK, now Atlanta must turn OK, Atlanta must turn personnel into stops. So what that ultimately means is they got to use the people that are on the floor or just, yeah, the personnel definitely has to make some stops. Of course, this is the starting lineup right here. McCollum, Nakia, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and of course, you see the rest of the guys coming off the bench like Lou Dort, Corey Kispert, Joclyn Daly, you know, and then we got Kingston Fleming, you know, and just as you can see right here. Again, my question to Quinn Snyder is how is he going to make all of this work? How is he going to put these guys together? How is he going to fit these guys together? What's going to happen going from there? Here's what I think could really make things happen. Protect the paint. That is something that I've seen in my two to three years of covering these Atlanta Hawks. One of the things that's been a big pain in my side is the fact that we cannot adequately protect the paint. So make sure that we protect the paint. Finish with the rebound, okay? Make sure that you got on defense, you eliminate the second-chance rebounds or the second-chance shots off of a rebound and also two on offense. Get the second-chance rebounds. Get those second-chance shots. Get that rebound, kick it out to McKeel, hit the three, move back down on defense. Defense, well, rebound, rebounding, rebounding, get all the rebounds you can and communicate to all five assignments. Make sure that you guys are talking, talking, talking, talking. I'm interested in seeing how Quinn Snyder takes this situation on. And then, of course, my final verdict, they promise a defensive fit. He does have balance, and it still matters. Balance still matters. Make sure that your offense matches your defense. We should not be taking any offensive possessions off, nor should we take any offensive quarters off. Meaning, if you got Dyson Daniels and Lou Dort on the court at the same time, you know, we shouldn't be taking off offensively. Or we can even look at the fact that maybe if we have Dyson Daniels on the floor at first and then you bring Lou Dort on to continuously keep that pressure on other teams, maybe that could be the case there. So, you know, that's just my take on that. And then, of course, consistency remains unproven. So hopefully next year or this upcoming season will be the time that Lu Dort definitely shows you guys. But you guys talk to me. Let me know how you feel. Do you feel as though Dort is the missing piece defensively for the Atlanta Hawks? You know, type in A. Yes, his versatility connects it. uh be a major piece uh uh with work left he could be a big piece that got some work left and he might need a regular season uh might need regular season evidence so guys let me know how you feel let me know what you think in this matter because again this is going to be a big deal going into this season it's only a week away guys so make sure that you guys stay tuned here to hawks digest we're going to make sure that you guys are completely up to date as the season goes along my name is Walter Pollard, this is Atlanta Hawks Digest, we're signing out, peace