The Hawks Just Got Exactly What They Were Missing...

The Atlanta Hawks just got exactly what they were missing, okay? In the last game versus his former team, C.J. McCollum definitely did something that raised an eyebrow in my opinion, but I think it does more than just bring attention to the Atlanta Hawks. I think it sets the Atlanta Hawks up in a major way for the future. C.J. McCollum is finally settling into his role as the mentor, as the guy that teaches the young, Because he put. Put himself to the side in order to get Kingston Fleming not only substantial minutes, but he gave him the starting nod. I am here to dive into all of that, as well as talk about tonight's game. I would say a rematch, but it's the second game in a home-and-home versus the Washington Wizards. So, of course, Trae Young is coming home, and the Atlanta Hawks faithful. The Atlanta Hawks fans, all that good stuff. They get to see Trey Young back in Atlanta. So it's definitely great for the Atlanta Hawks to get another win and basically assert themselves versus the Washington Wizards and basically show, hey. We made the right decision in getting rid of you. So, without further ado, let me welcome everybody into the show. What's going on, everybody? My name is Walter Pollard. This is Atlanta Hawks Digest, and I am excited, more than excited, to be here. Thank you guys for joining us, man. For all of you guys that are subscribed to our YouTube page, myself, Mike Kabrinsky, Chris Tipmore, we do our damnedest to make sure that you guys are completely up to date when it comes to Atlanta Hawks. news and information. So make sure that you guys stay tuned with us because I'm telling you, man, throughout this season, we're going to keep you guys completely updated. As things go along now on Kalshi, my Atlanta Hawks right now are trending at about 73% in tonight's game versus the Washington Wizards. I want to say this is coming off of the win that the Atlanta Hawks had the other night versus Wednesday night versus the Washington Wizards. So this is great. Now, again, like this and every other video, this video is brought to you by Kalshi. On Kalshi, K-A-L-S-H-I. You are trading directly against other users, not the house, like traditional sportsbooks, okay? You are buying yes or no on contracts and the outcomes of those contracts and different events, okay? Like politics. Elections just happened, okay? The midterm elections just went down. You can talk, you know, do weather. Right now, it's super sunny. You can do a trade as far as whether or not it's going to rain on Monday or something like that. You know, if you guys are interested, trying out Kalshi. Okay, use the link in the description and in the pinned comment. So it will all be there for you guys. Definitely make sure that you use those links. And then again, you can use the code DIGESTNBA or DIGESTNFL to get $55. Add it to your account instantly when you trade the first $25. Okay, so make sure that you guys use that. I will make sure that I have the pinned comment and all that good stuff. Now, let's talk about my man, C.J. McCollum, because. He has definitely stepped up in a major way, okay? C.J. McCollum, he puts the Atlanta Hawks first. He puts the Atlanta Hawks first. He makes sure that he is putting his team ahead of himself. He is settling into this role as a veteran, and I am super excited about this. I knew this was going to become of C.J. McCollum as time would go along, If he were to have continued on with the team, and yes, he has continued on with the Atlanta Hawks. He re-signed over the offseason. So, again, he is settling into his role as the veteran, the veteran leadership, the veteran voice on this Atlanta Hawks team. Coupled that, along with his performance in last year's playoffs, I think this is definitely going to be very good for these Atlanta Hawks, especially the young guys coming up. And also, too, before we go any further into the story, I want to point out that... In the last game versus the Washington Wizards, I got to see a lot of the younger guys get a lot of substantial minutes. I saw Zuby Edgeford knocking down a three-pointer. I did see Asa Newell momentarily before he did get injured. Thank Kingston Fleming, of course, got the start. So this is definitely going to be a team that looks to their young players early and they want to get them ready because they have big plans for them going forward. And again, having C.J. McCollum. As the veteran leadership on this team really has me excited. you. Again, man, rather than starting alongside Atlanta's established veterans, all the guys that he had already been with for, you know, for last year and things that such, you know, McCollum said, hey, I would rather sit back, let Kingston Fleming get in the starting lineup, opening, you know, opening the game out. And basically the veteran was willing, C.J. McCollum was, he was willing to. Sit down, prioritize the rookie's development over his success in his starting role. You know what I'm saying? He wanted to make sure that this young man came first before himself. CJ is all about the team, and the team is winning. That's what, um, yeah, well, yeah, not the team is, but yeah, they are winning. They do win, but, uh, season's early, but CJ McCollum is about the team and the team win. Um, and this is coming from coach Quinn Snyder. There's been multiple reports of CJ McCollum, uh, basically stepping out and saying, Hey coach, I would, I want this guy to be on the floor. I want this young man to be on the floor. Um, Locked on Hawks, Brad Rowland had even went on Twitter and he had even said both the Hawks and Wizards TV broadcasts have now reported, this from the last game, have now reported that CJ McCollum went to Quinn Snyder and instigated the starting lineup change that had him coming off of the bench rather than Kingston Fleming coming off the bench. And then, of course, you can see... So far, this is what, you know, C.J. McCollum is doing so far. 14 points per game, 3 rebounds per game, 4 assists per game. Shooting at about a 44% from the field, 36 from the 3, 81 from field goals. I mean, 81% from the free throws. So, again, big shout-out. And, again, the season is early. Season is very early. But, again, I want to point out the fact that he is willing to. Go to this role so quickly in the season. I feel as though the Hawks see something. The Hawks see something here. And also, too, I think C.J. McCollum sees something as well. This is C.J. McCollum coming off the bench. 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists. He was plus 13 in the plus minus. 5 for 14 from the field, 2 for 7 from 3, 3 for 4 from the free throw line. 25 minutes. So even if he wasn't starting, he still was going to get his minutes. He got two steals. You know what I mean? I think this was definitely a good decision on behalf of C.J. McCollum, but I do feel as though this could lead to something bigger. You know what I mean? A leader makes room, supports his rookie's opportunities, stays ready to contribute, and lets the coach adjust. But also, too, a leader is somebody that is not afraid to step out and say, Hey, coach, we need to make this move. A leader's not afraid to tell the coach, hey, I need for this to happen. I see something. A leader has the coach's ear. And as you can see, this is what happened on Wednesday night. C.J. McCollum is invested in Atlanta. He invests in Atlanta. His commitment to the Hawks is what sticks out to me. Okay? His commitment. To the Atlanta Hawks really sticks out to me. He said that he loves this organization. He said it last season. And you can even see it also in the deal that he signed. One-year deal, $21 million. dollars As you can see, yeah, some of this stuff is extremely small. But, yeah, $21 million for the 2027 season. I'm not sure what. It's to come at the end of the season. I'm not even looking towards that. I'm looking for what he's doing now and what he's contributing to the Atlanta Hawks. you. Now, that's really what I'm more so focused on. But you can see, this is what he contributes. This is what he offers to the Atlanta Hawks as a veteran. 40% from outside of the arc, especially straight ahead. But once he gets to the corners, you know what I mean? That's a bit of a... It's a bit of a tricky situation, but again, 14% from within the arc, 22% at the key, 17% around the basket. C.J. McCollum, 6'3", 190 pounds, 6'6". No, I'm sorry, his wingspan, correction, his wingspan is about 6'6". So this is just what he offers to the team. This is what he gives. This is what he is offering to the Atlanta Hawks. His future with the Atlanta Hawks soaring down south reports a desire to finish his career with the Hawks. He said that last season. And I think this is something that we should seriously, honestly, really consider. That C.J. McCollum ends his career in a Hawks uniform. And not only that, but we could use that veteran leadership. Every time the Hawks had a good team, there was a veteran leader. That was at the helm. When the Hawks went to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals versus the Milwaukee, not Brewers, but Milwaukee Bucks, what ended up, who was on the team? Lou Will. Lou Will was the veteran on the team. To whom? A young Trae Young. You feel what I'm saying? It was whenever we had a veteran on the team, the Hawks were something serious. Prior to COVID, Vince Carter was that veteran as well. So look to the veterans. That's where you get your bread and butter. That's where the team actually becomes. Something that is very, you know, something to look at, you know, what what Atlanta is paying for. What are they paying for? OK, on court scoring and creation. He showed you that in the playoffs, experienced in difficult moments, leadership, a leadership role has evolved. I think this is just really, really good. Now, going over. Um, Going over to Kingston Fleming, you know, what it is that he offers. Well, not even so much offer, but what he did in his first start. You know, what happened in his first start. 14 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists. It was negative 1 in the plus minus, but again, it was his first time starting. 23 minutes. 23 minutes. He had two turnovers. He was six for nine from the field, two for two from three. I think that is some really, really good numbers to build off of. Those are some good numbers to build off of for Kingston Fleming. And, again, I think CJ McCollum sees something in this young man. I see it in this young man as well. I think Kingston Fleming is going to be something serious. I think he's going to be somebody that the Atlanta Hawks really. Really need to hone in on, get a hold of him, and make sure that he goes, you know what I'm saying, make sure he goes nowhere. He sticks with the Atlanta Hawks. Now, going into tonight's game versus the Washington Wizards, again, the Hawks right now are trending upward. They're trending upward, of course, because the Hawks took care of business. 120 to 105, the last matchup versus the Washington Wizards in Washington. Now they're coming down here. As far as injuries is concerned, you know, the same guys, Jalen Dale, Henry Vasser, Muhammad Gay, still out, all guys still out. With Jocelyn Dale, he's day-to-day with his hip. Henry Vasser, of course, out for the season, torn ACL. Muhammad Gay, he's out with a foot injury. Jalen Johnson was not there. Of course, that led to Kingston Fleming getting the start. Um, along with CJ McCollum suggesting to Quinn Snyder, but also Jalen Johnson is still day today, uh, with an ankle injury. I do, I do look to see if, um, I do look to see if he's going to be there. If Jalen Johnson is going to be available tonight, you know what I mean? I think that would be good. If Jalen Johnson is available to be on the court, um, and then to. I think Kingston Fleming can take this experience. I think he can take this experience and he can add that to what he's been doing coming off the bench. I think he can set the tone for the second group. I think he can actually add to for the second group coming into the game, you know what I mean, versus Washington. And again, the last game, which I was... thoroughly impressed with was the fact that there were a lot of young guys getting their opportunities. You saw Zubi Agber on the floor. You saw Ace Inouye before he got injured on the floor as well. So I think this is definitely a really good opportunity. And CJ McCollum stepped out and he was the leader to say it first. He's not afraid to say it first. And that is what I'm excited for tonight. I do expect the Atlanta Hawks to take care of business and get the W versus the Washington Wizards at... It's 7 p.m. here in Atlanta. Now, granted, you know, Chris Brown and Usher, they're going to be down there. So if you plan on getting to the game, get there early, okay? Tip-off is at 7 p.m. You know it's going to be packed, so make sure you guys get down there. And listen, I'm going to make sure that I'm going to be sitting at the house and watching it because you know it's going to be on prime TV, and that's what I got. So I'm going to make sure y'all pay attention to the game tonight. Make sure you guys stay tuned to the Hawks Digest. We'll definitely be right back around with an update, a post-game update. I'm just going over what happened, who did what, what happened in the midst of the game, in between the lines. But until then, like I say all the time, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Walter Pollard. This is Atlanta Hawks Digest. I'm signing out. Peace.