Victor Wembanyama is initiating the Spurs' offense with the ball high after an offseason spent on shot creation. Mitch Johnson said postgame the spacing around him has to improve: "Need to be a lot better than we were at times... of spacing around him and playing off that."
Dylan Harper started for the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama: "It's not like we hadn't done it before... in practice... that worked out." Harper says a three-guard group with De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle will be "really hard to guard" but needs stops and rebounds to cover its size.
De'Aaron Fox was a late Spurs scratch with "some tightness." Mitch Johnson doesn't "foresee it being anything serious" but will be "very cautious," and didn't say whether Fox travels to Phoenix. David Jones Garcia looks healthy after his ankle injury, Johnson said.
"Coaches say 5s, 4s, they're mainly interchangeable." Hawks rookie Zuby Ejiofor on the power forward and center spots. On his preseason debut: few nerves, but "it's a big step up from college to the NBA." Rookie duties: he does Krispy Kreme, Kingston Flemings Chick-fil-A.
The Hawks' starting five is little changed and already has chemistry from last year, Onyeka Okongwu said. The work: "different units, different groups." The longest-tenured Hawk, roughly seven camps in, on the young roster: "you better get learning."