Atlanta Hawks: Drew on the rotation at point guard, center

Vivlamore with today’s Hawks report.

As promised, here is a little more from my pre-training camp interview with Hawks coach Larry Drew. You -  and I -  are curious about what the rotations will be at point guard with Jeff Teague, Devin Harris and Lou Williams and at center with Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia and others.

Here is how LD answered:

Q: Can you share how you will rotate the point guards?

A: As of right now, I don’t know. I know that by bringing in Devin Harris we bring in another guy who is basically a speed merchant. A guy who can get from one end of the floor to the other. A guy who has the ability to run pick-and-rolls, break the defense down, he’s a good passer. He’s smart. He can make a 3[-pointer]. Lou Williams comes in and we know he can score. He’s a great pick-and-roll guy, a great open-court guy. I have three guys that basically are guys who can impact the game. As far as rotation right now, right now I don’t know. I know that I will be smaller in the backcourt than I have in the past. I don’t have that versatility that I had by moving Joe [Johnson] to the 2-guard and using his size. What those guys bring, they bring an unbelievable amount of speed and quickness to the game. Speed and quickness, we’ll be in the open-court more, running more pick-and-rolls, just utilizing what the strengths are. With those three guys, they bring an incredible amount of speed to the game.

Q: Will you use a similar rotation at center this season by starting Al Horford?

A: Yes, I would say there will be a similar rotation. [Horford's] ability to play some 5, his ability to play some 4, certainly enables me to use him in different ways, different capacities. Zaza played extremely well for us last year, particularly when Al went down. He has shown that he has the ability to be a starter. I’m not going to completely rule that out. I think there are going to be some times when we start Zaza at the 5 and Al at the 4. I’ve been in situations where I’ve used that combination and moved Josh [Smith] to some 3. I want to allow myself that type of flexibility again. I think with the makeup of our team right now, I don’t think we will be as big and as versatile particularly without Joe [Johnson] or Marvin [Williams] where we could move both of those guys to the 2 or 3. We may be a little smaller but I think we will be a lot quicker. I think we will be a team that will really move the basketball because we have good passers. But I really want to allow myself the versatility to be able to move things around.

- Chris Vivlamore

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