Atlanta Hawks: Johnny Hamilton will be next

The Atlanta Hawks have a fair old battle going for the last roster spot. Unfortunately, this is not producing the tremendous play from any of their prospects that they would have hoped for. Jahlil Okafor put in some good hustle in the first game and Timothe Luwawu-Cabbarot has shown why he has been in the league for the last few years.

The Hawks moved on from A.J. Lawson, waiving him and signing DaQuan Jeffries on a non-guaranteed deal. This shows that the final roster spot has not been locked in, no player has shown the coaching staff they must be signed which is going to be a good storyline for the remainder of the preseason.

The Hawks have two games left, one against the Memphis Grizzlies and then the final preseason game against the Miami Heat which is a week out from the start of their season. While there are injury management issues, the Hawks will start to work on aspects of their game plan rather than trying out the deep bench piece.

The Atlanta Hawks will move on from Johnny Hamilton

Johnny Hamilton did not do anything much in the first game, he was neither good nor bad. He played some of the backup minutes and contested a few rebounds and shots. He warranted another look in the second game, as it was his first time in a live game situation for the franchise.

So, Nate McMillan used Hamilton in the second game, studying how he went against the Miami Heat and resting Okafor. Unfortunately for Hamilton, he did not cover himself in glory, In fact, the way that he played it was surprising that Lawson was the first player cut.

Hamilton was ineffective on offense, but that is not a problem if he can impact the game on the defensive end. Unfortunately for Hamilton, he was terrible at that end of the court. He was constantly caught in between the playmaker and the player who finished at the rim. He was frozen by the offense every time and it meant the Heat got so many easy buckets.

Hamilton may be given another opportunity against the Grizzlies but it is unlikely that he will get past that unless he shows something special. After that, the Hawks will only need to trim two more players off their roster before the first game of the season.