The Atlanta Hawks will be short-handed on Friday night in the team’s first game after the All-Star break. On Friday afternoon, the team announced that starting point guard Dennis Schröder would be suspended for one game as a result of “failure to report to the team on time” following the lengthy break.
In an official team release, Mike Budenholzer said the following:
“Dennis has played an important role for our team and been a significant contributor to our success this season. We are disappointed that he did not return to the team on time and we have discussed this with him. We look forward to him rejoining the team in Orlando tomorrow night.”
After the announcement, KL Chouinard of Hawks.com brought word of Schröder’s reaction, including an explanation of what took place and his arrival time (11:00 pm ET on Thursday) back to Atlanta.
Here is what Dennis Schroder said about the travel issue and the suspension: pic.twitter.com/QNV3y68FR5
— KL Chouinard (@KLChouinard) February 24, 2017
In Schröder’s absence, Malcolm Delaney will reportedly get the start at the point guard position, and he will be joined by Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kent Bazemore on the perimeter.
Hawks will start Delaney, THJ, Bazemore, Millsap and Howard.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) February 24, 2017
The backup point guard minutes will be interesting to monitor, with Delaney taking the lion’s share and only Lamar Patterson available as a natural fit. However, Atlanta will likely utilize Tim Hardaway Jr. and/or Kent Bazemore at the position, especially if Delaney is hampered by foul trouble and/or ineffectiveness.
Stay tuned.