John Jenkins impressive in extended minutes against Pacers

Injuries to a number of the Hawks' veterans has offered a rare opportunity for playing time for Atlanta's rookies. John Jenkins and Mike Scott have been relegated to essentially garbage time duty with the club this season but both have taken on the role with a positive attitude according to Larry Drew and his staff.

"I think both guys are chomping at the bit. They want to be out there. They've been very patient through this process being rookies and not getting a lot of playing time."

Jenkins played in both games of the Hawks' back-to-back wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. After an injury to Anthony Morrow sidelined him for the second half against the Cavs, Drew opted to go with Jenkins down the stretch rather than play DeShawn Stevenson in back-to-back contests. The rookie responded by making 2-3 field goal attempts (1-2 from three) while finishing with five points.

Jenkins was rewarded by an elevation into the rotation on Saturday where he scored a career-high 10 points on 4-6 shooting and was a perfect 2-2 from beyond-the-arc in just under 17 minutes of action.

"Man, it feels great," Jenkins said. "I'm not an express-my-emotions type of guy but it definitely feels good to go out there and make shots."

Many Hawks fans have been clamoring to see more of Jenkins and now he is showing that perhaps he deserves an opportunity to play. Will be interesting to see going forward if he can keep himself in the mix as Atlanta's injured players get healthy and return to the floor.