Bullet points from Atlanta's 87-85 win over Charlotte

The Atlanta Hawks evened their preseason record at 1-1 with an 87-85 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday. Here are some observations from the first two preseason games:

• Lets be clear about one thing first. There is no comparison to the defense that Miami played on Monday and what they faced from the Bobcats on Tuesday. However, Atlanta looked much more fluid on the offensive end against the Bobcats and it was much clearer at what they were trying to do.
• Mike Scott continues to make me look foolish for suggesting that his roster spot could be in trouble. He followed up a solid performance against the Heat with 19 points and six rebounds against the Bobcats. Right now he looks extremely confident and more importantly like he belongs in the league. If he keeps playing like this the question won't be about his roster spot but rather who he is replacing in the team's rotation in the frontcourt.
• Elton Brand showed exactly why he has been able to stick in the league for this long. His offense has faded somewhat over time but he is still a great positional defender as indicated by his seven blocks which many were the result of simply being in the right place. With Ayon down for at least the first month Brand becomes that much more important.
• Saw a lot of good and a lot of bad from rookie Dennis Schröder who finished with nine points and seven assists including the game winner. He did also go 4-15 from the field (1-7 from deep) with five turnovers and got baited into several foul calls by veteran Ramon Sessions. Expect the coaching staff to reel him in somewhat as the preseason rolls on but I like his fearlessness. He is a pest defensively and just needs experience. He looks as good as advertised.
• Atlanta employed a two point guard look a couple of different times with Jeff Teague and Royal Ivey pairing with Schröder. There will be nights where the matchup on the defensive end makes that difficult to pull off but it gives the Hawks a very dynamic look in the backcourt.
• Damien Wilkins played over 15 minutes against the Bobcats at the small forward and shooting guard position. Looked like he forced things a bit but held his own defensively. He finished with four points, four rebounds and three assists.
• Ivey also saw his first action of the preseason and performed well with six points, five rebounds, one assist to go along with three steals.