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Atlanta Hawks rookie Dennis Schröder spoke with the media prior to Thursday's game to discuss the one-game suspension that was levied on him by the NBA. Schröder told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his incident with DeMarcus Cousins wasn't intentional but that he accepted his punishment.
"I have to respect it right now," Schroder said of the suspension. "I didn't try to do it (intentionally) but when the NBA decided that, I have to live with that."
Head Coach Mike Budenholzer defended his rookie on Wednesday saying that it was just a case of a player trying to fight over a screen in the pick and roll. On Thursday Budenholzer said they were moving forward.
"The league has to make hard, difficult, subjective decisions," Budenholzer said. "We all have to live with that. Our focus is on moving forward. ... We have a lot of respect for the league and how difficult it is. We are focused on moving forward, both for Dennis and for our group."
Schröder watched Thursday's game from the team hotel. Shelvin Mack made his first appearance since the opener playing 19 minutes while finishing with seven points, four rebounds and two assists.