Hawks vs Spurs: More Thoughts from Atlanta's loss in San Antonio

The Atlanta Hawks did a good job of digging themselves out of an early hole but they came up just a short in a 94-92 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Hawks out rebounded for third straight game but it isn't bad as you might think

Rebounding has been a major issue for the Hawks early on this season and on the surface the numbers from Wednesday look a bit lopsided again. The Spurs finished with a 50-37 advantage but it didn't hurt Atlanta near as much as earlier in the season. San Antonio finished had one more offensive rebound than Atlanta and finished with a 14-13 edge in second chance points. The Hawks had faced huge deficits in both of those categories in the first two games. The Spurs finished with 13 more rebounds overall but Atlanta attempted 23 more field goal attempts in the game which allowed a number of more defensive rebound chances. San Antonio finished with 69 attempts although many of their possessions ended with a trip to the free throw line.

Dennis Schröder played well but doesn't mean he is the new backup

Schröder got an opportunity to play and took advantage of it finishing with nine points and one assist in just over eight minutes of playing time. Perhaps most importantly for him, he finished with zero turnovers on the night. Might be a little premature to think that he will fully supplant Shelvin Mack as the team's backup just yet but he certainly didn't hurt himself with this performance. Mike Budenholzer was no doubt looking for a spark and Schröder delivered. He might not be awarded the backup job outright but he looks like he could have earned more playing time.

DeMarre Carroll added to what is already a strong start to the season

Carroll scored seven of his team-high 17 points in the third quarter and continued what has been a solid start to the season. He went 7-13 from the field including 3-5 from deep and added five rebounds and a steal to his totals. Carroll is averaging 12.7 points per game through three games while shooting 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.

As far as losses go this is one you can live with. Atlanta had ample opportunities early to fold up the tent but that is something they have rarely done with Budenholzer at the helm. On another level, it feels like the team needs to pull one of these games out to really turn the corner and build momentum. Still has to be a bit of a confidence boost for the club when they can stay in a game against a good team like the Spurs despite not playing very well through any stretch of the game.