The Hawks won their season opener on Wednesday night over the Dallas Mavericks 117-111. Not surprisingly, Dennis Schröder led all scorers with 28 points (on 27 shooting possessions). Unexpectedly, Marco Belinelli and John Collins were the Hawks second- and third-leading scorers with 20 points and 14 points, respectively. They combined to score 34 points on 26 shooting possessions which translates to an impressive 130.8 offensive rating.
Marco Belinelli is an underrated secondary offensive creator in the NBA. He was viewed as a necessary throw in (for salary matching purposes) on a deal in which the Hawks moved on quickly from Dwight Howard after one season with his hometown team.