Hawks Insider: New Hawks make strong debuts

Maybe Hawks' general manager Rick Sund knew what he was doing after all, even if fans have been joking for weeks that the addition of the likes of Tracy McGrady, Jerry Stackhouse, Vlad Radmanovic, Jannero Pargo and Willie Green would do nothing more than make the Hawks an Eastern Conference afterthought come playoff time. But if their opening night performance -- a 106-70 thrashing of the New Jersey Nets in Newark -- is any indication, Sund and the Hawks will get the last laugh. The Hawks' newcomers were fantastic in their rout of the Nets, using a 42-point surge from the reserve trio of Radmanovic (17), Zaza Pachulia (13) and McGrady (12) to blow the Nets' doors off and shut up hometown fans questioning the franchise's offseason work. "I don't think you could have scripted it any better for those guys," said Hawks coach Larry Drew, who got all the veteran help he could have asked for during an abbreviated free agencytraining camp. "There is a comfort level in knowing what these guys can do that allows you, as a coach, to do some things that you just can't do with younger guys. So in that way, we have a very unique group that we're allowed to coach in a very specific way." It also allows those veteran players to play a certain way and that's with supreme freedom, knowing that they'll be afforded some leeway they might not have otherwise have received. They will also be held to a different standard than rookie newcomers and other players without their years of service and high-level experiences. Showcases like the one they put on in the season-opening win over the Nets. Is there more where that came from? "No doubt about it," McGrady said. "This wasn't a one-time deal for us." NOTES, QUOTES Coach Larry Drew played Tracy McGrady 21 minutes, pushing the veteran swingman much harder than he did during training camp and the two-game preseason slate. It was by design, though, according to Drew, who said the increased minutes for McGrady are a necessity until the Hawks get all of their healthy bodies back. "We'll monitor him but we have to be very careful," Drew said. "As talented as he is, those days of him just bouncing up the night after a big game are over, so we have to be careful." The Hawks play their first nine games of this season in 12 days, yet another leftover of the NBA lockout and the scheduling powers that be exacting pleasantries with the rest of us. The Hawks will have to dig deep into the bench if there is a need at some point this season. QUOTE TO NOTE "I'm a gamer, man. I just get bored with preseason." -- Tracy McGrady, on his motivation.