Danilo Gallinari approached the podium with wine glass in hand late last week after a huge win over the Brooklyn Nets. The wine, awarded to the player of the game, is a celebratory tradition that Nate McMillan has carried for some time. This night in particular though he was able to award the entire bench unit. The "Bench Mob" was especially important, tallying 46 points to the Nets' 12, paving the way to a 122-115 win.
Their success is critical to the overall success of the Hawks. Terrell Thomas from These Urban Times joined Sam & Greg on Sunday morning to discuss.
Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu, Lou Williams and Delon Wright. They can be difference makers. The Hawks need them to be difference makers.
"(Due to the injury to John Collins) we've seen Gallinari in and out of the starting lineup and coming off the bench. When he was coming off the bench, he was playing a phenomenal role."
Gallo has averaged 11.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists off the bench since the team started to turn things around in February. But it has been his ability to fill the void left by John Collins, even if it's only partially, since he left the rotation due to injury.
Next to him is the "scoring assassin" Bogdan Bogdanovic. He in particular has been a lynchpin for the Bench Mob. Coming off an injury, he was inserted into the bench rotation and he has really taken off. In those 34 games, he's putting up 17.6 points, 4.1 boards, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals. He's playing very efficient basketball, too, shooting 44.5% from the field and 37.5% from three.
"I've also enjoyed what we've seen from Wright recently. It seems that he began to find his role in the rotation after the All Star Break." Thomas told Sam & Greg, "He was brought on this team for his defensive prowess and he has been a surprise addition offensively hitting some key shots."
The bench needs to keep that success with the play-in tournament looming, and maybe there's another bottle of wine coming their way.