Hawks Talon GC readying for season opener after kickoff tournament

Despite winning three of its four games in the group stage of the league’s “The Tipoff” tournament, Hawks Talon Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament Friday night.

The wins over Raptors Uprising GC, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors and Grizz Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, were drowned out by a loss in average point differential during group play, eliminating Hawks Talon from further contention in the league’s first tournament of the season.

“We started off very strong, but we took our foot off of the gas as tonight’s games went on,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Wesley Acuff. “We knew what we could expect from our veterans in LEE and KEL as they are two of the best at their positions, and we saw CEEZ, FAKIEE and SWANN all make an immediate impact. We will get back in our Gaming House soon and start preparing for our regular season opener next week.”

Hawks Talon started the night with two victories over Raptors Uprising, winning 73-63 and 76-65. The team’s 2021 1st-round draft pick, CEEZ (Caesar A. Martinez), led the way in both games, amassing 25 points and ten assists in game one and 32 points and eight assists in game two. KEL (Mykel Williams) finished with 24 points in both games against Raptors Uprising and LEE (Lee Lamb) scored 15 points with 15 rebounds in game one with another nine points, twelve rebounds, and three blocks in game two.

Hawks Talon won its first game against Grizz Gaming 81-72 before dropping the second 70-94. With both Hawks Talon and Grizz Gaming finishing the group stage with 3-1 records, the quarterfinal berth was decided by the average point differential, favoring Grizz Gaming.

CEEZ shined the brightest in the first matchup with Grizz Gaming, scoring 34 with 14 assists. KEL and LEE both contributed 18 points with another 13 rebounds. In the final game of the night, CEEZ continued his momentum with another 39 points.

Hawks Talon will begin the regular season Thursday, May 27 at 8 p.m. with games against Hornets Venom GT, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets. Both games will be simulcast on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Games will also be available on ESRevolution, Loco in India, Sport1 in Europe and Dash Radio.

Atlanta Hawks