Atlanta, GA
Raheem Morris shares Week 1 plan for Matthew Judon, Justin Simmons
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — It’s been a couple weeks since one of the craziest 24 hours of a Falcons preseason unfolded. Within the span of a day, the Falcons traded a third-round draft pick to New England for edge rusher Matthew Judon and signed safety Justin Simmons to the roster.
On their first day of practice in the week leading up to the Falcons’ final preseason game against Jacksonville, head coach Raheem Morris said the Falcons would ease the duo into team activities. He simultaneously assured, though, that both would be ready for Week 1 of the 2024 season.
Asked for a status update on their progress, both physically and mentally with the playbook, Morris said Thursday they were on track, though they are still on different schedules.
Judon is further along, since he was with a team this preseason and was practicing full-time.
“We’re already got him beefed up into his rep counts,” Morris said. “We got him beefed up into full individual (drills).”
Morris continued by calling Judon a “live wire” individual, stating his high IQ and instincts show up time and again in practice. His personality is already helping Judon jive with the defensive unit, as a whole.
“He brings a little bit of an edge,” Morris said, “a little more fun to our practices.”
As for Simmons, the Falcons are taking a bit more time acclimating him to live reps. Simmons has been a free agent this offseason so he hasn’t had access to team facilities or workout plans. Though he’s assured his individual workouts will allow him to not miss a beat, physically, the Falcons don’t want to push him too hard too fast. They have revved up his recent reps this week, though.
“With Justin, we’re letting the rope out slowly with him and now we’re starting to get him in some team play,” Morris said. “You’re starting to see some of the intelligence of Justin and how fast he can pick it up and communicate with Jessie (Bates) or (Richie) Grant, whoever’s out there, or even (Dee) Alford at the nickel spot. (You see) how detailed he is in his work, and just a true, absolute professional.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens celebrated the 21st Century Road to Housing Act on Monday. The new law aims to make housing construction easier and to prevent corporations from buying large amounts of single-family homes.
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The Atlanta Hawks are now 3-0 in Las Vegas.
Despite being down some of their most talented players, such as Kingston Flemings,Asa Newell, and Zuby Ejiofor, the Hawks notched another win in Summer League, this time taking down the Boston Celtics. Overall, it was the Hawks 5th straight win in Summer League.
What are the biggest takeaways from today’s game?
1. Kobe Johnson Continues to Impress
Kobe Johnson has been impressive all Summer long and is making his case to be the last two-way contract for the Hawks. Atlanta already has Keshon Gilbert and RayJ Dennis in two of the two-way spots for next season and are looking for a third player who they can continue to develop.
With the Hawks being very shorthanded today against the Celtics, Johnson stepped up and played very well. In 13 first half minutes, Johnson scored 19 points on 7-10 shooting and 3-4 from three-point range, which is the most encouraging part of his performance. He continued that into the second half and was arguably the best player on the floor today for the Hawks.
Johnson finished today’s game with 30 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Johnson has high-level defensive skills, but he has shown offensive growth over the course of the past week and he is making a real case to be a part of the roster as a two-way player.
2. Henri Veesaar takes advantage of his opportunity
With so many bigs out today, it was going to be the Henri Veesaar show for Atlanta.
He did not disappoint. Veesaar was able to score 20 points on 7-12 shooting (4-6 from three), as well as pulling in four rebounds, and three assists.
As a scorer, Veesaar was at his best today, stretching the floor and scoring the ball off the pick and roll. He showed why the Hawks moved up to take him in the second round of the draft and if he can continue this development into the season, perhaps he can be closer to playing than initially thought.
3. Hawks win short-handed
Atlanta has one of the most talented rosters in Vegas this summer and despite missing their two first round picks from this year’s draft (Flemings and Ejiofor) and their first round pick from last year’s draft (Newell), Atlanta did not have much of a problem today with Boston.
The Celtics were missing a couple of important players today as well, but the Hawks had no trouble in this game, nearly leading by 30 points in the second half. The three-point shooting was strong, the defense forced turnovers, and they kept the Celtics cool from three.
It was an impressive all-around victory for the Hawks and one of their better victories from start to finish.
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