What happened: Following the July three-team trade that brought Lu Dort to Atlanta, the coaching staff used its preseason tune-up to rotate its perimeter stoppers in pairs rather than as a full trio, per Kevin Chouinard. The rotation left only a brief window where Dyson Daniels operated without either Dort or Nickeil Alexander-Walker alongside him.

Why it matters: Splitting the three wings preserves offensive floor spacing while giving the Hawks dual point-of-attack defenders against opposing backcourts across all four quarters. Expanding Dort's regular-season workload by a few minutes per night would eliminate the remaining single-defender stretch entirely.

What to watch: Atlanta transitions from preseason testing to its 2026-27 regular-season opener, where Snyder's full minute allocations will be finalized.