Southeast Notes: Schroder, Wizards, Heat

Two days after Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer benched Dennis Schroder for most of the second half against Golden State, the two men met on Wednesday to discuss the incident and move forward, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“He was very good,” Budenholzer said of Schroder, the Hawks’ starting point guard. “He and I communicating and understanding what is important. Really, he came in understanding what is important. Things happen in our league. Things happen in games. It’s part of our growth as a team, my growth as a coach, his growth as a player.”

Vivlamore notes that Schroder has gotten under the skin of some of his teammates at times, adding that a source familiar with the situation said Paul Millsap had “sharp words” for the young guard after Monday’s game. However, speaking to reporters, Millsap acknowledged that Schroder is still learning and improving, and said Monday’s incident won’t be a distraction for the Hawks going forward.

Here’s more from out of the Southeast division:

  • It flew somewhat under the radar during the week of the trade deadline, but the Wizards‘ acquisition of Bojan Bogdanovic has arguably had the most impact so far of any February trade. Michael Pina of RealGM.com examines how Bogdanovic has been the NBA’s most dangerous scorer off the bench since arriving in Washington.
  • Following Wednesday’s win, the Wizards became the first team in NBA history to get to 15 games above .500 after starting a season with a 2-8 record. As Michael Lee of The Vertical outlines, head coach Scott Brooks deserves plenty of credit for the job he has done in his first year with the club.
  • Disabled player exceptions will expire for 2017 on Friday, and that’s relevant for the Heat, who received a modest DPE worth about $1.3MM when Justise Winslow went down for the season. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald details, that exception figures to go unused. Check out our glossary entry for more details on how disabled player exceptions work.
  • In a separate piece for the Herald, Jackson breaks down why it makes more sense for the Heat to make a push for the playoffs rather than hoping to land in the lottery.
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