The second and last day of scrimmaging was yesterday afternoon at Philips, and unfortunately, the big story of the day was injuries. Wayne Simien pulled up lame with a hamstring injury, and apparently it was severe enough that he will have to miss the RMR. Jeremy Richardson also went down during one of the scrimmages, limping off with what appeared to be an ankle tweak, but he will still make the trip to Salt Lake City, and I'm told should be good to go by Monday.

Obviously the injury to Simien was disappointing (to me anyway, I still believe that guy has the talent to be an NBA player, but health is clearly a concern for him), but nevertheless there were some other bright spots to note.

Randolph Morris showed some excellent touch around the basket, hitting several short jumpers during scrimmage time. I think Morris is a pretty skilled offensive center - I believe the knock on him has always been defense and determination. No doubt the Hawks could use his kind of low-post presence on the offensive end though, so it will be interesting to see if his work the past few days will convince the team to give him an offer. He and Kwame Brown have been both been working out, and I'll admit I'd be quite happy to give either (both?) a chance at a roster spot if the price is right.

Another guy who impressed me yesterday was Brian Chase, a PG out of Virginia Tech. Chase is one of those guys whose been hanging around the fringes of the NBA scene for several years now (he's almost 27), a bulldog of a player who makes the roster players look bad if they slack off because of his hustle and determination. Chase stands only about 5'10", but gets where he wants on the court and gave Speedy Claxton all he could handle during the games yesterday.

I got a chance to talk to him after practice, and was impressed by his understanding of his place. He has been through this for the last several years, joining teams for summer league and training camp in the hopes of landing a coveted roster spot (which he did grab once, spending the first seven games of the 2006-07 season on the Utah Jazz roster without seeing any game action). He knows exactly what coaches are looking for out there, and I think he demonstrated a lot of great skills in leading his team in scrimmage. He was very controlled, running the offense and barking out instructions to his teammates if they were in the wrong spots (which happens pretty often given how little time these guys have to learn the sets).

Atlanta's roster is pretty crowded in the backcourt (especially if Speedy returns to active duty), but I would love to see this guy get another chance somewhere else if not here.

Speaking of the Hawks backcourt, I also spoke to Acie Law after practice to get his thoughts on his second season of summer league action and on stepping up as the team's leader. I asked him which players were impressing him in camp, but of course he wasn't going to call anyone out (in hindsight, maybe I should have grabbed him before he hit the locker room where everyone else could hear what he was saying). He seems very confident, and I anticipate great things from him at the RMR.

The Hawks made their final cuts after the practice was over (click here to see the final roster), and will head to Utah later this afternoon after a final practice this morning.

We won't be with the team in Salt Lake City, but hope to have good reports from people on the scene nonetheless.