Atlanta Hawks: 5 Early Season Takeaways
1. Kent Bazemore Stepping Up
So far, the biggest takeaway from the 2015-16 season for the Atlanta Hawks has been the play of Kent Bazemore, Mike Budenholzer’s preferred starter at small forward and the team’s de facto replacement for DeMarre Carroll. Once known mostly for his towel-waving antics on the bench, Bazemore’s play has become worthy of some towel-waving for himself.
An ankle sprain has kept him out of the Hawks’ last two games, and will sideline him for Saturday’s contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers as well. But in the 12 games he’s played, he’s started in every single one, averaging 12.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game.
Even better, he’s been extremely efficient from the floor, shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from three-point territory (on 3.4 attempts per game). Carroll was perennially praised as Atlanta’s bonafide 3-and-D guy, and though Bazemore can’t hold a candle to him on the defensive end, he’s been adequate enough for the time being.
At only 26 years old, this is Bazemore’s best opportunity to become a consistent role player on a winning team for the first time in his four-year NBA career. It’s still early, and he needs to get healthy again first, but so far he’s making the most of it. If that’s a season long trend, the Hawks may not miss DeMarre Carroll all that much after all.