Atlanta Hawks: 3 goals for Tyler Dorsey in 2018-19

2. Be aggressive in the lane

One of the things Dorsey was fantastic at in college was his ability to take the ball to the basket. He sliced through defense and finished strong, often through contact. One thing that factored into that was confidence. There was a fire that he played with during his time at Oregon that hasn’t necessarily translated to the NBA yet. That is expected to come with time though, as he starts to understand the game on this level.

Again, over half of his shots came from beyond the arc last season, and while that is promising for a young shooter, that is not the only thing the Hawks need from him. They need the player from Oregon who often took over games and won them practically by himself. Dorsey needs to stop seeing himself as a complementary piece and he needs to be the aggressive scorer he was in college.

Attacking the lane doesn’t always have to end in a shot attempt for him either though. He has weapons on the roster to help him. He has incoming players like Kevin Huerter and Trae Young who are excellent shooters that serve as perfectly viable options to pass out to in a drive-and-kick scenario.

This season will be a big one for Dorsey as he has the opportunity to have a breakout second year. This team is the perfect place for him to find himself as a player and still be allowed to make mistakes. If he can turn that potential into confidence and assertiveness, this year will be a good one.