Atlanta Hawks: Five takeaways from the first six games
Internal development
The Atlanta Hawks brass knew in order to have a successful offseason; it wasn’t going to be enough to strike gold in free agency and the draft. Still, they would also need internal development from their young core, mainly Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, and Kevin Huerter. All three have looked more confident, comfortable, and aggressive on both ends of the floor.
Reddish and Hunter have started all six games for the Hawks this season, while Huerter has been a vital piece off the bench.
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Huerter isn’t the defender that Hunter and Reddish are, but he is quietly leading the team with 1.5 steals per game and a 45.0 steal percentage. Always an elite shooter and capable scorer, Huerter has improved upon his efficiency. His field goal attempts are slightly down this year (9.2 per game) compared to last season (10.7 per game) and from long distance (6.0 last season and 4.6 this season), but he’s managed to increase his percentages. His 38 percent 3-point percentage a season ago is up to 46.4 percent, and his field goal percentage has improved to a career-high 47.3 percent, up from the 41.3 percent he shot a season last year.
After struggling mightily for most of his rookie campaign, Reddish is averaging 12.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game and scored in double digits in four of six games to start the season. While his field goal percentage is still in the basement (38.2), his 3-point shooting has improved dramatically. Reddish is connecting on 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers after making just 33.2 percent of his 3-point attempts in his rookie season. He also leads the starting unit with a 42.1 steal percentage and ranks 15th in the NBA with 19 deflections, making his presence felt on defense.
Hunter has arguably made the most significant and noticeable improvements. Following a disappointing rookie season, Hunter has started his sophomore campaign with a bang. He’s averaging 14.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while posting .516/.483/.769 shooting splits.
Despite being known for his defense, he struggled on that side of the ball last season. Per Synergy, Hunter ranked in the 33rd percentile on defense and 61st percentile defending around the basket (non-post-ups). Through six games this season, those numbers jump to the 41st and 70th percentile, respectively. Still not great; however, it’s still an improvement. He’s also done a much better job defending against jump shots. He allowed 1.06 points per possession (PPP) while defending jump shots as a rookie, but so far this season, he’s holding opponents to 0.906 PPP on jumpers.
Though it’s still very early in the season, it is encouraging to see all three of these guys step up and make necessary improvements to their game, which directly reflects Atlanta’s 4-2 start to the season.