Atlanta Hawks: 3 reasons why Kevin Huerter is key to their title run

Why Kevin Huerter is key for the Atlanta Hawks: 1. He makes a difference with the little things

Let’s circle back to Game 1 for a moment while still sticking with this same idea: the most exciting play from that night probably belongs to Trae Young, right? It’s either the shimmy after shaking Jrue Holiday out of his shoes or the lob to John Collins that can’t count as an assist because it kissed the backboard first – never mind that that’s what made it so absurd. Both were the flashiest parts of a career night; Young tallied 48 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists, and propelled the Hawks to a 116-113 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. And that’s, understandably, what we’re all so often drawn to: the flash, the shimmies, the bows.

The game’s most important play – and, if you ask me, the best because of its significance – had none of that. It came on the defensive end before the game was close to said and done, and against an otherwise mundane layup attempt from Holiday. Yet it’s the fact that Kevin Huerter, as evidenced in the clip below, has grown into a player capable of this kind of pugnacity and discipline that made it so exciting. Not to mention the juncture at which it came.

It doesn’t start out so pretty. Huerter gets “hit,” relatively speaking, with a screen from Giannis Antetokounmpo and reacts to it with his best Marcus Smart impersonation. You’d think he’s all-but removed from the play. Until he recovers, sprints back toward his man, and takes an approach to contest Holiday’s shot that is simultaneously methodical and destructive (to the shot, that is).

He deters the Bucks guard into a misfire that bounces off Huerter’s back, and though Holiday corrals the ball and his defender looks to be out of the play again with his back turned and Holiday attacking the rim, the Red Mamba reacts. He spins, gets a hand in his opponent’s path to the basket, and once again, makes an everyday layup a heck of a lot tougher.

It may look like an inconsequential series of hustle plays, especially given that Atlanta failed to score on their ensuing offensive trip – due to a shot clock violation no less – but it prevented the Hawks from falling behind by three as opposed to one, and it gave them some buffer to push against Milwaukee’s slight lead. It’s sequences like this that can ultimately dictate the outcome of a series. Which team is going to make them? That’s one thing. Better yet: What player is going to step into somewhat unfamiliar territory to make plays that can change the complexion of a game?