Coming into the 2021-22 season, the Atlanta Hawks boasted one of the deepest rosters across the league. It was this perfect blend of youth and veteran leadership, that led the franchise to its second Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the last six years. The first half of the ’21-22 season has not exactly panned out like Hawks fans thought it might. A myriad of injuries and a horrible bout with Covid-19, has made the Hawks utilize line-ups and players no one would ever think would see on an NBA court. Because of this, the Hawks are currently out of the playoff picture. Believe it or not, there may be a silver lining for this rough stretch. The front office and coaching staff have gotten a deeper look at some of the talent on this team and have been able to provide extra minutes to players, due to the lack of depth.
The Hawks are stuck in the limbo of whether to develop talent or to win-now. Last year’s Eastern Conference Finals berth has accelerated an argument for the latter, instead of focusing on the developmental processes, even with how young the team is. The average age for a player on this current roster is right about league average, at 26.5 years old, with many of the core players falling under that mark (i.e. Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, Onyeka Okongwu, Cam Reddish, or De’Andre Hunter). The perfect scenario is to keep winning while developing at the same time, but after this latest round of Covid-19 cases something has changed. The Hawks found their starter for the here-and-now and for the future, and that player is none other than Cam Reddish.
Reddish came into the league as a question mark, having not lived up to his expectations at Duke, while playing third fiddle to Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett. In his tenure with the Hawks, Reddish has already become a polarizing player for the fanbase: some argue he should start now, others may argue he needs to keep developing off the bench, and others would like to see him as part of a robust trade package to bring a bona fide star. Reddish finally got a stretch of games to prove his worth as a starter due to the lack of players available from Covid-19, and it looks like he is ready for the permanent jump into the starting rotation.
For argument’s sake, any game where Reddish played 28 minutes and above, will be considered “starters’ minutes.” See below for those games & any game where he did not start, but met the 28-minute threshold is italicized below:
- Against the Utah Jazz (11/9/21): 30 minutes played/16 points on 50% shooting/minus 11 +/- rating
- Against the Memphis Grizzlies (11/26/21): 28 minutes played/14 points on 40% shooting/plus 4 +/1 rating
- Against the Orlando Magic (12/22/21): 42 minutes played/34 points on 48% shooting/minus 18 +/- rating
- Against the Philadelphia 76ers (12/23/21): 28 minutes played/18 points on 54% shooting/plus 13 +/- rating **Reddish left early because of a sprained ankle in this game**
- Against the New York Knicks (12/25/21): 34 minutes played/10 points on 27% shooting/minus 18 +/- rating
- Against the Chicago Bulls (12/27/21) 40 minutes played/33 points on 48% shooting/ minus 6 +/- rating
- Against the Chicago Bulls (12/29/21) 31 minutes played/14 points on 36% shooting/minus 22 +/1 rating
- Against the Cleveland Cavaliers (12/31/21) **Reddish left early because of a sprained ankle in this game; this will be omitted from the overall stat-line due to Reddish not meeting the minimum threshold of 28 minutes [played 10 minutes before exiting], but Reddish was a scheduled starter for this game**
- Against the Sacramento Kings (1/6/22) 37 minutes played/18 points on 37% shooting/minus 1 +/- rating
- When given starters’ minutes: 19.6ppg on 42.5% shooting/33.8mpg/Average +/- rating: minus 7.4
Given the numbers above, it is obvious the +/- rating is the most glaring case against
Reddish as a starter. Plus/minus should be taken with a grain of salt, as Reddish matches up defensively against the top offensive talents from the opposing teams. If he was guarding G-league players and journeymen, exclusively, then this would be more alarming, but that is not the case. Reddish, at age 22, is a near-20-point scorer when given the minutes, already scores at all three-levels, and he still has room to grow. This is the missing piece the Hawks have been looking for and the perfect fit alongside Trae Young.
There could be fair arguments given for Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter. Starting with Bogi, the same threshold of at least 28 minutes played will apply, he splits out as: 13.5ppg on 42.5% shooting/31.4mpg/Average +/- rating: minus 2.0. His plus/minus is a better overall but it is still negative, plus the shooting splits are very underwhelming when compared to Reddish. Bogdanovic is also not guarding the best player on the other team every night like Reddish.
Next with Huerter, who will be judged using that same metrics as Reddish and Bogdanovic, splits out as: 15.1ppg on 49% shooting/34.1mpg/Average +/1 rating: plus 1.8. Just looking at the splits between Bogi and Huerter, there is a legitimate argument that Huerter should be a mainstay in the starting lineup, but neither are overwhelming favorites over Reddish. Huerter is an efficient scorer and his positive plus/minus helps his case. Much like Bogdanovic, Huerter is not guarding the best players in the league consistently enough, like Reddish and Hunter. Given the sample size and watching Reddish grow in front of our eyes, it is hard not to push this agenda.
The Hawks selected Reddish in the lottery and it is time to see what the franchise has in the young player. He is making the most of his opportunities, and even the eye-test can show that this guy has the potential to be elite in today’s NBA. Only time will tell if this is the year Reddish takes that next step, but all indications are that he is ready to take-off.
What do you guys think? Should Reddish start, come off the bench or be trade bait? Let us know with your comments below!
