Wing Stop: Lemon Pepper or Honey Garlic?
How Atlanta Formed The Perfect Wing Duo
You can never have too many wings. Whether that’s in the form of star forwards in the NBA or the famously delicious Magic City lemon pepper wings, it’s always a good problem to have a lot of them. That is what the Atlanta Hawks had in mind when they drafted two forwards within the first ten picks of the 2019 draft, Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter.
Reddish was the third-ranked player in the 2018 high school class, while Hunter, on the other hand, was only the seventy-second player in the 2016 class. Reddish decided to join up with high school superstars Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett at Duke. However, he went on to have a rather lackluster collegiate career which had many wondering why the Hawks drafted him where they did. He averaged 13.5 points on 33% shooting from the three-point line. Regardless of high school rankings or whom he shared the floor with, these are the type of numbers that can drive a prospect entirely out of the lottery. It was Cam’s defense that had Atlanta scouts salivating. Reddish stands at 6’8, with a 7’1” wingspan; these measurements, mixed with the proper amount of talent, leads to defensive savants such as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. While being the lower-ranked high school player, Hunter went on to have a stellar two years at the University of Virginia. He won the ACC Sixth Man of the Year and was named to the ACC All-Freshman first team. His second year was much of the same, averaging 15.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. He also led UVA to the Championship, where he scored 27 points and hit a game-tying three-pointer with 12.9 seconds left in the game in an 85-77 victory. Again though, it was Hunter’s defense that set him apart from his peers.
Both Cam and De’Andre showed promise in their rookie years, but it was Hunter who gained a more significant role on the team, eventually earning a starting spot. At the same time, this may have been nothing to brag about on the lowly 2019 Hawks. The defense once again put a spotlight on De’Andre. Most rookies struggle a lot with defense, as the speed of the game and skill of the players are entirely different from college. Hunter did away with this theory, consistently playing well against the opposing team’s best player. He averaged 12 points and 4 rebounds on 41% shooting from the field. Reddish showed flashes on both ends; however, the efficiency was just not there. He proved to be a risky defender, jumping passing lanes and constantly reaching on ball handlers. Reddish averaged 10 points and 3.7 rebounds on 38% shooting from the field. Both players showed improvements in their second year across the board. Hunter showed an ability to take over games, posting a new career-high of 33 points. Throughout the season, he was the secondary shot creator for the Hawks. Reddish also improved with both his efficiency and defensive consistency. Sadly, the 2020 season was marred by injuries for both Reddish and Hunter, playing only 59 games combined. Both got a chance to come back in the playoffs, and neither player disappointed. In the first round versus the New York Knicks, De’Andre Hunter put on a defensive clinic against Julius Randle, who was in the running for the most improved player of the year all season. Randle averaged 24 points and 6 assists entering the playoffs but was held to 18 points, 4 assists on 4.6 turnovers, on a horrendous 29.8% from the field. De’Andre was the primary defender on Randle for most of the series, and while the rest of the Hawks did a magnificent job helping, Hunter took away everything Randle wanted to do. Sadly, he was met with injury again and could not play the rest of the postseason following the Knicks series. Hunter finished the five-game series averaging 10.8 points, 4 rebounds, and an incredible 100.3 defensive rating, which would’ve been the highest in that statistic in the 2020 regular season. Flash forward to the Eastern Conference Finals, and it is now Reddish’s turn to perform. The stats from the Buck’s series may seem like nothing to write home about, 12.8 points, 1.5 steals, and 4 rebounds, but it was Cam’s last game that put everyone on notice. In an elimination game that featured a hobbled Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic, no De’Andre Hunter, and a fully healthy Buck’s team, Cam stepped up big time. He stuffed the stat sheet, putting up 21 points on a ridiculous 6/7 from three, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal—quite the showing for a second-year player who many were ready to call a bust. Now, the sky’s the limit for both these young stars, who will have an entire offseason to train for next season.
