The Atlanta Hawks are struggling in the early going of the 2021-22 season. They have yet to find the same consistency and success that propelled them into the Eastern Conference Finals in last season’s postseason.
The Hawks are currently 4-8. They have played a lot of games on the road, which could be part of the reason for their struggles as things have not yet begun clicking. There are a few reasons for the lack of success, but the bench unit is certainly one of them.
The Hawks have a ton of depth, as they are one of the deepest teams in the NBA. Alas, some injuries have kept the second unit from building chemistry and cohesion as the starting five has been able to do.
Leading that second unit thus far this season is Cam Reddish. The third-year wing player is performing better thus far this season than he has yet to in his career. He is healthy and knocking down 38.9 percent of his 3-pointers, scoring 12.3 points per game.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Time To Worry About Atlanta Hawks After Slow Start To Season?
But, when taking a deeper dive into the statistics, Reddish is not doing much to help the team win games. He is forcing a lot of difficult shots up, which is resulting in some very poor shooting numbers according to Zach Lowe.
“Reddish has made only 30% on career pull-up 3s, and 33% of pull-up 2s — not enough to justify inside the arc and hoisting with plenty of time on the shot clock.”
The former Duke product is attempting about four of those pull-up shots per game. When you are as inefficient at connecting on them as Reddish has been, those are wasted possessions. He would be doing more for the team if he attacked the basket more or did a little more playmaking.
As Lowe also pointed out, Reddish has only 10 assists in 12 games. That is very difficult to do, especially when you have a usage rate as high as he does.
Atlanta has also been brutal with Reddish on the court. He cannot solely be blamed for all of the struggles, as the second unit has lacked a scoring punch, but the numbers certainly aren’t encouraging.
“The Hawks have scored 117.3 points per 100 possessions with Reddish on the bench, and 95.9 when he plays — larger than the gap between the league’s best and worst offenses.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Time To Worry About Atlanta Hawks After Slow Start To Season?
If the Atlanta Hawks are going to get back on track, having Cam Reddish adjust his game slightly will help. The team as a whole is struggling to get going, but small tweaks along the way, such as Reddish passing on long, pull-up twos in favor of attacking the basket or dishing to a teammate, would go a long way.
