Atlanta Hawks: DeAndre’ Bembry Making The Most Of His Minutes
One of the Atlanta Hawks’ rookies has started receiving more playing time. He’s making the most of his increase in minutes.
It’s easy to form an intense basketball crush on a rookie. They’re full of untapped potential. Fans can let their imaginations run wild, picturing a superstar career for a young player before they have even stepped foot on the court.
Of course, as we know, these visions don’t always come true. For every young player that becomes a superstar, there are several players that fall completely out of the NBA within a few seasons. Somewhere in between stardom and obscurity lies the valuable role players that build the core of franchises all across the league.
The Atlanta Hawks believe they have one of those foundation building pieces in rookie DeAndre’ Bembry. The Hawks selected Bembry with the 21st overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. That pick was primarily met with kind words.
Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated praised the pick at the time, giving the Hawks an A in his draft grades column.
"Grade: A. This is pretty much an ideal fit for Bembry, whose terrific passing ability and well-rounded game are philosophically in line with what the Hawks like to do. His feel for the floor is beyond his years, and he can do a bit of everything for you, with his three-point shot the only real bit of doubt. With Bembry and Taurean Prince, they’ve injected youth and talent on the wing and added two players who won’t be overwhelmed next season. Whether Al Horford stays or goes, the Hawks make two solid moves for the future"
Heading into the regular season, there was plenty of optimism among fans and writers alike regarding Bembry and fellow first round pick Taurean Prince. However, Bembry and Prince both struggled to find the court early in the season. The Hawks are a team focused on making the playoffs, sometimes developing rookies does not mesh well with that plan.
Over the last few games, Bembry seems to have carved out a role for himself in the rotation. He’s played at least 17 minutes in Atlanta’s last five games, and has played over 20 minutes in three of those contests. Over that span, Bembry is averaging 6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game on 50 percent from the field.
His best offensive game came on Feb.2 against the Houston Rockets. He scored 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting that night, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing two assists in 21 minutes. His line was nearly identical Feb. 8 against the Denver Nuggets. Bembry played 17 minutes against Denver, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Woo’s draft night scouting report on Bembry has held true this season. The first thing you notice about Bembry is his exceptional court vision. He’s not necessarily a point guard, yet he has willingness to pass like one and an ability to find his teammates for open looks.
Here he runs a pick and roll with Dwight Howard which results in an easy dunk.
On this possession he finds Tim Hardaway Jr. in transition for an open three-pointer.
He’s also an excellent cutter. When he gets an open look at the rim he usually finishes it.
The primary criticism of Bembry entering into the season was his lack of an outside shot. He’s failed to make a three-pointer this season, so he still has work to do on his jumper.
I’ve been most impressed with Bembry’s defense during this stint. As you might have heard, he held James Harden to six points during the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s comeback win over the Houston Rockets. In a recent article by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Bembry made it clear that he won’t back down from any defensive challenge. In the same piece, Mike Budenholzer spoke about Bembry’s new role in Atlanta’s defense.
"“With Thabo still not able to go, he’s been our fourth wing,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “(Saturday) it was Fournier. He has been a big, big problem for us. Starting (Bazemore) on him, that’s a luxury to have both Thabo and Baze as wing defenders. We’ve been just given Baze a good little start each quarter and then DeAndre came first tonight to guard Fournier. He did well. I think he is putting his focus on his defense and putting his focus on getting us stops and fueling our offense that way.”"
Bembry’s role may decrease once Sefolosha is healthy, obviously, but this recent stretch of playing time could be huge for his overall development. Bembry knows he can play, and play well, in the NBA. That will help him moving forward.
Next: Hawks Defeat Denver Nuggets
It’s safe to say that Bembry has taken full advantage of his recent opportunity. His future is most certainly bright.