Atlanta Hawks: All-Star Break Assessment

A Breakout Season

Tim Hardaway Jr.’s Hawks career has been interesting to say the least. The organization acquired him for a first round pick during the summer of 2015 and his first season down south was a struggle. Early in that 2015-16 campaign, Hardaway found himself inactive or in the D-League several times.

He couldn’t crack the rotation, let alone develop into an impact player. People that panned the trade at the time looked as though they would be proven right. He turned things around towards the second half of that season, and in the early part of this season, but there were still rumors that the team was looking to move him for a few second round pick at this season’s trade deadline.

Then January and February happened. Hardaway has been outstanding in the new year. In 15 January games Hardaway averaged 14.5 points per game on 46 percent shooting and 41 percent from three-point range. In eight February games he’s averaging 19.5 points per game on 48.2 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range.

He’s become a dynamic scorer and an important role player for Atlanta. He has even been an occasional starter due to Thabo Sefolosha’s injury. Hardaway being a reliable starter on this Hawks team would have been unthinkable just one year ago.

If his stellar play continues the Hawks will have an interesting decision to make in the summer. If he keeps playing the way he has played in 2017 Atlanta can’t afford to lose him. Athletic wings that can finish at the rim and shoot above league average from three-point range don’t grow on trees.