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Atlanta Hawks: End of Season Awards

By Tyler Sellers

May 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of t-shirts on the seats prior to game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
May 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of t-shirts on the seats prior to game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 7, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Taurean Prince (12) gets a hand to the face from Cleveland Cavaliers forward Channing Frye (8) as he drives past forward LeBron James (23) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Hawks won 114-100. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Taurean Prince (12) gets a hand to the face from Cleveland Cavaliers forward Channing Frye (8) as he drives past forward LeBron James (23) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Hawks won 114-100. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Rookie of the Year: Taurean Prince

It took some time, but Prince has risen to prominence up the ranks of the Hawks rotation. He played 59 games and started in 10 of them. During the first 10 games of the season, he appeared in just five of them.

In the month of December, he did not play due to coach’s decision in 10 of a possible 20 games. Coach Budenholzer’s system can’t exactly be described as a friendly environment for a rookie to excel in.

Many prospects who go in unfamiliar to the offense and defense strategies that Budenholzer has in place do not have as smooth of a transition into the mix as Prince did.  It usually takes a few demotions to the D-league, significant hardship and humbling experience before an outsider earns playing time.

Taurean did, of course, have a couple of stints in the league of development, but it felt more like an opportunity to get him needed reps instead of a demotion. He had a 27 point game in Brooklyn with their minor league team and looked like the best player on the court more often than not.

Apr 6, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Taurean Prince (12) attempts a shot against Boston Celtics forward Amir Johnson (90) in the first quarter of their game at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Taurean Prince (12) attempts a shot against Boston Celtics forward Amir Johnson (90) in the first quarter of their game at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

Prince posted a line of statistics that included 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. He has quite a bit of potential as a scorer, succeeding on 39.9 percent of his field goals, 32.4 percent from 3- point territory and 78.7 percent of his free throws.

For a portion of the season, former Kansas Jayhawks star Joel Embiid was the runaway favorite to win the rookie of the year awards. He displayed a unique set of skills from a center that is rarely seen.

Had he not suffered yet another season-ending injury, the Philadelphia 76ers might have made the playoffs. But he did, and only wound up playing in 31 total games which likely guarantees his omission from contention.

One of the prime candidates to receive the award is the Bucks’ Malcolm Brogdon. He wasn’t selected until early in the second round, 36th overall. He is a local product that was born in  Atlanta and played for the Trojans of Greater Atlanta Christian high school in Norcross, GA.

For a rookie, his averages are pretty impressive. At 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists on a playoff team, he may be the frontrunner to take it.

The field is limited at best, and the 76ers Dario Saric is his best competition. His teammate, no. 1 pick Ben Simmons, has diluted the pool of rookies, by missing the season because of injury.

Brandon Ingram also had a decent showing after the Lakers took him with the 2nd overall pick. He averaged 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds.

Next: Atlanta Hawks Player Appraisal: Mike Muscala

If Prince was instantly inserted into the starting lineup, I’m confident he would’ve won the award. Unfortunately for him, Atlanta was interested in winning every possible game. Their record for games Prince played in was 28-31.

Information from ESPN, Basketballreference.com, Wikipedia, Teamrankings.com, Sportingcharts.com and NBA.com was used in this article 

 

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