Power Ranking Every Atlanta Hawks Player During the 2017 Playoffs
By Nile Goodwyn
5. Kent Bazemore
Bazemore’s transition from starting small forward to the sixth man, deployed at three positions, worked wonders during the playoffs.
His 3.0 plus-minus was the highest on the team by 1.8 points, with Ilyasova and Calderon tied for second with 1.2. These three, along with Dunleavy, were the only Hawks with positive plus-minuses. While this is mostly a testament to how poor the Wizards’ bench is, there is something to be said that Bazemore was one of the only players that made the Hawks “better” when he was on the court. During the series, he showed that he could be the Hawks’ jack-of-all-trades in the future, with Taurean Prince likely becoming the starting small forward as soon as next season.
Bazemore ranked within the top five for the Hawks in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, and three-pointers made during the playoffs, a feat matched by no other player on the roster. As he settled into being the No. 1 option off the bench for the Hawks, he assumed much of the ball-handling responsibilities, an assignment which he somewhat struggled with, averaging 3.3 assists and 2.7 turnovers per game. This was one of the first instances in which Bazemore was given point guard responsibilities since his time at Old Dominion, where he last played in 2012, making some struggles defensible.
4. Taurean Prince
If there were a Playoff edition of the Rookie of the Year award, Taurean Prince would likely be the frontrunner.
Much has been said about the Playoffs being his breakout, and this is true. Pre-All-Star Break, Prince averaged just over three points a game in only 10.7 minutes per game. After the break, he put up 8.4 points per game in 24 minutes, starting 10 of his 26 games. In the playoffs, Prince started all six games, playing 31.2 minutes per game and scoring 11.2 points per game, a number that led all rookies. Otto Porter‘s point per game ratio dropped nearly four points from the regular season to the playoffs, with Prince as his primary matchup.
3. Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard was likely the most scrutinized player in the entire league during the first round of the playoffs. Even as he grabbed the second-most rebounds of any player during the opening round, he was still scrutinized for “disappearing”. Howard attempted only 36 shots, one less than Marresse Speights of the Clippers, who played nearly 60 minutes less than Howard.
Howard ranked second in both defensive rebound percentage and total rebound percentage, only behind DeAndre Jordan. In nearly 12 more minutes per game, Jordan averaged only 3.7 more rebounds per game. Jordan and Howard are arguably the same players on offense, lacking any meaningful post game, yet still making for a great inside scorer by means of athleticism. Jordan was rewarded with 8.7 attempts per game, while Howard was limited to only six.
Howard would have likely been the first or second best Hawk in the playoffs if he was given touches and minutes comparable to that of other elite centers.