Early stat line predictions for Atlanta Hawks: Malcolm Delaney
The Atlanta Hawks season isn’t around the corner. But its not that far away either.
As we continue our player stat line predictions for the Atlanta Hawks, our next stop is at second year backup point guard Malcolm Delaney. Delaney was one of the best stories in the NBA when he came over to the states a year ago. Now he continues to try and prove his worth, this year he has much more to prove.
Malcolm Delaney
7.8 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.7 rebounds, 35% from long range
From the outside looking in, Malcolm Delaney looked lackluster last year. He averaged 5.4 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 rebounds. He also shot 23.6% from beyond the arc. Yes, these are horrible numbers to glare at. But it does not accurately represent Delaney’s potential on the court. The NBA is the only level where Delaney hasn’t looked like a good shooter. He’s literally been a sharpshooter his life.
At Virginia Tech he averaged 16.6 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds. He shot 36.3% from downtown on 5.3 attempts. He also shot 84.5% from the free throw line on 6.3 attempts. His collegiate career showed his versatility as a scorer. Internationally, Delaney’s numbers stayed consistent in comparison to his stats in college. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds. He shot 40.1% from the 3-point line on 5.0 attempts.
In other words, it’s only a matter of time before Delaney translates all that to the NBA. Not saying were going to get a breakout James Harden 6th man of the year type of season from Delaney but, he should make a leap in productivity. Sure, Malcolm Delaney is 28 years old. But he was an NBA rookie last season. And most people in their second year of the NBA are much more comfortable, especially playing for the Hawks.
You could tell Delaney was trying to fit into Coach Mike Budenholzer’s system as a pass-first point guard last year. That’s not his game. He’s a shooter and he needs to embrace that next season. It could really help the Hawks to have a second guard on the roster that could potentially be a shooting threat. This will open doors for other players. Expect Delaney to make progress and become Atlanta’s 6th man in the 2017-2018 NBA season.