The Atlanta Hawks 6th man and Italian marksman Marco Belinelli has gone missing in action after a brilliant start to the season in his 11th year.
His debut for the Atlanta Hawks saw Belinelli drop a cool 20 points in 26 minutes versus the Mavericks on 50% shooting and 4/6 from three. He later followed that up with a string of noteworthy performances against the Nets, Bulls, and Nuggets, all of which were off the bench.
But over the last three games Belinelli has found himself in some sort of limbo. He has gone down to playing under 20 minutes a night and was unable to hit any shots against both the Rockets and the Cavaliers.
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At the season’s commencement we thought that the Italian would be a valuable addition and be a calming force off the bench, but so far that has been discredited. Fellow bench brigadier John Collins has looked much more impressive in his opportunities as of late.
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Belinelli is in his 11th year in the NBA and is savvy veteran who is known for his deadly accuracy from three… when he actually connects. His one hamartia is that he is very streaky in his play. Some nights it’s like he can’t miss, and others he can’t buy a bucket to save his life.
Tonight’s game against the current top-seeded Celtics is of great importance for him, as he needs to find his rhythm again. The Hawks will need all the help they can get to defeat their rivals from Boston.
With injuries piling up for Atlanta, including a nagging achilles problem for himself, the Hawks need to rely on their bench more than ever. The starting quintet put in a hero’s performance last night against the Cavs, and will surely be a little tired tonight.
It is prime time for 6’5” 31-year-old from San Giovanni to come out of hiding and make an impact like all Hawks fans know he can. It only takes one shot to fall for a player to gain their confidence back, and for Belinelli that can create a domino effect of Atlanta truly competing against Boston tonight.
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Tipoff is at Philips Arena tonight at 7:30pm EST, and the game will be broadcast on FSSE-ATL. Hopefully Belinelli is ready to go; the Hawks need him in this massive encounter as they seek their first home win of the 2017-18 season.