Grading Every Hawks Player Through 30 Games

Isaiah Taylor
Grade: C

While he came on strong after signing with the Hawks early in the season, the play of Dennis Schröder’s backup has chilled of late – his trademark breakneck speed has steamrolled him into a few offensive fouls and foolhardy drives that lead to turnovers in recent games.

However, those same drives are what provide him with value for the Hawks, as 75 percent of his shots have come from two-point range and 59 percent of those are within 10 feet of the basket – usually high-percentage shots for a good finisher like Taylor.

Defensively, Taylor is a vast improvement over Dennis Schröder as he uses his low center of gravity and stout physique to stop ballhandlers on the perimeter and his active hands and fleet feet to get after loose balls and steals.

Malcolm Delaney
Grade: C-

Malcolm Delaney was miscast last year as a backup point guard. Once the team acquired Isaiah Taylor to fill that role early this season, Delaney was moved into an off-ball, two guard position that more matches his skill set.

Delaney is averaging 5.0 points, 2.0 assists and 18.1 minutes per game through 381 minutes in 21 games. His year has largely been forgettable, though he did have some nice moments early playing side-by-side with Taylor as the backup backcourt.