Prince had a great fourth to inspire some confidence going forward, and he finished with 3 steals, a block and 28 points on 10-15 shooting in just 23 minutes. A genuine highlight performance in an otherwise bleak night.
Trae Young had his first career 20-point game, making 4 of his 9 attempts from deep. Bazemore’s team-high 8 rebounds were the only saving grace of his otherwise horrid night. he clocked 22 minutes with just 3 points and 5 fouls.
While the signing of 41-year-old Vince Carter was fun in August, the novelty will wear off quick if he continues putting up games like these. No way around it, he was simply a liability on D tonight. It might not be his fault totally, as he should not be starting in 2018, let alone at the power forward position. His -18 box plus/minus was the worst on the team at night’s end.
Jeremy Lin only played 17 minutes, as Bembry (12 points, 5 turnovers) ran the point when Young was on the bench in the third, another interesting rotation move by Pierce.
Final Takeaways:
- Kevin Huerter played 13 minutes and recorded his first professional points.
- Alex Poythress had a mostly good day, nabbing 7 boards (4 offensive) with 8 points, a steal and a block. He also fouled out.
- DeAndre’ Bembry nearly led the team in minutes with 32 off the bench.
- Alex Len finished with a box plus/minus of +2, the only Atlanta Hawks starter in the positive, despite not passing the eye test.
Losing back-to-back by double digits is no way to start a season, but help should be on its way soon, as both John Collins and Dedmon look to return by the end of the month.
The Hawks will try again for their first win of the year on Sunday, when they take on the Cavs in Cleveland.