Atlanta Hawks: Underrated Rookie Kevin Huerter Off to Hot Start

Statistical Profile vs. Teammates

While Huerter has played the fewest minutes of the three Hawks rookies in 2018-19, he  has probably done the most in his playing time and impressed the most – especially relative to expectations, which were rather lofty for Ice Trae.

New Hawks Coach Lloyd Pierce, for his part, has already expressed interest in getting Huerter more minutes in order for the talented rookie to hone his craft against the best competition in the world:

When comparing Huerter’s numbers to his teammates, it becomes clear that the Hawks made the right choice nabbing Huerter at #19 overall – especially when it comes to his shooting. Huerter’s three-point attempt rate is 63.3 percent, which means that of the shots Huerter takes in a given game, 63.3 percent of them will be threes. That rate is second only to NBA legend Vince Carter among the Atlanta Hawks.

That impressive rate is definitely a good thing for Kev, as he is shooting a lofty 47.4 percent from long-distance to start the season, which is tied for DeAndre’ Bembry among Hawks players. Of course, we’re dealing with small sample size theater, but both Bembry and Huerter have hit 9 of their 19 attempted triples.

Where Huerter is surprisingly effective is on the defensive boards, where his 21.1 percent defensive rebound rate is actually second on the team (tops among players who’ve played more than 100 minutes) behind Dewayne Dedmon.

Lastly, in a catch-all stat for Huerter’s all-around quiet effectiveness, he actually leads the Atlanta Hawks in net rating with a +12.4. That number makes Huerter the only qualified player on the Hawks with a positive net rating, the next-closest is Dedmon with a -2.3 net rating.