Atlanta Hawks: Underrated Rookie Kevin Huerter Off to Hot Start

A deep-dive into Atlanta Hawks rookie Kevin Huerter’s first 8 games of the season after an injury scare against the Sacramento Kings.

When the Atlanta Hawks selected Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft, it was clear that the team was putting a premium on one of the most important skills an NBA player can possess: shooting.

Young’s long-range bombing was known far and wide, as his Oklahoma highlight vids still make for goosebumps-inducing viewing over a year later. Spellman, too, has a sweet stroke for a hulking big man and his efforts helped to lead Villanova to its 2nd title in 3 years.

The more unsung selection the Atlanta Hawks made occurred with the 19th overall pick – which ended up being Kevin Huerter.

Huerter’s stock rose considerably during the pre-draft process, as teams were impressed with his makeup and versatile, modern skill set that would be fairly malleable for almost any team in the league.

After 8 games for The Big Huert, the returns have been fairly impressive and any Hawks fans should be happy that Huerter is on the team.

We’ve outlined some of his most impressive stats, as well as some of his more impressive skills.

(Note: The latest news on Huerter is that he has no significant injury after colliding/being run into by Buddy Hield of the Kings. His status for the Hawks next game against the Heat is unknown as of writing.)

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.

Statistical Profile vs. Rookies

Though Huerter’s numbers are a bit clouded due to the messy nature of early-season statistics, he compares favorably to some of the best rookies in the league – including his teammate Trae Young, who continues to put up excellent numbers (though his performances have been up-and-down of late).

Among fellow rookies, Huerter’s plus/minus numbers (a +3.3 per game) are among the best of his peers, behind only Donte DiVincenzo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Bruce Brown (who has played 40 fewer minutes than Huerter).

Again, Huerter’s shooting is perhaps his most notable trait when compared to his peers. Huerter is second among all rookies in three-point percentage with a whopping 47.4 percent, hitting 9 of his 19 triples. That rate is behind only #2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III – though don’t get too excited as Bagley has only attempted 9 three-pointers all season. Again, small sample size caveats apply for all these numbers.

For his size (6-foot-7, 190 pounds), Huerter is also a gifted rebounder. His total rebounds per game (3.6) and defensive rebounds per game (2.9) rank as tied for 12th and 11th among all rookies this season. For someone who is so slight of frame, Huerter can really outjump guys and sky for rebounds unexpectedly.

Lastly, Huerter has been supremely efficient in his scoring. Among qualified rookies, Huerter’s 60.6 true shooting percentage (which aggregates field goal, three-point and free throw percentage) is third – behind only lottery picks DeAndre Ayton (64.0%) and Miles Bridges (63.7%).

The Eye Test

While Huerter’s first game of the season saw him only play 4:35, the next six games on the Atlanta Hawks schedule saw Huerter play at least 15 minutes, up until his injury scare against the Kings.

Though The Big Huert was able to hit a triple in that one (despite only playing 1:27), it sounds as if the injury is not that serious and more of a minor ankle sprain than anything else:

That’s good news, as watching Huerter play has been one of the more rewarding elements of Atlanta Hawks viewership this season. While Ice Trae is certainly the headliner with his eye-catching deep treys and his beautiful hit-ahead outlet passes and no-look dimes all over the court, Huerter has perhaps impressed even more in a rather understated way.

Again, Huerter’s athleticism is vastly underrated, as he has shown in-game:

Huerter is also extremely decisive on the court, which means he can translate his length, speed and athleticism into nifty transition plays like this sweet alley-oop to Kent Bazemore:

That length, athleticism and leaping ability often evinces itself in grab-and-go scenarios for Huerter, where he also shows off a nifty handle and smooth ballhandling skills. He has also taken multiple threes off the dribble to good results, so keep an eye on that in the future.

As has been stated ad infinitum at this point, Huerter’s shooting is his best strength, and he has already three triples in a game twice so far in his rookie season.

Who knows, he might break Klay Thompson’s 14 triples in a game mark next!

The Atlanta Hawks seem to find an absolute gem in the mid-to-late first round ever year: Huerter (#19) in 2018, John Collins (#19) in 2017 and Bembry (#21) in 2016. Huerter, so far, has outperformed his draft spot and looks to be a tremendous player for the team going forward. We can’t wait to watch him all year.