Atlanta Hawks: 5 Takeaways from a 113-102 Downer in Charlotte

Jeremy Lin #7 of the Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
Jeremy Lin #7 of the Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Atlanta Hawks
Jeremy Lin #7 of the Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Jeremy Lin Trending Up

Jeremy Lin has quietly been improving for the Hawks off the bench. After a rough start where he struggled to find his footing in Atlanta’s quick-paced offense, he’s rattled off a few good games of late.

Not counting the Heat game were he took just 3 shots in 17 minutes, he’s had a great last 3 games.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1059992090061496320

After a season-low 9 minutes in Philly, Lin rebounded with 12 points and 8 assists in Cleveland. Next, in the embarrassing blowout loss to the Kings, Lin had 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Tonight he had a team-high 19 off the bench, making 7 of 9 from the field, and had 2 steals and 2 assists – all in just 18 minutes.

His stock is definitely headed in the right direction, and the slow start might have just been struggles from last year’s missed season. We’ll see if his play continues to improve.

Dewayne Dedmon Trending Down

Dedmon played his worst game of the season tonight, souring his 8 points with 5 fouls and 3 turnovers and was thoroughly outplayed by starting center Alex Len.

Even coming off his 15-point outburst in Miami, Dedmon has been up-and-down this season, with more downs. He’s shooting below 50%, which is well below his work from the previous two years, and he’s getting in foul trouble nearly every game… off the bench.

The skill set is there, and I like his added three-pointer, but he needs to be more consistent and disciplined. Alex Len has the starting center role on lockdown for now.