A quick peek into the season of Duke freshman sensation Cam Reddish and how he might fit on the Atlanta Hawks.
With plenty of hubbub surrounding either generational talent Zion Williamson or elite prospect R.J. Barrett of the Duke Blue Devils coming to the Atlanta Hawks, let’s not forget third banana Cam Reddish, who was the first of the Big 3 to commit to Duke, but has been overshadowed due to spotty play and an unusual role (for him) as the Chris Bosh to those two player’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
While that statement might sound hyperbolic, Duke’s Big 3 have shown a ton of collective potential as a unit, though the team did fall to an unranked Syracuse team with both Reddish and point guard (and steadying influence) Tre Jones out with injury.
A tough loss, but one that can be explained away for a terrific Duke team due to those key missing players:
Though that loss certainly blemishes the team’s resume, if they defeat Virginia on Saturday, all might be forgotten.
But back to Reddish. Let’s not let it slip our minds that it was Reddish, not Barrett or Williamson or Jones, who canned the game-winning triple against Florida State earlier this month:
One thing that Reddish has shown the ability to do is knock down the three-ball, even if his percentage has slipped to 35.8 due to an extended slump as the team’s Bosh-lite. Reddish’s three-point attempt rate is a sky-high 62.4 percent, so it’s clear that he is mostly being asked to stand in the corner or above the break and spot up for long-distance triples.
Though his numbers aren’t historically high like Williamson’s (cough cough, 41.6 Player Efficiency Rating, cough cough) or as voluminous as Barrett’s (28.5 PPG on 23.9 FGA per 40 minutes), Reddish would still play an important role for the Atlanta Hawks.
As a lanky, sweet-shooting wing for the Hawks, the team would have a secondary ballhandler and playmaker to go along with the more ball-dominant style of Trae Young. Reddish would be unleashed in Atlanta, which is exactly why Sam Vecenie of the Game Theory Podcast discussed the Atlanta Hawks as the best potential fit for Reddish on a recent RealGM Radio podcast with Danny Leroux.
While it would be tremendous to see Zion or R.J. on the Hawks, if Cam Reddish is the team’s consolation prize for winning a lot of basketball games recently, that would be a rather stupendous finish to a rebuilding season.