Atlanta Hawks Have Backcourt of the Future in Trae Young & Kevin Huerter

The Young/Huerter Backcourt

According to Cleaning the Glass’s lineup on/off data, we can see just how effective lineups that feature Trae at point guard and Huerter at shooting guard are.

So far this season, there have been 774 possessions (non-garbage time) that feature that lineup dynamic. Two numbers that automatically pop off the page are an excellent 115.1 points per possession with Young and Huerter in the backcourt.

Even more impressive is an amazing 58.7 percent effective field goal percentage with a Young/Huerter backcourt, which is in the 99th percentile of all lineups in the league.

Digging a bit deeper into those numbers and baking in Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce’s focus on a more modern shot profile, the Hawks 40.1 percent three-point attempt rate with a Young/Huerter backcourt is in the 93rd percentile across the NBA.

Though a 36.4 percent at-rim attempt rate is only in the 52nd percentile, the team is shooting a sterling 67.7 percent at the rim (good for 91st percentile) when Ice Trae and Red Pepper share the backcourt.

Furthermore, they shoot quite well on long two-pointers (44.6%, 83rd percentile) and their three-point shooting in those lineup configurations is exceptional.

While their shooting from corner threes (44%) is actually only in the 86th percentile, lineups with a Young/Huerter backcourt are bombing at a 40.2 percent clip when not in the corners and 41.2 percent on all three-pointers – both of which are good enough for the 96th percentile.

The Atlanta Hawks have an amazing young core, and that’s not even included whoever the team obtains in the 2019 NBA Draft nor any young players that are brought in via free agency this offseason. It’s a great time to be an Atlanta Hawks fan, and with Young and Huerter here for many years, it should only get better.