Atlanta Hawks: 4 Takeaways from Strong Win vs. Pelicans

Huerter Was Hot

After a tough return from the All-Star break, rookie Kevin Huerter bounced back in a big way against the Pelicans and finished the night two points shy of his career-high of 29, which he set earlier in the season against the 76ers.

Huerter was feeling it, and with Trae Young suffering through an inefficient night (which we’ll get to shortly), Huerter was tasked with running the Atlanta Hawks offense. In that role, he performed admirably, and he finished the night with 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and +7 on/off rating. The Atlanta Hawks’ backcourt of the future looks to be in good shape with both Young and Huerter in the fold.

Huerter’s three-pointer looked great throughout, and he was also more aggressive going to the rim, which led to more drive-and-kick action. Red Pepper’s passing is always eye-openingly good, though perhaps his best highlight came courtesy of a rather poor pass to John Collins (you know what highlight is coming, but why not look at it again):

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsSouth/status/1104898710218162179

It’s so pretty!

Trae = Inefficient but Effective

Lastly, we couldn’t talk about this game without discussing the one and only Trae Young. After delivering an impressive triple-double last night against the Nets, Trae was ice cold for much of this game, and he finished the night by shooting 2 of 14 from the field. Yikes.

That being said, he did log his typical points-assists double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in a team-high 31 minutes.

It’s an impressive feat that the Atlanta Hawks were able to win this game with relative ease even with Trae Young shooting so poorly. While it might not help the team’s lottery odds (though the schedule might), it certainly bodes well for the future of this franchise if they can get an influx of talent via this offseason’s draft and free agency.

The Hawks play next on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. EST.