Atlanta Hawks 2018-19 Season In Review: Kevin Huerter

Positives

We’ve touched on it before, and we’ll touch on it again, but it deserves to be said again: Kevin Huerter (aka Red Pepper) is a good shooter.

He has a quick release that allows him to catch, then fire with little down time. He also has the rare, yet significant ability to shoot coming off a screen, even with his body is not set. In the more traditional since, he was great waiting for his shot in the left corner, where he shot 45%.

He’s also not shy about setting and taking shots a few steps beyond the line:

Despite his prowess as a catch-and-shoot threat, Huerter also showed his ability to get his own shot.

According to NBA’s advanced stats, 22.8% of his made threes were unassisted, 2nd-most on the team behind Trae’s ludicrous 57.7%. (Trae has a strong case for Rookie of the Year, so lagging behind him in any category is no slight).

He was no slouch inside the arc either, but his mid-range game wasn’t really there. The 34% from there isn’t great, it’s hard to fault him too much for his lack of mid range scoring, since he really didn’t take much (.5 attempts a game).

If he’s not draining a three, he’s probably scoring around the rim, which he did with an assortment of contested and open dunks, or an occasional slippery drive for a lay-in.

Outside of shooting, Kevin had his moments on defense, and actually finished with the third-most defensive win shares on the team.

One of his most valuable skills is his court presence. He didn’t seem like a rookie out there for most the season, and that pays dividends in a multitude of ways. He can make those veteran-style plays while thinking on his feet that are so valuable in today’s NBA, whether that be firing a quick three, making a smart pass or knowing when to go for a steal.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1084570431179419651

It’s extremely impressive for the rookie to be able to has such the court presence that he does, and inspiring that it’s only going to get better.