Kent Bazemore
Longtime Hawk Kent Bazemore logged three games this season in which he had a game score higher than 20. It must be noted that two of them occurred in the first 2 months of the season, which shows that Baze was not able to keep up the consistently effective play he showcased in the 2017-18 season, when he was one of the Atlanta Hawks’ best players.
Baze’s best game of the year had to be in the Doncic/Young Bowl – the Hawks’ first home game of the season in which Trae and Luka Doncic, the two players that were traded for one another in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Though Young and Doncic played each other to about a standstill (and both deserved to be named Rookie of the Year at season’s end), Baze was a major reason why the Hawks bested Dallas in that October 24th game.
Kent finished with 32 points on a highly efficient 12 of 22 shooting with 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. When Baze is at his best, he is stuffing the stat sheet and playing terrific defense on the other end, and that was certainly the case in this one.
Kevin Huerter
Kevin Huerter, aka the beloved Red Pepper, had a strong rookie campaign in which he was a darling of various advanced metrics, and he accrued two games with a game score above 20.
Notably, both of them came in wins against quality opponents of the 76ers and Pelicans (before they started tanking hard). Red Pepper’s best game, however, was against those Sixers – a game in which he hit multiple clutch shots down the end and finished with a career-high of 29 points.
Huerter is a quiet scorer, but he when he erupts it can be indelible – much as it was in this one. Big Huert was extremely efficient too, going 11 of 17 from the field and 5 of 8 from deep against a strong 76ers squad. Huerter’s terrific rookie season, typified by this game, bodes well for the future of the Atlanta Hawks.