Atlanta Hawks: Three Players to Watch After All-Star Break

Brandon Goodwin

Right before the break, the Hawks signed two-way guard Brandon Goodwin to a 2/year deal, converting him to the NBA squad full time. Despite now being under contract for next season, there’s no guarantee of him making it past Summer League, and he’ll need a good second half if he wants to be the back up point long term.

The thing is, he might not have a whole lot of time to do so.

31-year-old Jeff Teague continues to rack up minutes over Goodwin, and the two point guards play alongside each other regularly. Since Teague returned to Atlanta on January 18th, he’s averaged 21.9 minutes per game. Over the same stretch Goodwin has clocked just 13.5.

There is a chance that now that the Hawks have signed Goodwin out of a two-way that he’ll be playing more, but it’s hard to see many of Teague’s minutes go away.

With an career average of just 1.3 assists per game, Goodwin plays much more like a two guard, which the Hawks don’t have much depth at. Kevin Huerter and Treveon Graham are the only true shooting guards on the team, so if Goodwin gets minutes it could be at a different position. His 6-foot, 180 pound frame makes it hard for him to play anywhere but the one however.

It’s likely that Goodwin will have to take advantage of each and every minute he gets, and that kind of do-or-die attitude will make him very fun to watch down the stretch.

What to watch for:

• His role in rotation; getting more run at the two
• More assists while playing point
• Consistentcy from three.