Atlanta Hawks: Did Bogdan Bogdanovic just put his hand up to start?
Due to the Atlanta Hawks trading Rajon Rondo for Lou Williams, neither player was available for the Hawks game against the Golden State Warriors. As a result, interim head coach Nate McMillan had to adjust his starting lineup to cover for this loss.
The move that he made was to take Kevin Huerter out of the starting lineup to run the second unit, replacing him with Bogdan Bogdanovic. There is a case to be made that this should be the starting lineup for the Hawks anyway as Bogdanovic is one of the better international shooters to come to the league.
While Bogdanovic ended the night as the only starter to not have a positive impact on the box score, he had a zero plus/minus, what he did do was start the game well. He also provides a quality second playmaker when the Warriors trapped Trae Young.
The positives for the Atlanta Hawks starting Bogdan Bogdanovic.
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Bogdanovic started the game hot against the Warriors. He had seven points in the first three minutes, allowing the Hawks to take an 11-5 lead, forcing the Warriors to take a timeout. He had outscored the Warriors by himself in this time.
Unfortunately for the Serbian shooting sensation, he would cool off as the game went on. He scored 11 points for the game but also had five key assists. He was 5-9 from the floor and 1-of-5 from deep. However, with Bogdanovic on the floor, trapping Young was an ineffective ploy for the Warriors, even when he is struggling with his shot
The Hawks have a number of options for their starting two-guard. Tony Snell has been effective for more than 200 games in the league as a starter at that position, Huerter has more than held his own in the position and Cam Reddish had the job at the start of the season.
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So why should Bogdanovic get the starting role? Of the players mentioned, Bogdanovic has the most complete offensive game to play alongside Young. He takes the pressure off the point guard in a way that no other member of the Hawks roster can.