Everyone knows that the Atlanta Hawks have been struck by injury this season. Fortunately for the franchise, they have been deep enough to cover them, particularly since Nate McMillan took over as the interim head coach.
The Hawks have mainly been lucky that they have been able to have their franchise point guard on the floor most nights. When he missed games under Lloyd Pierce, the Hawks lost. However, in the three games that he has missed under McMillan, the Hawks have won.
A big part of this is that the Hawks have a system in place which rewards the next man up. In the three games that Young has missed recently, the Hawks have turned to third-year backup point guard Brandon Goodwin and he has not let them down.
The Atlanta Hawks need Brandon Goodwin to play like the pressure is on every game.
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The thing is, when Goodwin comes off the bench behind Young, he does not seem to have a good game. However, when Young is out and Goodwin knows that the team needs him, he produces in a big way and is a crucial piece to help them win.
When Young missed the Charlotte Hornets game earlier this month, Goodwin had 17 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in the win. The next night against the Raptors he had 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in that win.
Then, the game after Young goes down injured against a Miami Heat team looking to win the tiebreaker game, Goodwin produced 17 points, four assists, and three rebounds to help the Hawks win. The thing is Goodwin has only scored ten points or more three times this season.
It seems that when Goodwin gets in the mindset of needing to produce for the team, he does so. This shows that the talent is there, the Hawks just need to be able to unlock it on a nightly basis. If they can do this, then their quest for a full-time backup point guard may be over.