Atlanta Hawks: Kris Dunn needs to play against Russell Westbrook

The Atlanta Hawks are so close to returning to full strength at the right end of the season. They have listed De’Andre Hunter and Tony Snell as questionable, leaving only Cam Reddish as out in the latest injury report. Hunter is going to be a game-time decision for the Washington Wizards game.

Kris Dunn was able to recover from his ankle injury last month and played his first minutes as a member of the Hawks franchise. He is a defensive-minded point guard meaning that when the Hawks had all their weapons healthy, Dunn was not required to risk further injury.

However, this situation needs to change against the Wizards, especially with Bradley Beal being out with his hamstring issue sustained last game against the Indiana Pacers. This leaves Russell Westbrook as the biggest danger for the Hawks defense.

The Atlanta Hawks should play Kris Dunn against Russell Westbrook.

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Dunn is one of the best defensive point guards in the entire league, The Hawks have not benefitted from his services yet, however, when he is no longer on his minutes’ restrictions, Dunn is going to showcase his abilities.

This is why he needs to play against Westbrook, Dunn is able to play against the athletic point guard in a manner that not many other players can. He has the ability to slow Westbrook down, which is the key to limiting his effectiveness.

The way that Dunn plays Westbrook tends to get under his skin. There have been altercations between the two of them on the court due to Westbrook getting frustrated with his inability to impact the game.

Westbrook is going to find it even harder to influence the next game against the Hawks due to his fellow star Beal being out with his hamstring issue. This means that Westbrook is going to try and carry more on his shoulders to help the team. With Dunn harassing him as he does, this will be advantage Hawks.