Atlanta Hawks: The impact of Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter missing more time
The Atlanta Hawks released their injury report prior to the second game of the Philadelphia 76ers and there were some familiar names on it. Not only are Kris Dunn and Brandon Goodwin still on the list. There are also two names still on it that could make a big difference in this series.
These two names are De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish. Reddish is still listed as out due to his right Achillies soreness which has kept him out of the lineup for the last three-and-a-half months. The Hawks have managed to cover his loss for this time but they need to deal with his loss in this series.
The problem in this series is that they are not playing against a regular point guard. They are playing against the 6’10” Ben Simmons whose ability to overpower smaller point guards is a big reason for the success of the Hawks.
The Atlanta Hawks need some bigger defenders
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Reddish is 6’8″ and is one of the better on-ball defenders on the team. Not only does he have the ability to get into the passing lanes, but he can also be a bigger body to defend Simmons. This means that he cannot overpower his defender as easily. He can also switch onto Tobias Harris easily, helping curtail the 76ers’ second-best scorer.
The Hawks are still managing his injury, and winning the first game of this series makes it easier to hold him out. They can still afford to lose the second game and still hold the home-court advantage.
Hunter had a tremendous defensive series against the New York Knicks. He had a huge role in shutting down the Knicks’ engine, Julius Randle. He could also help defend Simmons and Harris, which would have the impact of stopping a large portion of the 76ers offense.
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At the moment the Hawks are using Solomon Hill as a starter to help on the defensive end. The reserve minutes are being split between Kevin Huerter and Tony Snell. This has worked to a point, but the 76ers are going to adjust to this and make life harder for the Hawks.