The Atlanta Hawks have battled injuries all season. So, why would the playoffs be any different? Bogdan Bogdanovic missed the second half of the Philadelphia 76ers game with knee soreness. He had struggled from the floor in both Game 5 and Game 6 so this could explain part of it.
Prior to that, his shooting in the first quarter had kept the Hawks in games, despite most of the others around him being cold from the floor. Now, if he does miss the pivotal Game 7, the Hawks are going to need someone to replicate his production.
However, they are also going to need another body on the floor to take some of the minutes that Bogdanovic’s absence opens up. While Solomon Hill, who has been doing everything for the team this season, and Tony Snell could fill some of these, why not play Cam Reddish for some of the time, just to see what he can do.
The Atlanta Hawks need Cam Reddish’s size and defense.
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Standing 6’8″ Reddish is a good size to defend four of the five 76ers starters. Putting him on to stop Joel Embiid might be asking a little too much of the second-year man out of Duke. However, his ability to get into the passing lanes could also stop some of the ball from getting into their superstar.
He has the ability to stay with Seth Curry if he continues to shoot the ball from the perimeter the way that he has. He is also of the size to be able to defend Simmons on-on-one, giving John Collins a break at times so that he can be more effective on offense.
The 76ers’ second-best scoring option is Tobias Harris and Reddish is built for that matchup. While his offense maybe a little bit of a concern given that he was struggling from the floor before he was injured, Reddish’s defense will cover that issue.
If given the opportunity, Cam Reddish should certainly be able to make an impact this postseason. In a Game 7 where the Hawks are potentially down a key piece, it makes sense to give him some court time to see if he can help the Hawks advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in six years.