According to Sarah K Spencer of AJC, the Atlanta Hawks are going to continue to have Cam Reddish come off the bench for at least the start of the season. Head Coach Nate McMillan announced this during the third day of training camp.
This is a smart move by the Hawks as they had some great success last season with the starting unit which contained Clint Capela, John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Trae Young. Assuming that he is healthy, De’Andre Hunter will be the other member of that group.
While there is a case to make for Reddish to start, it would be a mistake to break up their starting unit. Hunter was the Hawks’ second-best player prior to being injured which is why he needs to start next season, which only leaves Bogdanovic as the player Reddish can replace.
The Atlanta Hawks will want to assess what Reddish can bring this season.
The Hawks have a deep enough team that they can afford to spend some time seeing where Reddish fits in the rotation. He is too good to not garner some solid rotation minutes but it is going to take something major to happen before Reddish dispaces a starter.
Reddish has the ability to change the nature of a game on both ends of the court. His ability to defend the passing lanes is the best of the team. He also has the ability to form a defensive partnership with players like Hunter which will make the Hawks even harder to score against.
On the offensive end, when Reddish is in his stride he is hard to stop. If he can get his drives under control, then he is going to be a handful for most second units to stop. He has the ability to hit the long ball given how he played in his playoff debut against the Bucks.
If he is able to work himself into the best version of himself, then he has the chance to work his way into the starting lineup. To get there, barring injury, he is going to have to displace the team’s best wing defender or a top-ten 3-point shooter in the league. That means that he is going to bring something special to the table, making the Hawks’ contention undeniable.