The Atlanta Hawks are a very respectable 3-2 to start the new campaign. After their 122-111 loss to the Washington Wizards, however, it might feel like the situation is worse than that. That’s primarily because of how that loss happened. Their defense had its breakdowns, sure. But the Hawks let their frustrations with the officiating get the better of them.
After the game, Nate McMillan spoke on the team needing to let that stuff go. Trae Young said, “There’s a lot of missed calls…it’s frustrating”.
Young has been one of the least affected by the league’s tweaks on shooting fouls despite being one of the poster children for “unnatural movements” in the eyes of many. He is averaging just 1.1 fewer points per game despite shooting about half as many free throws as last season.
One player who might be struggling to adjust to the tweaks is Kevin Huerter.
Atlanta Hawks guard Kevin Huerter has been in a bit of a slump to start the new season
Through the first five games of the season, Huerter is averaging 5.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. He’s shooting 29.7 percent from the floor and 11.1 percent from beyond the arc. All of this while seeing the fewest minutes per game of his career. Even more concerning, he seems to be regressing.
After averaging 5.0 points, 3.5 boards, and 2.0 assists over the first two games he put up 14 points on 62.5 percent shooting in a spot-start against the Detroit Pistons.
Over his last two games, however, he’s averaging 1.0 points per game on 0.83 percent shooting from the floor. He hung a donut in the loss to the Wizards and went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. It was his fourth game this season where he failed to connect on a triple — he hit both of his threes on the season against Detroit.
Kevin Huerter has a way of making long shots look short. pic.twitter.com/Cv95fn0KCb
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) October 26, 2021
That start was also the only game where he got to the free-throw line.
Adding to the disappointment over the start is the fact that he signed a four-year contract extension worth $65 million just before the season.
He’s already taken his turn making the duds list largely because greater expectations come with his new financial reality. Now, though, we are already nearing a point where he could conceivably fall behind Cam Reddish coming off of the bench.
Reddish is averaging 16.2 points on 45.2 percent shooting from the floor and 44.0 percent from deep.
It may very well be that Huerter tweaked the ankle injury that he came into training camp tending to. He was seeing a career-low 23.6 minutes per game before playing a bit over 14 minutes on Thursday.
Except he averaged 12.3 points on 51.7percent shooting in the preseason and knocked down 58.3 percent of his triples. He did this without taking a single free throw attempt.
Whatever the reason, be it due to injury or mechanics, the Hawks desperately need Huerter to snap out of it. It is still early. But with a road date against the likewise 3-2 Philadelphia 76ers on tap, it will be all hands on deck. Especially with a tough stretch coming that includes a four-game trip out West.
The last time these two faced off, Huerter dropped 27 points on 55.6 percent shooting. What better time to snap out of a slump?