It’s been quite a ride for the Atlanta Hawks as we’ve essentially hit the quarter mark of the season. An 11-9 record might seem like a disappointment given how they finished last season. But, as they have stressed time and time again, that was then and this is now. They came in with targets on their backs and ailments of which we were previously unaware.
That led to a slow start for many of their usually most consistent performers, including Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter; both underwent offseason procedures.
One player that got off to a fast start only to cool off was Cam Reddish. The third-year wing was one of the top contributors and had even inspired calls for him to get more time with the starters as the Hawks got off to a 4-3 start.
Now, as Atlanta has won seven straight, Reddish seems to be finding that groove again.
Cam Reddish has rediscovered his rhythm on the offensive end after slumping
Reddish had 14 points on 40 percent shooting and 2-of-5 from downtown with two assists, and one rebound against the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. During that opening stretch of games, Reddish was second on the team with 16.0 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting and 44.4 from three-point range to go with 3.3 assists.
As the Hawks went on their slide, and even a couple of games into their undefeated homestand, he averaged 7.2 points on 31.8 percent shooting overall and 28.6 percent from deep.
Over the Hawks last five games, however, Reddish is fourth on the team with 14.2 points per contest and has shot over 49 percent from the floor and over 39 percent from beyond the arc.
Reddish has also seen his playing time increase significantly. Starting with the win over the Orlando Magic, he has averaged over 25 minutes per contest, even more than he was over their opening spurt.
He was seeing just under 20 minutes per game during the bulk of his individual slump.
Ups and downs have been the name of Reddish’s career as management challenged him to be more consistent coming into a critical season for both sides.
We wondered if the performance or the playing time was the cause of his slump and may have gotten our answer. Hopefully, he keeps up his current level of offense because he has been his usual self on defense with 1.5 steals per game over his last five. That is a sure way to keep seeing the floor as much as he has.