Atlanta Hawks studs and duds after yet another blown lead
Atlanta Hawks dud after yet another blown lead: Kevin Huerter’s off-night came at a bad time
Kevin Huerter has turned his season around of late, averaging 17.6 points on better than 55 percent shooting from the floor and three over the five games heading into this one. Going back to the start of their seven-game winning streak, Huerter is putting up 13.6 points on 52.7 percent shooting and 47.8 percent from downtown.
He had just five points against Houston and was shut down by a Garrison Matthews who held the 6-foot-7 Huerter to 0-for-3 shooting. Matthews wasn’t alone as he shot 2-for-10 giving him his worst shooting performance since the game before their winning streak.
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In Huerter’s defense, literally and figuratively, Matthews was 0-for-2 from the floor. Huerter also had the best defended field goal percentage among Hawks starters.
However, he was a part of the problem in the fourth as well going 1-for-3 from the floor.
Yes, the Hawks needed to get stops in a game that they led by 19 points at one point. Still, a little extra on the offensive end from a player they count on for scoring even when fully healthy wouldn’t hurt either.
Next. The Atlanta Hawks have been pretty bad in the clutch this season. dark
Coming off of the string of games he just had, this isn’t as big of a concern on a micro level as it is for the team as finishing games they should win has become a challenge and they are 5-10 against teams that made the playoffs last season. They’ve lost twice to each of the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Utah Jazz.