The Atlanta Hawks 10-Day players showed well despite loss to Bulls

There aren’t many kind things to say after the Atlanta Hawks 131-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls. It was sent their record to 4-9 in December and 15-19 overall; just one game above their pace from last season. Given the state of the roster, the frustration from some is understandable.

The Hawks had just four rotation players healthy for this one.

This whole endeavor has given an opportunity for guys that were toiling away in the G-League and overseas. For the Hawks, that was forwards Chaundee Brown, Malcolm Hill, and Cameron Oliver.

Some unknowns are making the most of their opportunities with the Atlanta Hawks

Brown drew his second straight start for an Atlanta team struggling to man all five positions. The first didn’t go so well and he had just four points on 1-for-7 shooting and went 0-for-3 from downtown. He did play with good energy and even defended up a position, holding Nikola Vucevic to 1-of-3 shooting.

His second start was much better with Brown dropping 14 points on 41.7 percent shooting and going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also had three rebounds, three assists, one personal foul, and no turnovers in just under 32 minutes.

It’s quite the game-to-game turnaround especially considering both came against the Bulls.

Brown’s defensive numbers won’t look good but he wasn’t dominated by one person. The Bulls just kept getting him on switches to smaller, quicker players.

In the G-League, the 6-foot-8 Brown averaged 17.0 points, 6.8 boards, and 2.2 rebounds in six appearances and saw action in two games with the Los Angeles Lakers just under a week before joining Atlanta.

Not to be outdone, Hill had 13 points, three boards, and three steals to go with an assist. He shot 62.5 percent overall and knocked down 3-of-5  triples. It was easily his best game and featured his first official field goal makes and attempts in the NBA. He had four points in the first game against the Bulls but they all came at the free-throw line.

Hill averaged 16.8 points, 6.4 boards, and 1.4 assists with 1.6 steals.

Oliver, a second-year man who spent time with the Houston Rockets last season, had 13 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor with four rebounds, one assist, and one block.

The Hawks have one more game before they get a large contingent of the calvary. Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Lou Williams, and rookie point guard Sharife Cooper should all return to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan 3.

That means Brown, Hill, and Oliver will get at least one more shot to impress before going back to the G-League.

With COVID issues sure to continue popping up this season, their efforts with the Hawks cold go a long way to getting them on another roster down the road.