The Atlanta Hawks are starting to get their rotations set after they traded Cam Reddish and Solomon Hill to the New York Knicks. They received Kevin Knox in return who entered the rotation for the first time against the Minnesota Timberwolves, acquitting himself quite well in limited playing time.
He took the playing time that had been allocated to Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot up until the Milwaukee Bucks game. So far this season, Luwawu-Cabarrot has averaged 4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 14.3 minutes per game.
TLC has started 12 of the 30 games that he has played this season. He lost this role when De’Andre Hunter returned. Considering the team went 4-8 in those games, the return of Hunter could not have come soon enough. However, with the Reddish trade, Luwawu-Cabarrot should have seen his minutes increase. but the opposite has happened.
The Atlanta Hawks may only use Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot sparingly
Since Reddish was traded the Hawks have played three games. The first was against the New York Knicks where Luwawu-Cabarrot played 15 minutes. He scored five points during this time and did not do much else, having a minus one impact on the box score.
The next game was against the Bucks and Luwawu-Cabarrot played just under four minutes against last season’s champions. He missed his only shot but the team did not perform well. He had a minus five impact on the box score.
Knox was able to practice with the team for the first time prior to the Minnesota Timberwolves and head coach Nate McMillan decided to use him in the first half. He played solidly in just over three minutes of court time, showing the ability to work within the second unit offense. He did nothing in that time which would cost him any further opportunities.
So this means that Luwawu-Cabarrot has gone from a starting role where he was starting to look comfortable with his role to the end of the bench. If Knox can perform in the next opportunity in the same way then we may have seen the last of Luwawu-Cabarrot in meaningful for the season if the Hawks can stay healthy.