Why Bogdan Bogdanovic needs to start over Kevin Huerter for the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks have moved their winning streak to four with an impressive takedown of the Charlotte Hornets at their place. It was an impressive performance, led by Trae Young’s 30-piece where he tied a career-high with eight 3-point bombs.

During this streak, Kevin Huerter has been a really good foil for Young in the backcourt, including going 5-of-9 from deep in the game against the Miami Heat. Huerter has been playing some solid defense and has shown his incredible diversity of talent.

During these four victories, Huerter has scored in double digits every game, also hitting two or more of his attempts from deep every game. He had eight rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks and six assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves. His ability to read what the team needs and to be able to give it to them is one of the skills required of a key bench player.

Why Bogdan  Bogdanovic needs to start for the Atlanta Hawks

To put it simply, Bogdan Bogdanovic is one of the best shooters in the league and needs to be on the wing for when Young is creating. While Huerter is a good shooter, Bogdanovic is better, given that he is more likely to hit the long balls under pressure than Huerter.

Their defense is at a similar level, with Bogdanovic showing what effort can do when he played with an injured knee against the Philadelphia 76ers in last season’s playoffs. With him in the starting lineup, there are very few teams who can match what the Hawks bring to the table.

With Huerter coming off the bench, you have a versatile player who can spell multiple positions. This is why he has been so crucial to the Hawks over the past season and a half. Huerter’s ability to adjust his play. This has meant the Hawks have covered all of their multitude of injuries over this time and were so successful last season.

Imagine a fully healthy bench unit where Delon Wright is running it with his newfound confidence and Danilo Gallinari is bullying the mismatches that he creates or stroking it from deep. Onyeka Okongwu is scoring in the pick and roll with his close mentor and bench star Lou Williams. He is then stopping the opposition at the other end with his energetic defense.

We have seen this over a number of games, but where I am asking you to imagine is putting Huerter into this mix. His versatility and shooting make this one of the best bench units in the game. This unit could be the starters for some franchises.

Getting Bogdanovic back is an exciting prospect for the Hawks. He will probably come off the bench for the Hawks for at least one or two games but when he is fully healthy with no minutes restrictions, his presence in the starting unit will filter positively all the way through the roster.