Atlanta Hawks F De’Andre Hunter’s true value shows in loss to Celtics

The Atlanta Hawks (26-30) controlled the first half of their eventual 105-95 defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics holding a 55-45 haltime lead thanks in large part to De’Andre Hunter. They were outscored 60-40 in the second half as their efficiency on the perimeter, as they went from hitting 9-of-22 triples in the first half to just 3-of-16 in the second.

To that point, Hunter was 3-for-10 (2-for-6 3P) with eight points, five rebounds, and two assists in the first two quarters.

A 16-point, 10-rebound outing would be fine even if he struggled to get the points.

But the most important number was the zero personal fouls Hunter carried into the second half. All of that would change in the third quarter and, from that point on, the entire complexion of the game right along with it.

Officiating turned the tide against De’Andre Hunter and the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter of their loss to BOS

Hunter was whistled four times in the third quarter alone. The first one came just 35 seconds into the frame when he was called for a shooting foul on Marcus Smart who shot six free-throws in the quarter. 11 seconds later, the two-way wing was called for an offensive foul for setting a moving screen.

The hits kept coming as he was called yet again a little over a minute later for another offensive foul for an illegal pick only to get personal number four six seconds after Smart flopped his way into a call while setting a screen.

Boston’s Jayson Taytum was 6-of-15 from the floor to that point with Doris Burke even noting during the broadcast at one point that he was just 2-of-10 on Hunter.

He hit a layup on the Celtics first trip after the fourth foul getting a switch onto Kevin Huerter.

Tatum went 7-of-12 (2-for-3 3P) for 22 points in the second half going 4-of-6 for nine points with Hunter on the bench. Hunter came back in to go just 1-for-6 from the floor for two points though he did notch two steals. He wasn’t able to defend Tatum the same though as the Celtics blew right past him for a layup at one point.

No call was more egregious than one on Okongwu when it was Tatum who extended his arm and initiated contact.

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1492966343989252100

We can talk about Hunter’s offensive struggles which could be the result of trying to do too much every time he touches the ball But his defense is vital to the Hawks chances on the defensive end and that was taken away for a large chunk of this game.

Perhaps the roster composition, or utilization, is at fault for the Hawks limited perimeter stopping capabilities.

They were also without John Collins in this one.

Hunter’s offense has certainly been a chore lately with the fourth-year forward shooting the ball at a sub-35.0 percent clip over the last five games. He’s also hit just 5-of-20 threes during that span. It has been so bad that he’s posted a negative plus-minus over that time.

The Hawks also sport better a defensive rating with him off the floor but some of that is due to his minutes matching up with the other team’s best offensive weapon. Still, the struggles on offense have seemed to leak over into his defense as the Hawks defensive rating has gone from 114.2 with Hunter on the floor to 118.4 over this five-game stretch.

We saw this on a team scale earlier in the year and there can be other factors at play.

But he finished the Celtics game with a 92.3 defensive rating, second only to Okongwu among the rotation players.

The two steals were his first in four games so maybe that is an additional sign that he is coming back around defensively. Maybe that can re-ignite an offensive game that saw him shoot 43.2 percent from deep in 12 games after returning from wrist surgery.

This game, though, highlights his importance on defense for a team that doesn’t have many elite (or even good) perimeter defenders.