If the Atlanta Hawks (28-31) are going to make the postseason they need everyone available to contribute. This is a team that is built on its depth which helped lead it to the heights it reached last season. That being the case, they will consistently need more than the nine points it got from Kevin Huerter in the 112-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Make no mistake, Trae Young’s night wasn’t much better as the Hawks superstar finished with 14 points and 10 assists. But he was brutal from the floor shooting 17.6 percent overall and going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Young also went 8-of-11 from the free-throw line and had four turnovers; two of them coming on travels.
It’s nights like these when the others have to lift their leader up.
If the Atlanta Hawks are going to be built on depth, they need it to show up
Huerter’s points came on 4-of-11 shooting overall and 1-of-5 from downtown. He had three rebounds and one assist but failed to get to the free-throw line on a night when the Hawks didn’t break the 70.0 percent mark going 18-of-27 (66.7%) at the charity stripe. It is the 37th time in 52 appearances this season in which he has failed to attempt even one free throw.
They are 18-17 in those games but that is mostly because they typically get better production from Young.
However, rookie Ayo Dosunmu has done a really good job on Young in all three meetings between the two teams this season. Young is shooting just 26.3 percent overall and 2-of-8 from long distance when Dosunmu has been on him.
Huerter did not receive that kind of attention.
He was missing some open looks and even settling possibly forcing it a little bit to try a get going. There was at least one possession where he missed a shot and committed a foul in transition on the other end immediately after.
The reality is this game was really close for as poorly as the Hawks played.
For the most part, the Hawks did get major contributions from their healthy players – John Collins missed the contest dealing with a foot injury and De’Andre Hunter left early in the second quarter with an illness. He wasn’t particularly good in his time on the floor, going 0-for-4 with two points but giving up a ton to Bulls star DeMar DeRozan on the other end.
But DeRozan gives everybody buckets and got into Huerter (who also saw a lot of Zach LaVine) all the same as he finished with a game-high 37 points.
The Hawks did get a team-high 27 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic off of the bench including 13 points in the fourth quarter; the most on either team. They also got 26 points and nine rebounds from Danilo Gallinari while Clint Capela chipped in 14 points and 17 rebounds.
Bogdanovic’s miss on a forced step-back three sealed it for the Bulls
Ending the game, which they led by three points with less than a minute remaining on the clock, in a loss only highlights those who didn’t show up.
Huerter has scored fewer than 10 points 22 times this season. The Hawks are 8-14 in those games and 13 of them have come with him in the starting lineup; six since the move became full-time when Bogdanovic returned on Jan 26.