Should the Atlanta Hawks extend De’Andre Hunter this offseason?

The first and last games of March were eerily similar for Atlanta Hawks (40-37) forward, De’Andre Hunter. His team got their fourth win in a row taking down the Cleveland Cavaliers 131-107 to enter into a three-way tie for the eighth seed with just five games to go. They will face one of the other teams in the tie, the Brooklyn Nets, on Saturday.

This was the third game in a row that the Hawks scored 130-plus points and the 10th time they’ve done it this season.

They are now 24-4 this season when they score at least 120 points.

Unfortunately, Hunter did not join in on the most recent scoring bonanza. The fact that the Hawks were still able to win this one going away despite still being down John Collins and Danilo Gallinari while Hunter struggled from the floor speaks volumes.

De’Andre Hunter could leave the Atlanta Hawks with more questions than answers ahead of a critical offseason

Hunter ended the second leg of the Hawks back-to-back with just five points on 2-of-10 shooting including going 1-of-5 from downtown. He also grabbed just one rebound, his fewest in the last nine games, and dished out a pair of assists in a little over 20 minutes. He hadn’t played fewer than 25 minutes since Feb 24 seeing 30-plus minutes in 11-of-16 games in that span.

It was very reminiscent of his first game of the month, a 105-95 loss to the Boston Celtics, in which he scored just four points and went 0-for-8 from the floor.

He grabbed three boards and notched a couple of steals in that one, though.

This was a rough night all around for the third-year man out of Virginia who returned from a one-game absence with 19 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the floor versus the Oklahoma City Thunder the previous night.

That is what most of the month has been like for Hunter who averaged 16 points on 49.7 percent shooting and a 38.6 percent clip from outside in 13 games from Mar 3 to Mar 30. This was a part of the longest stretch of games he was available for the Hawks. At 35.3 percent for all of March, Hunter has had better shooting months from long distance.

He shot 42.9 percent from three in November (six games), 41.9 percent in January, and 38.9 percent in February. From Mar 3 to Mar 16, he shot 45.9 percent from three.

That figure has dipped to 24.0 percent ever since and he’s hit just six of his last 25 triples. Perhaps that trend is of some concern – maybe the knee was bothering him on the second night of a back-to-back.

He was short on most of his jump shots, which he settled for far too often. Even when he did try getting into the lane, he failed to beat his man off the dribble. His dribble-drive game has been a pleasant development this season. He shot 51.2 percent on 6.7 drives per game in January. If that ability has been compromised then his effectiveness is questionable at best.

His defense hasn’t been up to the same level and he is shooting just 40.2 percent on pull-ups compared to 53.5 percent on catch-and-shoot opportunities.

In February, Hunter shot just 0.9 percent on his pull-ups.

The good news is that that number spiked back up to 41.7 percent in March. Hunter has already more than doubled the number of games he appeared in compared to last season with this showing.

He will also have another shot to show what he can do in the postseason, assuming the Hawks advance beyond the Play-In Tournament. Hunter averaged 10.8 points on 40.0 percent shooting and 37.5 percent from deep with 4.0 boards through the Hawks first-round knockout of the Philadelphia 76ers before going down for his second meniscus surgery.

There is also reason to believe that playing more power forward than he ever has (out of necessity) is hurting – his net rating falls 7.6 points when he shifts from his natural position.

This is all key to the evaluation heading into a critical offseason in which Hunter will be eligible for a rookie extension that could be worth up to $184 million over five years.