The Atlanta Hawks‘ depth is being severely tested with John Collins missing all but a handful of games since before the All-Star break. They have also had Danilo Gallinari miss games through a variety of ailments which means that there have been plenty of minutes up for grabs.
Well, head coach Nate McMillan has been starting Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for the past two games, even bringing Gallinari off the bench in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This means that the Hawks have had bench minutes available.
The Hawks have given some of these minutes to Kevin Knox and the former New York Knicks forward has shown that he is really starting to feel comfortable with the franchise. This has been evident in the way that he has produced, firstly against the OKC TGhunder and then against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Atlanta Hawks have shown how they can use Kevin Knox moving forward.
Knox produced 15 points in about four minutes against the Thunder. This ability to microwave points shows that he has truly embraced his role with the Hawks. He either hit his shots from beyond the arc or right at the rim, dunking the ball after relieving the pressure on the ball handler with his movement towards the hoop.
Then he came on for some junk time minutes against the Cavaliers and started hitting shots at the rim and then in the mid-range. However, he showed that he could score points in a hurry. This is where the Hawks are going to be able to use Knox moving forward, even into the playoffs.
While the Hawks have a number of options when it comes to scoring off the bench, teams are going to gameplan to slow down players like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari. Knox has been in the NBA for almost four seasons and has been used sparingly after completing his rookie season.
Knox could come on at the end of quarters and heat up in a hurry. If he is able to heat up and pour in points when the Hawks have previously struggled then this could turn games in their favor. NOw that they have locked in a spot in the play-in tournament with five games to go, they need to ensure they finish as high in the standings as possible.