The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best postseason players so far

The Atlanta Hawks may have gone out in the first round of the playoffs losing 1-4 to the Miami Heat. The Heat harrassed Trae Young on every possession which resulted in the superstar having a poor series. With the way that the Heat set up defensively, and the Hawks not having a second star, this series was always going to be a struggle for Young.

However, one player who gave the Hawks a level of hope this series was De’Andre Hunter. His play during this first-round series loss led to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report naming the third-year wing as one of the breakout stars of the playoffs.

After averaging 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.7 steals in the regular season, Hunter stepped it up in the postseason, averaging 21.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 assists. He also was incredibly efficient, going 55.7 percent from the floor, 46.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.0 percent from the line.

The Atlanta Hawks were set up for De’Andre Hunter to break out.

The Hawks limped into the playoffs, almost literally. John Collins had his foot and finger injury and he came back for the first game of the series after missing a large chunk of the season from just before the All-Star Break. Then, Clint Capela injured his knee against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the final game of the play-in tournament. Bogdan Bogdanovic also had his knee issues.

So, with Young not performing up to his usual level and so many leg injuries, it was pretty much up to Kevin Huerter, Danilo Gallinari, or Hunter to step up. Well, as shown earlier, Hunter was the player who answered the call and made his shots.

This series breakout was times extremely well for Hunter as he is eligible to sign his extension following on from his rookie deal. To put it bluntly, if the wing can get past all the injuries, the Hawks would be making the right move to sign him for the long term.