While Trae Young is often (unfairly) criticized for his turnovers, his high personal turnover rate can obscure his positive impact on ball security for the team. This season, the Atlanta Hawks as a team turn the ball over 5.5% less with Young on the floor, which ranks in the 96th percentile for point guards. Young has had a positive impact on the squad’s turnover differential for years now, as evidenced by the Hawks' poor ball security in his absence.
Part of Young’s incredible on/off turnover mark is due to just how shallow the pool of ball handlers is in Atlanta. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has taken on the role of lead point guard in his stead, which has yielded interesting results.
NAW has not taken care of the ball in this role, leaping from 1.0 turnovers per game with Young to 4.0, highlighted by a particularly careless seven turnovers against the Orlando Magic. While the Hawks were able to overcome this against a 3-5 Orlando squad, they can’t afford for Alexander-Walker to turn the ball over this frequently.
Despite these struggles, Alexander-Walker looks leagues better as an overall offensive player. A skilled scorer in college, NAW transitioned into a low-usage role player as he fought to stay in the league during the early part of his career. After mastering this role, he’s had a natural opportunity to reclaim his collegiate success and has done a fine job as a scorer. His three ball still isn’t falling like it has in the past, but his impact is more than felt on the offensive end.
Can the Hawks do anything to mitigate this without Young?
Given his track record as an offensive engine, the turnover problem should solve itself when Trae returns. Still, if the Hawks can manage to survive without their star, they will be in much better shape for a playoff run.
The problem with addressing this issue, however, is that the offense has been humming with NAW at the point. He has shown an excellent (and, frankly, shocking) ability to create paint touches that get the offense rolling. Even if his assist totals aren’t anything to write home about, Alexander-Walker has been a fantastic creator for both himself and his teammates.
You can’t just bench Alexander-Walker or move him to a more minor role either, as this would merely shift the source of the problem to a new player. The reality is that until Alexander-Walker gains familiarity with the squad and his role, this will continue to be a problem.
We should, however, see a steady improvement from NAW as he continues to play this role. This is critical, as he can hopefully move into the backup point role upon Young’s return with a month of experience to guide him. Perhaps Alexander-Walker’s unexpected role change could be an overall net gain for Atlanta’s title hopes after seeing just how potent an offensive player he can be.