As the Hawks enter the second week of the season, only one player has truly impressed: Mouhamed Gueye. Despite being one of Atlanta’s only viable options at the four behind Jalen Johnson, however, Gueye has seen limited action on the floor.
What raises more questions is the fact that Gueye and Kristaps Porzingis have yet to share the floor together, and Gueye even remarked a week ago that he hadn’t played alongside The Unicorn in practice either. While Porzingis will share the floor with Jalen Johnson for the minutes the starting five plays together (first and last 3-6 minutes of each half), this represents a relatively small fraction of the time these two players will play in a game.
Gueye would make an interesting pairing alongside KP, whose own natural gifts can get in the way of his duties as a center. His high center of mass gives shorter, bulkier centers easy leverage to bully Porzingis physically on defense and on the boards. While Gueye isn’t exactly the sturdiest big man in the league, his mobility and length allow him to swoop in with well-timed contests.
The Hawks could remedy their defensive and rebounding struggles
The Hawks have a few critical areas they need to address, two of which are related to Porzingis: interior defense and rebounding.
Gueye is an elite helpside defender who is capable of providing a contest at the rim regardless of his positioning. While he isn’t a true “center” due to his slight frame, he and Porzingis could split rim protecting duties. Porzingis can occupy the paint, stand his ground, and provide a contest when given time to be in the proper position. When the defense begins to break down, Gueye has a sixth sense for where to be on the floor, enabling him to play as a free safety who cleans up drives Porzingis can’t.
On the glass, Gueye’s frame again limits him from being a guy who can regularly box out centers. What he can do, however, is crash the paint after each miss. While positioning is critical for rebounding from centers, almost every other player on the floor will be crashing from the paint. This shifts the skill requirement from strength to mobility, as Gueye will have to swim through an often crowded paint to grab a board.
Another quiet benefit of this pairing is Gueye’s proclivity for running the break. Porzingis has looked visibly gassed after running the floor for a few minutes consecutively. Allowing him to take a breather when the Hawks move on the fast break could increase his longevity, both in games and for the season at large.
Perhaps there’s a reason Gueye and Porzingis haven’t shared the floor that Quin Snyder hasn’t shared. With Atlanta’s early struggles and Jalen Johnson’s elite chemistry with Onyeka Okongwu, however, this is a no-brainer option Snyder must at least attempt.