In his Atlanta Hawks debut, Jock Landale dropped 26 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks on 5/6 from two and 5/8 from three in 31 minutes – a statline Kristaps Porzingis never put up in a Hawks uniform.
To be clear, Porzingis is clearly the better player. With his injury concerns and poor rebounding, however, he never posted a 20-point, 10-rebound game in Atlanta.
He had 20+ point games; he had a 10+ rebound game; he even had a 4 block game. But Porzingis was never able to do everything in one match.
The Hawks finally have a second NBA-caliber center
Atlanta rose as high as the third seed in the East with Porzingis regularly playing in the early season. He and Onyeka Okongwu formed a dangerous center duo, with each bringing a separate skill set that somehow still fit with Jalen Johnson.
Of course, Porzingis played just 17 games in a Hawks uniform. When he fell at the end of November, the Hawks were 11-8. Since then, the team has gone 15-19, bringing the team back down to the Play-In spot they’ve been stuck in for years.
Porzingis was more injured than initially anticipated, but GM Onsi Saleh knew the Latvian center – who is the most injury-prone player in the NBA – would miss serious time. Yet, he failed to pick up a third-string center that could fill the rotational void when Porzingis was unavailable.
The team signed Christian Koloko in January and promptly went on a four-game win streak due to their enhanced interior presence. I like Koloko, but the man has been cut three times this season. He isn’t exactly a good NBA center; only on a team as devoid of big men as Atlanta would he have the opportunity to shine.
If you think I’m being harsh, take it from Quin Snyder himself. In Landale’s debut, Koloko received a DNP-CD, despite Okongwu not playing. Even when Koloko was the only backup five on the roster, Snyder avoided playing him.
Landale, unlike Koloko, is a real NBA-caliber center – notably not a project player and not a power forward. He’s 30 years old and is one of the better stretch fives and offensive rebounders in the league. While he isn’t a good defensive center, he is better at playing the rim-protecting role than, say, Asa Newell or Mo Gueye simply because Landale indeed is a center.
Landale was quite the pickup for Saleh, and if he can string together a few more performances like this, he could be the best acquisition Atlanta made this season. Perhaps most importantly, the Hawks have three centers. No matter what, they will always have a true center at the five.