3 Things I Want to See From the Hawks After the All-Star Break
The Hawks are back in action Thursday night in Philadelphia.
Welcome to SRM, a daily sports newsletter for sports fans who would like to know a little more about a lot.
If you enjoy what you read today in the Hawks section, consider becoming a subscriber below. You can select which sections of the newsletter you’d like to get emails from here.
The Atlanta Hawks are back in action tomorrow at 7:00 PM EST on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers. Just 26 regular-season games remain for head coach Quin Snyder’s group. The Hawks sit at 26-30 on the season, and are riding a three-game losing streak coming out of the All-Star break that they would very much like to end in the City of Brotherly Love tomorrow evening.
With the time off from watching Hawks basketball, I’ve had some time to think about what big things I would like to see from the club in these final 26 games of the regular season.
Let’s dive into them.
Figure Out If Jonathan Kuminga Is A Keeper
Imagine telling any Atlanta Hawks fan in January that one of the biggest points of interest for the club after the All-Star Break will be whether or not Jonathan Kuminga proves to be a keeper for the franchise. After months and months and months of speculation over his cloudy future in Golden State, the former No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft was traded to the Hawks along with Buddy Hield for Kristaps Porzingis. Kuminga is yet to make his Atlanta Hawks debut, but there isn’t a more fascinating figure to watch on this team over the next two months. The Hawks need Kuminga to be available sooner rather than later because they have to decide this summer whether or not to pick up the second year of the two-year extension he signed with Golden State before this season. His long-term potential fit in Atlanta is tricky, particularly with former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher needing lots of minutes down the stretch at the same position. It will be interesting to see how Snyder manages the rotation once Kuminga is available to play – does Corey Kispert see a decline in minutes at the three? How does that work with Risacher, too? Does Snyder try Kuminga more as a stretch four behind Jalen Johnson? The Jonathan Kuminga Experience is going to be fascinating no matter which route Snyder and the team choose follow.
How Does Nickeil Alexander-Walker Fit With Atlanta’s Core The Rest Of The Way
The Atlanta Hawks made a big bet on Nickeil Alexander-Walker in their sign-and-trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves last July. Alexander-Walker is under contract with the Hawks through the 2028-29 season. The Hawks’ brass nailed their NAW projection, as he has blossomed into one of Atlanta’s best stories this season. He’s a funky player who is a lot of fun to watch, especially when he gets hot from deep. The question is what role suits him best for the rest of this year and beyond? Alexander-Walker’s assist usage percentage is extremely low for an NBA lead guard, but he ranks in the 83rd percentile in points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning The Glass. He doesn’t turn the ball over at a high rate and does a good job drawing fouls. He’s great at corner threes. He’s a plus-player for Snyder, no question. Johnson and Daniels are the two most important players for Atlanta, but with Porzingis in Golden State, Alexander-Walker is next on that list. I’m curious to see what the McCollum-NAW-Daniels-Johnson-Okongwu five-man lineup continues to show in the point-differential department. I’m curious how Daniels and Alexander-Walker continue to share the backcourt and how to stagger that trio, McCollum included, the rest of the way.
Play Mo Gueye A Lot More
Mo Gueye is a better player than Asa Newell right now. Newell is much more intriguing as an offensive big, while Gueye is much more intriguing as a defensive big. Gueye is also three years older than Newell. However, the Hawks are +1.7 points per 100 possessions better with Gueye on the floor this season. In 515 minutes last season, Gueye had a team-best efficiency differential at +9.4. Only Kispert has a worse efficiency differential in Snyder’s rotation right now than Newell’s -7.4. Newell could be a nice rotation piece down the line for Atlanta, but Gueye is a nice rotation right now for the Hawks. I’d like to see Snyder commit to Gueye consistently, particularly with Porzingis out of the picture.