Atlanta 119, Washington 98: Jonathan Kuminga Shines in His Hawks Debut

The Hawks pounced on the Wizards early and never looked back to move to 29-31 on the season.

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It felt like the game was already over when the Atlanta Hawks jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. Head coach Quin Snyder’s team, with its new starting five, started the game the way it needed to. The Hawks began the fourth quarter with a 36-point lead, but with so much garbage time in the final frame, the final score of 119-98 did not paint a good picture of how the game went.

Even with All-Star forward Jalen Johnson leaving the game early with roughly 7:00 minutes remaining in the first quarter and never to return, Atlanta did not miss a beat. Key starters Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Oneyka Okongwu, and Dyson Daniels registered a collective in-game plus-minus of +69 in the blowout win over the Wizards.

With Johnson not returning to the ball game, forward Mouhamed Gueye got the start in the second half and took advantage. There was one sequence in the third quarter where Gueye had a steal, one of two he forced on the night, and then dunked it on the other end. In all, he added 11 boards, a couple of steals, and was a solid +3 in his 18 minutes for the Hawks in Johnson’s absence.

Jonathan Kuminga, who was acquired by the Hawks along with Buddy Hield at the NBA Trade Deadline in a deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors, made his debut for the Hawks. The man who wears No. 0 could not have started his Atlanta Hawks career on a higher note than the show he put on against the Wizards last night. Kuminga had 27 points in just over 24 minutes, was 9-of-12 from the field, and 3-of-4 from deep. Kuminga flashed in transition, made several great passes, and showcased his elite athleticism by slamming home a couple of dunks.

Kuminga’s 27 points did not feel forced. He, along with every other Hawk, moved the basketball well all night as Atlanta racked up 33 assists. Atlanta leads the NBA in team assists per game at 30.4, and it’s easy to see why on nights like last night. The Hawks are perfectly content to eschew a good shot for a great shot when the moment calls for it. Five Hawks had three or more assists in this game. You wonder what that final assist tally might have been last night had Atlanta shot the ball better from 3, as the Hawks were a frigid 12-50 from three-point land.

Dyson Daniels continues to be a really interesting player to watch. One of my favorite things about him as a basketball player is how often he successfully drives into the paint. He’s a winning basketball player in many ways, as his AST% ranks in the 99th percentile, per Cleaning The Glass. The bizarre three-point shot stuff does not matter because he’s so good everywhere else on both ends of the floor. 51 percent of his shots come at the rim, which is in the 95th percentile in the NBA, per Cleaning The Glass, and although he needs to improve at his overall makes there, he’s solid enough. He’s an elite offensive rebounder for his position and is fifth in steals per game. It’s never a surprise when he has the highest single-game plus-minus for the Hawks, like he did last night against the Wizards.

Outside of Daniels doing all the little things well and Kuminga scoring from everywhere on the basketball court, I thought about something: Is Alexander-Walker’s corner three the best look the team can have on any given offensive possession? Alexander-Walker splashed two in the third quarter. You knew the second both shots went up, they were going down. The former Minnesota Timberwolves guard is shooting 46 percent on corner threes this season. He shot 47 percent from three in the corner last year, so the increased usage and role haven’t affected him in the slightest from that area of the floor. Of course, the answer is still any shot by Jalen Johnson. Still, I maintain there is no look I feel more confident about with the Hawks than an open Alexander-Walker corner three.

But the biggest takeaway was what Kuminga did in his debut. (And maybe how much every team in the NBA could see a Justin Champagnie off the bench who was 4-of-6 from three for the Wiz.) It’s going to be fascinating to see how Snyder manages his minutes and what lineups he inserts Kuminga into down the stretch here. When he’s shooting like he did last night, you can envision a lot of minutes at the three. Zaccharie Risacher certainly looked more comfortable and energized coming off the bench in that first quarter. He was solid overall, particularly on the glass and on defense, but he’s shooting 28 percent from deep over his last ten games. I wonder how Snyder experiments with Kuminga, Risacher, Corey Kispert, and even Daniels at the three, the rest of the way.