Player Grades Through the 1st 41 Games per The Athletic (Edited)

[JayBirdHawk]

 

The first 25 games of the season for the Hawks were always going to be difficult no matter what adversity came their way. Their schedule was brutal, and they were going to have to rely on at least two rookies in their rotation. What no one expected was John Collins getting suspended for 25 games, Kevin Huerter missing double-digit games due to a shoulder injury and various other ailments to the supporting cast that have caused this Hawks team to look like one of the worst teams in the NBA on some nights.

Lloyd Pierce has been in a tough spot as the head coach of this team. There hasn’t been a single game this season when someone of importance hasn’t been on a minutes restriction or out with an injury or suspension. Frustration from fans on his rotations and over-reliance on DeAndre’ Bembry and Vince Carter in clutch situations is warranted because both players have not been good.

Not all the blame for the slow start should be placed on Pierce, however, because this roster is flawed, and that falls on general manager Travis Schlenk. The center rotation is ghastly. There’s not a reliable backup point guard on the roster. The veterans have offered little to zero production.

This was always going to be a rebuilding season. Schlenk told The Athletic that the analytical projections prior to the season had the Hawks winning 30 to 31 games.

 

With 25 games completed, let’s grade the players on the Hawks’ roster and how they have played thus far.

Trae Young: B+ Young has been superb on the offensive end of the floor. He’s averaging 28 points and nine assists per game. His efficiency from last season has improved, but it can certainly be better.

 

Kevin Huerter: B This team is just much better when Huerter plays, Young especially. Young has made 60 percent of his shots when Huerter has passed him the ball.

Jabari Parker: B- Parker has done an admirable job filling in for Collins in the starting rotation — a role Parker had no intention of having when he signed with the Hawks during the offseason.

De’Andre Hunter: B-Hunter has had several very good games but just hasn’t been able to figure out how to be consistent for several games in a row, which should come with more experience in the league.

Alex Len: C+ Before the season began, Len told The Athletic that he thought he could be an Eastern Conference All-Star and in the conversation for Most Improved Player. It hasn’t exactly panned out that way.

Damian Jones: C Even in the limited playing time he received with Golden State, the thought was for Jones to be most effective, he would have to play alongside a point guard who was elite in the pick-and-roll. 

 

Cam Reddish: C There have been encouraging signs that Reddish is slowly coming together on offense, but, in totality, he has been nightmarishly bad on that end. He’s shooting 33 percent from the floor, 38 percent from two-point range and 27 percent from 3 and has a 43 percent true shooting rating. But in the past four games, you can see that his confidence for what he’s supposed to do on offense has increased, even though the efficiency hasn’t been much better.

Evan Turner: C-In hindsight, the Hawks should have signed a more traditional backup point guard during the offseason. But, I think we all knew that, and the Turner-for-Kent Bazemore trade still doesn’t make much sense several months later.

Allen Crabbe: C- With the construction of this team, Crabbe is an important piece because of the spacing he provides for the bench unit that doesn’t consist of many solid shooters. The problem is Crabbe hasn’t been very good shooting from 3. 

 

DeAndre’ Bembry: C- Entering the season, it was unclear when Bembry actually was going to play because of his limitations on offense. Now that the entire roster (outside of Collins) is available, Bembry’s minutes have gotten squeezed in the past three games, which isn’t a surprise given how he has played.Bembry is a personal favorite of Pierce’s because of the energy he provides and of his ability to defend, but Bembry’s defense has not been as good as perceived this season.

Vince Carter: D At this point of his career, Carter is essentially a 3-point specialist, but he hasn’t been consistently making 3s. 

 

Bruno Fernando: D This is when stats can be deceiving if you’re not watching the games. Fernando has been bad and just isn’t ready to contribute in any meaningful way. Ideally, he would be developing with the College Park Skyhawks in the G League, but the Hawks’ centers have been so bad that playing Fernando isn’t that big of a difference from what it should be.

Tyrone Wallace: D  I honestly forget that Wallace

Chandler Parsons: N/A 

John Collins: Incomplete  (I'm giving him a straight F)

 

 

 

[AHF]

Too harsh?  I'd say some of those grades are super generous if you consider a C to be average.

[Spud2nique]

Vince gets a D? What do you want from the guy? He’s working his magic in the locker room that may not be seen for years to come from guys like Cam and others... Trae also gets an A to me. 

Why does Huerter get a B? He should get a C as well on this scale he’s got going on here.

[NBASupes]

1 minute ago, AHF said:

Too harsh?  I'd say some of those grades are super generous if you consider a C to be average.

His average seems to be based on his exp expectations 

[AHF]

1 minute ago, Spud2nique said:

Vince gets a D? What do you want from the guy? He’s working his magic in the locker room that may not be seen for years to come from guys like Cam and others... Trae also gets an A to me. 

Why does Huerter get a B? He should get a C as well on this scale he’s got going on here.

I am thinking Huert gets a B because he has been arguably our second best player this season when available.  

 

[Atlantaholic]

I wish this guy was the one grading me back in my school days lol. Those are some pretty generous grades. Here is how I see it:

• Trae Young; A-
• Heurter: B-
• Jabari: C+
• Hunter: C
• Bruno: C
• Damian Jones: C-
• Alex Len: C-
• Cam: D+
• VC: D+
• Bembry: D+
• Crabbe: D+
• Turner: D-
• John Collins: F

 

[AHF]

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

His average seems to be based on his exp expectations 

Agreed.  And given that you should be rating: 

Len has been way worse than expected.    Huge disappointment.  Big letdown does not equal C+.

Crabbe does one thing - shoot.  And he isn't doing that.  No way he should be any better than a D.

Fernado is a raw rookie.  Even if you discount the numbers as he is doing, Bruno is showing you enough to grade much better than a D.

[Spud2nique]

3 minutes ago, AHF said:

I am thinking Huert gets a B because he has been arguably our second best player this season when available.  

 

On that notion shouldn’t Collins get a higher grade? When available, Collins is our 2nd best? No?

[Spud2nique]

4 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

VC: D+

What do you want from the guy? Were your expecting an all star berth at age 43? Sorry I’m having a “KIDS GIT OFF MY LAWN” moment here.

[AHF]

Just now, Spud2nique said:

On that notion shouldn’t Collins get a higher grade? When available, Collins is our 2nd best? No?

I get not docking a guy for getting injured but blasting a guy for getting himself suspended.  And John's numbers are down almost across the board on a per minute basis from last year so if you are grading based on expectations (that he would meet or exceed last year's production) then that doesn't help him either.

1 minute ago, Spud2nique said:

What do you want from the guy? Were your expecting an all star berth at age 43? Sorry I’m having a “KIDS GIT OFF MY LAWN” moment here.

I'm with you on this.  He is old enough that giving anything is a positive.  Struggling should be expected.

[Atlantaholic]

Just now, Spud2nique said:

What do you want from the guy? Were your expecting an all star berth at age 43? Sorry I’m having a “KIDS GIT OFF MY LAWN” moment here.

Hey, had he played the way he has the last three games all year it would be closer to a C+ but the first 20 games of the year he was giving us massive negative win shares and looked like he had no business being in the NBA. Nothing against Carter but that's just the truth. 

[Spud2nique]

8 minutes ago, AHF said:

Fernado is a raw rookie.  Even if you discount the numbers as he is doing, Bruno is showing you enough to grade much better than a D.

Yes for sure. Also he has Bembry really low. I mean I know he’s a Jekyll n Hyde player but we always knew he didn’t have an offense. Do why does he get docked for actually being one of the best defenders in the team? This is coming from a non Bembry fan. 

[AHF]

3 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Yes for sure. Also he has Bembry really low. I mean I know he’s a Jekyll n Hyde player but we always knew he didn’t have an offense. Do why does he get docked for actually being one of the best defenders in the team? This is coming from a non Bembry fan. 

Yeah, rating Crabbe and Bembry the same is head scratching.  Bembry is up and down but has been much more up than Crabbe.

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, AHF said:

Crabbe

I was expecting him to be a gunner from distance like Belinelli style but he changed his shot and just hasn’t brought it. Damian Jones hasn’t brought it. Ugh We have had a bad 1/4 of the season.  

[AHF]

1 minute ago, Spud2nique said:

I was expecting him to be a gunner from distance like Belinelli style but he changed his shot and just hasn’t brought it. Damian Jones hasn’t brought it. Ugh We have had a bad 1/4 of the season.  

I still think Crabbe could / should turn that shot around.  He is 27 years old with a career 39% 3pt shot.  That should come way around from 31.8%.

[Sothron]

These grades are way too high. Not counting Collins who really didn't get to play much before his idiotic suspension our only positive players are Young, Red Velvet and Parker. Hunter has went from negative to neutral. Bembry's erratic but he's at least neutral. The rest of them? Net negatives all. I am most disappointed in Len who really started to look better the second half last season. He looks like a shell of himself out there on all phases of the game. Cam is now starting to at least look like he's not a zombie but I need more than that. It also, to be fair, doesn't negate how terrible he's been up to December.

[JayBirdHawk]

Quote

We’re at the halfway point of the season and the Hawks are 9-32 — a far cry from where many expected this team to be entering this season. It shouldn’t be a surprise, however, that this team is as bad as it is because of the roster Travis Schlenk built. It’s simply not good. The Hawks upgraded their backup point guard position Thursday by acquiring Jeff Teague, who spent his first seven seasons in Atlanta. They still need more production out of the bench and their rookies, but getting Teague should help stabilize a second unit that has been horrid most nights.

The one thing head coach Lloyd Pierce is looking for out of the Hawks for the remaining 41 games requires just one word.

“Consistency,” he said.


Trae Young: A 

Young is an All-Star. It doesn’t matter that he plays for the worst team in the NBA. 
Young is averaging 29 points and 8.5 assists per game while consistently drawing double teams, and for at least 25 games, he was the only player teams truly had to scheme against.
“I’ll tell you, first-hand, as a coach who votes, it’s hard to vote for teams with our record,” Pierce said. “It really is. (But) it’s hard to vote against a guy with his numbers. We would love to be in a position where our record helps him more than anything. Because Trae being at the All-Star event helps our organization, helps our team. We’re excited. We’re proud. We want him to be there.”
Young’s defense for the first quarter of the season was very bad, but it has improved from where it was. Because of the noticeable defensive improvement, he has to be an A because his offense has been nothing short of excellent.

Kevin Huerter: B
For the second straight year, Huerter had a slow start to the season because of an offseason injury. He sustained a shoulder injury against Denver which caused him to miss 11 games. Since then, Huerter has been the Hawks’ second-best player.
He’s shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range this season, a mark that Huerter believes he should always be surpassing.

Alex Len: B
Len described his start of the season as “pretty bad.” It was worse than that.
He’s now having his most efficient offensive season in his career with a 58 percent effective field goal percentage and is making 63 percent of all his 2-point attempts, a career-best by far.
Where he has improved the most this season is on the defensive end of the floor. Defense is not something he has ever been known for, but he has developed into an above-average defender and has provided solid rim protection.

John Collins: B-
Collins’ suspension derailed any hopes the Hawks had of making the playoffs. 
Defensively, Collins has been phenomenal. Having him at center has worked well in a small-ball lineup. He has gotten more opportunities for blocks while playing center, and his block rate ranks in the 87th percentile, according to Cleaning The Glass.

Jabari Parker: C
Parker has missed nine of the past 10 games with a throat infection and a shoulder impingement injury that is going to sideline him for at least a few more games.
But when he was healthy, Parker played a critical role in filling in for Collins when he was suspended 25 games.
Parker’s defense has been an issue his entire career, and this year is no different. I don’t think there’s any hope of him becoming a good defender,

Brandon Goodwin: C
There has been a small sample size with Goodwin being that he only has played in 12 games. Even with the addition of Teague, Goodwin belongs in the NBA.
What I’ve been impressed with most with Goodwin is his defense. Even with him being a small point guard, he’s pesky and a very good example of what Young can be if he exerted himself on that end of the floor.

Cam Reddish: C- 
The offense has been dreadful for Reddish. The numbers are historically bad and comparable to draft lottery busts.
But why I think he has been slightly better than average is because of his defense. Reddish already has become the team’s best defender. He has become the go-to guy who guards the opposing team’s best wing player recently, which is something I predicted would happen in my predictions piece I did at the start of the year. His block and steal rates are both above the 75th percentile for all wings. 
His ceiling is higher than De’Andre Hunter’s if he can figure it out on offense, and Reddish’s defense gives him the nod over Hunter for being the team’s best rookie so far.

De’Andre Hunter: C-
Unremarkable is probably the best adjective I would use to describe the first half of Hunter’s rookie season. There’ve been many games when Hunter is just unnoticeable. They need more out of Hunter. He’s leading all rookies in minutes per game and doesn’t stand out in any category amongst his peers. 
Hunter was drafted because defense was a purported strength of his after winning college basketball’s defensive player of the year award last year at Virginia. His block and steal rate both rank below the 20th percentile for all wings, and his offensive and defensive rebounding rates are also below the 20th percentile.

DeAndre’ Bembry: D
Bembry is arguably the most frustrating player to watch nightly and definitely leads the team in moments when I’ve mentally said, “What are you actually doing?” But there are moments when he’s completely locked in and flying around on the court and making plays.
There were hopes entering the season that Bembry’s shooting would get better, but it has gotten worse. He’s shooting 25 percent from 3 and 51 percent from the free-throw line.
Pierce likes the energy Bembry provides off the bench and his ability to defend, but his individual defense has been an issue more times than not this season.

Damian Jones: D
If basketball was just about catching lobs and scoring in the paint, Jones would be one of the league’s best players; but alas, it’s not. Jones hasn’t shown much of anything to warrant him coming back next season, even with the team needing centers as Fernando is the only one under contract.

Bruno Fernando: D
Hey, do you want to know who leads the Hawks in net rating this season? That’s right; it’s Fernando. Now if you have watched the Hawks play, you would know that Fernando is nowhere near the most productive player on the roster. He hasn’t been good and shouldn’t be playing as much as he does. Barring a magical run, the Hawks aren’t making the playoffs and the rest of the season should be about growth and development for players like Fernando, so I would expect him to get more minutes if they don’t add another center at the trade deadline.
The main problem Fernando has is he has been out of position countless times this season, and it’s noticeably frustrated some of the players on the floor with him when it has happened. 

Vince Carter: D- 
Carter became the first player in NBA history to play in four different decades this year, but he hung on one year too long. He’s unplayable if he’s not making 3s, and he’s only hitting 27 percent of his attempts this season.


Evan Turner: D-
There haven’t been many worse offensive players in the NBA this season than Turner. Synergy ranks him in the second percentile in points per possession. He doesn’t have a future on this roster and likely will be traded or bought out around the deadline.

Chandler Parsons: F

 

 

[Thomas]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Evan Turner: D-
There haven’t been many worse offensive players in the NBA this season than Turner. Synergy ranks him in the second percentile in points per possession. He doesn’t have a future on this roster and likely will be traded or bought out around the deadline.

Only remember very small parts of Turner having that one good season of his a while back. It sure as heck wasn't/isn't here though.

[NBASupes]

It's hard to think Cam would be this good if you saw him in the preseason and the first month of the season. But he is the most improved Hawk by a mile. Even over Kevin. He had a WAR of -1.9 in early December and his WAR is now -0.5. He is on a tear on both ends of the court. 

[Buzzard]

16 hours ago, NBASupes said:

It's hard to think Cam would be this good if you saw him in the preseason and the first month of the season. But he is the most improved Hawk by a mile. Even over Kevin. He had a WAR of -1.9 in early December and his WAR is now -0.5. He is on a tear on both ends of the court. 

I cannot stand Fred VanVleet type of scorers but I guess that is what you look at when you say Cam is on a tear on the offensive end ( both ends by you, only defensive by me ).

VanFleet for the season:

FG% 39.4, FG3% 37.32, FT% 84.7, TS% .534

Cam's January split for 8 games, what you call tearing it up:

FG% 39.1, FG3% 40.0, FT% 85.7 TS% .527

I will say this January split is a serious improvement, but Cam has no excuse for not being able to finish better than the 6'1" VanFleet. He really doesn't.