De’Andre Hunter is playing like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, providing the Hawks with a scoring punch off the bench, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. He’s averaging career highs of 19.8 points and 45.3% shooting from beyond the arc in his 17 appearances this year.
“He’s definitely in the running for Sixth Man of the Year, especially if you keep winning and doing the things we’ve been doing,” guard Trae Young said. “Because there’s not a guy come on the bench doing what he’s doing right now and being aggressive and scoring and efficiency and things like that. He’s really bought into it, and it’s made our team a lot better.”
The former No. 4 overall pick out of Virginia was an effective starter after being selected in 2019, averaging 14.3 points in 263 games (237 starts). After missing the first 11 games this year, the Hawks elected to bring him off the bench instead of starting him, a role he’s thrived in.
“We all know De’Andre can play,” center Onyeka Okongwu said. “He’s been able to play. He’s always been a scorer, defender. He’s finally healthy. Nothing he’s doing is really surprising to me. I’m glad he’s having the year he’s having right now. He deserves it the most.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Young is averaging career lows of 39.0% shooting from the field and 32.0% from three, but Williams writes in another story that the three-time All-Star isn’t concerned with his shooting percentages but rather making an impact to help win games. “So, a lot of guys may not want to take those for their percentages, but me, I frankly, don’t care,” Young said. “I really just want to win, and I hope people around here see that. … I just, I’m focused on that, and that’s, that’s my only focus.” As Williams notes, the Hawks star is taking tougher shots and is leading the NBA in assists per game this season with 12.2.
- Since their starting center returned from injury on Dec. 3, the Hornets continue to take a conservative approach with Mark Williams, including having him not play in back-to-backs. Williams understands the vision, but is eager to get back to 100%, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes. “Just overall, as a leader of the team and one of the leaders of the organization, you have to understand what is your vision, what is your bigger picture? And as bad as you want to win games, we also want to make sure that we are putting our players in the best position possible to have great careers,” coach Charles Lee said of Williams.
- Heat star Jimmy Butler turned his ankle in Friday’s game against the Thunder, exiting in the first quarter and not returning. However, as noted by ESPN, he wasn’t ruled out due to his ankle injury but rather an illness. There was no word of the ankle in the team’s announcement. It’s not yet clear how much time Butler, involved in trade rumors this season, will miss due to either ailment.
- With Butler ruled out, Heat second-year guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. started the second half and finished the game with his third-most minutes this season. Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel speculates whether Jaquez could serve as Butler’s replacement in the starting small forward role if the latter is moved via trade.