It has not been the best season for the Hawks, but there have been a few bright spots.
Trae Young is playing some of the best basketball of his career and should be in contention to be a starter in the All-Star game in February. He is second in the NBA in assists and is shooting the ball well after a poor start to the season.
Forward Jalen Johnson has been another bright spot for the Hawks. While he was out for a month with an injury, Johnson has been one of the most improved players in the NBA and is a huge piece to the Hawks future.
While those two have been huge for the Hawks this season, Bogdan Bogdanovic has also put together a big season off the bench and he is finally starting to get the recognition he deserves as a 6th Man of the Year candidate.
In a recent column on ESPN, long-time NBA analyst Zach Lowe praised the season that Bogdanovic is having, even though he is not pleased with the Hawks's season overall:
"Bogdanovic, though, has done his job and probably stands as a favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. He's averaging 18 points and sniffing 40% on 3s -- many of which are heavily contested -- and goes on prolonged heaters that leave you wondering whether he'll ever miss again.
The Hawks have outscored opponents by 3.8 points per 100 possessions with Bogdanovic on the floor -- and are minus-5.8 when he sits. They are plus-28 in 103 minutes with the smallish Young/Murray/Bogdanovic trio -- a look Hawks coach Quin Snyder was hesitant to bust out until injuries mounted.
Bogdanovic is much more than a spot-up shooter. He ran a fair amount of two-man game with the Kings and has been smart picking his spots to drive in Atlanta.
The Hawks badly need more off-ball verve in their Young-Murray lineups; Bogdanovic brings it with canny screens and hard slips that nudge the offense toward the basket.
Bogdanovic has three years and $49 million left on his contract; the last year is a team option. He could help a lot of teams."
Bogdanovic is in the midst of perhaps his best season as an NBA player. The Hawks are +11.1 points better when he is on the floor compared to when he is off per Cleaning the Glass and has improved his defense this season. It is not crazy to say he is one of the Hawks three most important players and nobody else can do what he can on the floor. Despite the Hawks record, he should be in the midst of the conversation for 6th man of the year, if not leading it.
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