For the first time in a month, De'Andre Hunter suited up for the Atlanta Hawks.
Hunter had not played in a game since December 20th but made his return against the Los Angeles Lakers and played close to 17 minutes off the bench. He scored six points and had one rebound and one assist. He was one of the primary defenders against LeBron James when he was in and overall, it was a really good return for Hunter, who will only see his playing time increase.
Hunter is one of the most important players on the Hawks because of what he brings with his size and defense. He is not the best player on the Hawks, but he is one of the most important and it showed in his absence.
After the game, Snyder talked about what it means to have Hunter back out there and what his strengths are defensively:
"We are able to switch more. Tonight there were a few possessions where we did not have two of those guys in, but we have one of them coming off of the bench, whoever it is, they can give someone else a blow... we have had guys playing a lot of minutes and we trust them but anytime that you are up 35, 36, 37 minutes over a period of time, that is hard and you are asking a lot of guys and you can do that occasionally, but over the course of a season, back-to-backs to have Hunt back, you know we lost Jalen for a while and its good to see those guys, they were connected and on the defensive end, they are able to switch and help each other and that size is just different, it is different on the glass.
He has great habits. In shifting, in rotating, in helping, he has a good feel for where he needs to be and he's 6'8. Whether he is defending a wing or there are times where we have him on the ball, that versatility is really helpful and he takes pride in it too."
Young echoed much of what Snyder had to say:
"It was great having Dre back, he is a big piece of our team. He is probably our best defender on the ball, his strength and size, he brings a lot to our team. Offensively, he can shoot the ball, score and if there is a mismatch, he can go score. So, he brings a lot to our team, you just hope he is out there for us so having him out there tonight for us was good and I am sure things will get increased as the games go on and that will definitely help."
This is the healthiest the Hawks have been since November. They have their top eight players healthy and it is just in time too because the upcoming schedule is pretty brutal. The Hawks face Phoenix, Golden State, the Clippers Boston, and Philadelphia all in the next week. Getting Hunter back is what this team needed for the crucial stretch.
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