Will Cam Reddish emerge as a 2nd/3rd option for the Hawks next season? In this thread, I’ll examine Reddish’s mid-season improvements and his future potential.

Before the start of his rookie season, Reddish under went surgery to repair a core muscle injury, one which took him six full weeks to recover from. Despite recovering in time for the NBA season, Reddish missed the entirety of Summer League, which was key developmental time.

In his rookie season, Reddish played 58 games, where he played 26.7 MPG. He averaged 10.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.5 APG along with 0.5 BPG and 1.1 SPG. However, Reddish shot a lowly 38.4% from the field, 33.2% from deep, and 80.2% from the FT line.

Cam Reddish clearly struggled in his rookie season, but a late season breakout was encouraging for Reddish’s future improvement. The vast difference in his pre/post ASG production was astounding. His shot became more consistent, and we saw a more aggressive and confident player.

Here are his pre & post ASG splits:

• 9.3 to 16.4 PPG (+ 7.1)
• 3.7 to 3.7 RPG (Same)
• 1.5 APG to 1.3 APG (- 0.2)
• 35.3 to 50.0 FG% (+14.7%)
• 31.6 to 38.9 3FG% (+7.3%)
• 78.8 to 85.2 FT% (+6.4%)

Reddish’s scoring production and efficiency shot up in a big way.

Going further, here are Reddish’s monthly splits...

“PPG/TS%/3PT%”

October: 5.2/27.9/5.6
November: 7.9/42.8/27.9
December: 9.4/46.7/31.0
January: 11.9/54.3/40.3
February: 13.4/57.2/34.9
March: 17.5/67.2/47.6

Further evidence of his scoring & efficiency improvements.

Reddish came in with concerns about his finishing issues, but over the course of the season he developed a really solid floater game that looked to project better finishing around the rim in the future

Despite his rapid improvement offensively, defense was his best/most consistent asset through the course of his rookie season. He quickly established himself as the best perimeter defender on the team, which can be shown here:

Reddish’s defensive prowess looks to project him well in the future. On the season, Reddish averaged 1.4 steals & 3.2 deflections along with 0.6 blocks per 36 minutes. This type of defensive production is promising.

Here’s a list of rookies to average at least a 1.5 STL%, 1.5 BLK%, and collect at least 60 steals in the past 10 seasons (since 2009-10). Reddish is among very good company here. ( @andlankell for this information)

Best single-season college STL%:

Steph Curry: 3.9
James Harden: 4.1
Anthony Davis: 2.5
Paul George: 4.0
Kyrie Irving: 3.0
Kevin Durant: 3.0
Jimmy Butler: 2.4
Draymond Green: 3.6
Klay Thompson: 2.8
Kawhi Leonard: 2.8
Victor Oladipo: 4.6
Russell Westbrook: 3.0
Cam Reddish: 4.1

In the previous tweet, you may notice a trend. Most of the stars in the NBA have had above average STL% at the college level. This projected them well in the NBA and Reddish grades out very highly here. While not a guarantee for future stardom, this is interesting to see.

Cam Reddish’s offensive improvements and strong defensive play is extremely promising for his future. Whether it be one year or two, his development into a primary option is coming, and it will be very important for the future of this Atlanta Hawks team.

Building around Trae Young, the Hawks should know that Reddish will quickly emerge as a reliable piece. "I just know when the tables turn, I don’t want to hear sh*t, and you can quote me on that.” - Cam Reddish, November. Well, it seems the tables are turning for him. Watch out