CJ McCollum’s impact on the Hawks is bigger than expected
CJ McCollum didn’t arrive in Atlanta with the spotlight on him.
In the wake of a Trae Young commerce, it is simple for followers to fixate on picks, timelines, and the long-term imaginative and prescient. McCollum felt like the kind of veteran included to make salaries work and stabilize the rotation.
Instead, he has turn into way more essential than anybody noticed coming, and the numbers again it up.
After averaging 18.9 factors per sport final month as the Hawks’ third main scorer, he is quietly shifting outcomes.
The greatest factor McCollum supplies is reliability, one thing Atlanta has not at all times had evening to nighttime. He can generate offense with out the play breaking down, and he understands easy methods to management tempo when the sport will get messy.
That issues for a roster that has leaned younger and has typically struggled with late-game execution. McCollum’s presence provides the Hawks a gentle hand, significantly in stretches the place the offense wants a fast response. Those possessions are the place “throw ins” both disappear or turn into important, and he has been important.
Why CJ McCollum has quietly turn into Atlanta’s X-factor
McCollum’s worth is not honest in scoring; it is in how he complements everyone else.
He is comfy enjoying on or off the ball, which permits Atlanta to maintain motion in the offense as a substitute of relying on one creator. When he is on the ground, defenders need to respect the jumper and the pull-up sport, opening area for cutters and rollers.
He additionally creates simpler seems to be for teammates just by drawing consideration, even when he is not taking the shot. That is the form of gravity that reveals up in successful, even when it doesn’t at all times present up in headlines.
His expertise is additionally an element that can not be overstated. Young groups typically lose video games as a result of they take unhealthy pictures, rush possessions, or fail to acknowledge what the second requires. McCollum has seen each protection and each crunch time situation, and he performs with a relaxed that settles the group.
That calm travels, as a result of teammates begin making smarter reads after they belief the common ground subsequent to them. It is not flashy, nevertheless it is precisely what a creating roster must keep away from falling into outdated habits.
Hawks want McCollum down the stretch
The most shocking half is how effectively he has match into Atlanta’s rhythm.
Rather than stopping the ball, he has helped the offense circulate by making fast selections and punishing defensive errors. His scoring output final month is a mirrored image of alternative, but additionally of ability and timing. He is choosing spots, attacking mismatches, and giving the Hawks a second wave when the first choice is taken away. That is why its impact feels sustainable as a substitute of streaky.
McCollum could have been labeled a throw in, however he is playing like a difference maker.
If Atlanta’s aim is to maintain climbing and turn into an actual playoff menace, having a veteran X-factor issues. The Hawks don’t want him to be the first choice; they want him to maintain being a stabilizer who can even swing video games.
So far, that is precisely what he has carried out, and it is altering the tone of the season. Sometimes the greatest a part of a commerce is not the headline; it is the piece no one expected to matter this much.
