ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks came in on Monday night on a three-game winning streak, and they extended it to four defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 124-112. It was an all-around team effort for the Hawks, but it was De'Andre Hunter once again that stole the show for the night. The past four games have been pleasant for Hunter, and his birthday, he finished the game with a team-high 22 points.
Hunter has been playing extremely well coming off the bench, and he's been the scoring punch that they need for the second unit. After the game, Hunter kept it simple when asked about what's been working for him lately.
“It’s just the work I put in,” Hunter said. “Coach tells me to shoot more, even when I think I’ve shot a lot, he continues to tell me to shoot more. Just having that confidence, and my teammates. Trae finding me, [Jalen Johnson] finding me, it’s just up to me to make the shot.”
Even Hunter's teammates have had good things to say about Hunter's recent play, and he's been doing it on both sides of the ball.
“De’Andre is being aggressive and we’re all telling him to be aggressive,” Trae Young said. “We need him to be aggressive for us. Anytime he’s shooting, we believe it’s going in, and he’s taking great shots. Nothing is forced, he’s just playing the right way. On his birthday he could’ve took 20, 30 shots and we would’ve been alright with it. But for him to come out here and still be efficient, play the right way, play defense, that was a hell of a game from Dre.”
“Dre’s really big for us coming off the bench,” Dyson Daniels said. “The guy can do it all. He can defend, he can make shots, and for us, he’s been really good to start this year. He’s been making shots, he’s been getting on the rim. He’s a leader for us. He communicates really well, plays hard, but credit to him for giving us a lift off the bench.”
De'Andre Hunter coming up big for the Hawks

Injuries have hampered De'Andre Hunter's career, but when he's available, he shows that he can be a consistent option for the team. This season he's coming off the bench, and this may have been the best he's played since coming into the league.
Before their game against the Pelicans, Hunter had been rolling on the offensive side of the ball. In their first matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Hawks were down big in the first quarter, but Hunter helped them back into the game, and he finished with 26 points. In their second matchup against the Cavs, Hunter scored 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Against the Charlotte Hornets, Hunter hit two big layups at the end of the game to help give the Hawks the win and finished with 18 points.
If Hunter can continue his strong play off the bench, there shouldn't be a question that he could be in the Sixth Man of the Year talks at the end of the season. For now, the thing is to make sure that he stays healthy, and continues to play solid on both sides of the ball.