Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Kevin Huerter knows there is talk of the birds making the playoffs in 2020, but he is not letting the chatter distract him from self-improvement.
The Hawks boast one of the most promising young cores in the NBA, headlined by Huerter, 2019 Rookie of the Year runner-up Trae Young, rising star big man John Collins and rookies De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish.
Atlanta figures to be dark horse playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference, with fans and the media alike seeing them fighting for the lower seeds in the conference.
Hurter, however, is not listening to all the postseason talks, emphasizing that they are only focused on improving themselves and their record compared to last year. Regardless whether they make it to the playoffs or not, the important thing for them is they are moving forward.
Some people are projecting that this team could make the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed. Is that something you guys have discussed as a team?
“Honestly, no,” Huerter told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype when asked if the Hawks have talked about possibly making the playoffs.
“Playoffs, for us, isn’t really a word we talk about – all we talk about is winning more than 29 games. We know how honestly close we were last year – we weren’t too far off from that eighth seed – but we’re probably not going to talk about it for most of the year. It’s not something we talk about in the locker room, trying to sneak in [to the playoffs]. It’s literally just, “We’re going to win more than 29 games and continue to get better.” Then whatever happens, happens.”
The Hawks finished with a 26-53 record in the 2018-19 campaign, leaving them at 12th in the conference and 12 wins behind for the playoff spot.
Under second-year head coach Lloyd Pierce, the Hawks are definitely feeling the itch to qualify for the playoffs in 2020. Nonetheless, they know that with the young core they have, they need time to develop.
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