The 240 Minutes Series Explained:
In the NBA there are 450 players under full contracts to start every season. These players consist of superstars, all-stars, average players, guys dealing with injuries, benchwarmers, rookies, ring-chasers, and whatever Hassan Whiteside is. Despite the contracts, draft capital, coaching, potential, friendships, and experience that all play a role in rotation minutes, there are only 240 minutes every game to go around and split amongst the players.
In this series, we cut through all of that. Join the fun as we dig into the rosters of every NBA team and project how many rotation minutes will be played by each player to begin the season. This takes into account all active injuries and thinks about the rosters in terms of which 9-12 players on each team will actually be playing for their respective team for the first few weeks of the regular season. In addition to this, we will discuss the positions that they will be playing, why their minutes per game total is calculated where it is, and showcase the quality of the player that is allotted those minutes. The “quality of player” tiers will look as such:
MVP Candidate – Top 10 player and potential to win MVP this season
All-NBA Candidate – Top 30 player and potential to be on an All-NBA Team this season
High-End Starter – Quality starter with potential to make the All-star game this season
Starter – Quality starter and is (roughly) a top 120 player this season
Low-End Starter – Starts but is not (roughly) a top 120 player this season
Elite 6th Man – Does not start but is a top (roughly) 120 player and could win 6MOTY this season
High-End Backup – Does not start but could if needed and perform well
Backup – Does not start but is a quality role player
Low-End Backup – Could see minutes during regular season but might not make playoff rotation
Without further ado:
Where Will the 240 Minutes on the Atlanta Hawks Go?
Trae Young PG – All-NBA Candidate (33 minutes per game)
Under Lloyd Pierce, both the Hawks as a whole, as well as Trae Young, were not living up to their potential. The Hawks were 14-20 under Pierce and in early January Trae Young and John Collins even had a bit of a spat about how the offense should be run. Once the coaching change was made, Young’s assist numbers went up from 8.6 per game to 10.6 per game, until eventually leveling out at 9.4 assists per game for the season. Atlanta’s other players began to shine as well and Atlanta finished the season 27-11 under Nate McMillan. Young then had a stunning postseason averaging 28.8 points and 9.5 assists per game, leading upsets over both the Knicks and the Sixers. Trae averaged 33.7 minutes per game last season and looks to lead the Hawks deep into the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Clint Capela C – High-End Starter (32 minutes per game)
Capela had a career year in 2020-2021 with the Hawks, after spending his previous six seasons with the Houston Rockets. He averaged career highs in rebounds (14.3 per game) and blocks (2.0 per game) last season and was one of the best defensive players in the entire league last year. He received 36 votes for NBA All-Defensive 2nd team but was ultimately beat out by Rudy Gobert and Joel Embiid for the Center spots. With that being said, Capela finished 2nd in the NBA in Defensive RAPTOR (+5.2), behind only Gobert. Capela averaged 30.1 minutes per game last season, but will look to fill in a few extra minutes in 2021-2022 with Onyeka Okongwu missing the beginning of the season with injury.
Bogdan Bogdanovic SG – Starter (29 minutes per game)
Last offseason it initially looked like Bogdan was on his way to the Milwaukee Bucks, until it came out that the Bucks had conducted early free agent discussions with Bogdanovic and/or his agent before it was allowed. This ultimately caused the trade to fall through and Bogdan later signed with Atlanta. Unfortunately he dealt with injury issues early in the season and missed over 7 weeks of games before getting back on the court in early March. Bogdan finally found his stride when Trae Young was out due to injury and Bogdan was the primary scoring option. He averaged 21.9 points per game in April, while also shooting 48.5% from beyond the arc. Bogdanovic struggled a bit in the playoffs but ultimately was still the #2 scoring option at 14.1 points per game. Bogdan averaged 29.7 minutes per game last season and should see similar volume again in 2021-2022.
De’Andre Hunter SF/PF – Starter (29 minutes per game)
If it weren’t for Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter would be the best defender on this young Hawks team. In 2020-2021, Hunter was the 10th ranked defender in the NBA (minimum 500 minutes played) in terms of overall defensive RAPTOR at +3.9. Unfortunately he was only able to play in 23 regular season games and 5 playoff games last season. When healthy, Hunter was a very nice two-way starter, playing 29.5 minutes per game. This season he should stick right around that mark, but will hopefully be able to play 60+ games.
John Collins PF/C – Starter (29 minutes per game)
Collins has always been an incredible offensive PF. While he did regress in points per game last season (dropping from 21.6 PPG in 2019-2020 to 17.6 PPG in 2020-2021), his points per 100 possessions remained nearly identical. Collins also stayed a 40% three-point shooter for the 2nd straight season. Being the #3 option on this Hawks team is an incredible luxury and the Hawks definitely wanted Collins to stay with Atlanta long-term as they offered him a massive 5-year/$125 million contract. Collins should see similar to the 29.3 minutes per game that he played last season.
Kevin Huerter SG/SF – High-End Backup (27 minutes per game)
After being selected 19th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Huerter has been an incredible glue guy for this developing young roster. His ideal role is likely a 6th man, but he has started 156 of his 200 career regular season games with the Hawks. Last season he averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 30.8 minutes per game. Huerter is a below average defender, which is why De’Andre Hunter will start at Small Forward when healthy, but the red-headed sharpshooter should continue to have a huge role for Atlanta.
Danilo Gallinari PF/C – Backup (20 minutes per game)
The Rooster is entering his 33-year-old season and is transitioning into the last stretch of his career. Gallinari had started every game he played in from 2015-2019 prior to joining the Hawks, where he started only four of the 69 games. Even in a bench role, Gallinari was incredibly effective, averaging 13.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. He also shot 40.6% from long-range and played over 1/3 of his minutes at Center. He also did not see his minutes drop off at all in the playoffs, so it’s safe to assume that he will have a consistent role going forward. Look for his minutes to take a slight hit with a healthy De’Andre Hunter, but Gallo will certainly be a 7th-8th man for the Hawks.
Lou Williams PG/SG – Backup (17 minutes per game)
Sweet Lou will be 35 entering the 2021-2022 season, making him the oldest active player on the Hawks. Last season, he began the year on the Clippers but was dealt mid-season to the Hawks in exchange for Rajon Rondo and the change in scenery did him well. Lou-Will was shooting a decent 37.8% from deep with LAC but shot a career-best 44.4% from deep once joining Atlanta. He also single-handedly won Atlanta a game against the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals when he dropped 21 points and 8 assists in game 4. He averaged 21.0 minutes per game with the Hawks during the regular season but only 15.4 minutes per game in the playoffs. Look for his playing time next season to fall somewhere in between those two marks in a crowded back court.
Delon Wright PG/SG – Backup (12 minutes per game)
The Hawks went out of their way to acquire Delon Wright this off-season in a three-team trade with the Celtics and Kings. While Atlanta already had a deep back-court, adding another veteran backup who can be a capable combo-guard is never a bad thing. Lou Williams and Delon Wright are fairly interchangeable, which gives the Hawks some good options for when Trae Young is on the bench. Wright averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 assists in 27.7 minutes per game last season, but won’t be seeing major minutes unless injuries occur.
Gorgui Dieng C – Low-End Backup (7 minutes per game)
Gorgui Dieng has jumped from team to team the last few seasons. He had shown flashes of being a starting-caliber center ever since he was drafted 21st in the 2013 NBA Draft, but it never quite came together. Dieng is now 31 years old and is simply the C Version of Clint Capela. Regardless, his defensive experience and the injury to Onyeka Okongwu have opened up a small role for Dieng. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game last season but Atlanta may lean on Gallinari and John Collins to play most of the backup Center minutes.
Cam Reddish SG/SF – Backup (5 minutes per game)
The curious case of Cam Reddish… The former 10th overall pick has all the upside in the world. When he sees time on the court, he has typically played well, but his minutes were wildly inconsistent last season. Reddish averaged 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds, along with 1.3 steals in 28.8 minutes per game but only played in 26 regular season games. Then in the playoffs, he only played in 4 total games, but scored 21 points on 6/7 from three in 29 minutes in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Behind the likes of Bogdanovic, Hunter, Huerter, and Williams, if he is not traded, Reddish will have a tough time finding the minutes he deserves.
Projected Nightly Depth Chart:
PG: Trae Young/Delon Wright/Lou Williams
SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic/Lou Williams/Cam Reddish
SF: De’Andre Hunter/Kevin Huerter/Cam Reddish
PF: John Collins/Danilo Gallinari/De’Andre Hunter
C: Clint Capela/Gorgui Dieng/John Collins
Not in Initial Rotation:
Onyeka Okongwu PF/C
Solomon Hill SF/PF
Shariffe Cooper PG
Jalen Johnson SF/PF