Lloyd Pierce made some changes and Trae Young continued his hot start as the Atlanta Hawks pulled out a 123-118 win over their division opponents, the Miami Heat.

Three Observations

1. Vince Carter, Closer

Before tip off one major change had already occurred for the Hawks: Vince Carter would be coming off the bench and Omari Spellman would take his place in the starting lineup.

However, as all hoopers know, it’s not about who starts the game, but who finishes it. And Carter surely finished it tonight. Down the stretch, the grizzled veteran found a way to make a real impact on the action.

Carter had a tip-dunk (REMINDER: HE’S 41!), a fadeaway jumper to regain the lead, forced a turnover, two free throws, and a near steal that ran key seconds off the clock on Miami’s final possession.

The future Hall of Famer has been a steadying presence in the locker room for the young Hawks this season, but tonight he proved that he can also contribute on the court as well.

In 18 minutes, Carter chipped in 12 points (on seven shots), two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and finished as a plus-8 for the game.

Even if just for a few moments at a time, if Atlanta can get these type of contributions from Carter on a nightly basis in limited minutes he’s going to make a lot of people eat their words from when the team brought him in this offseason.

2.  Lloyd Pierce gets creative

The change to the starting lineup wasn’t the only stroke of creativity we saw from the first-year head coach in this game.

Off the jump ball, Atlanta collected possession and the team flowed right into a set designed to get an open corner three-pointer for…Alex Len.

Len, of course, drilled it with ease.

Moments like these not only help the players buy-in to what Pierce is preaching but also makes the Hawks that more of a hassle for their opponents to scout in season.

As the season goes on, it will be interesting to keep track of the little tricks that Pierce keeps up his sleeves and when he decides to use them.

3. Trae Young early Rookie of the Year favorite

Through nine games, Trae Young is averaging 19.1 points per game (second among rookies), 7.9 assists per game (first among rookies; more than twice as much as second place), 18 three-pointers made (second among rookies), and three double-doubles (second among rookies).

Heading into the season, Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic got a lot of the push for Rookie of the Year frontrunners, but to begin the year it’s hard to argue against what Young has been able to do.

Against the Miami Heat, Young poured in a sensational 24-point, 15-assist, five-rebound performance to help bring the four-game losing streak to an end. Young became the first rookie since 2000 to have back-to-back games of 10-plus assists.

It’s not the first time Young’s been the first rookie to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in years, and if he continues to play like this it most certainly won’t be the last time either.

Two Questions

1. Is this new starting lineup here to stay?

This isn’t the first time that the five-man unit of Young, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, Spellman, and Len have shared the floor this season, but it was the first time that the group started a game together.

In a little over 15 minutes of game action, they are a minus-2.8 on the season. Yet, on Saturday night, they finished as a plus-one in their time together. More importantly, the reconfiguration of the rotation helped Atlanta drop 41 points on the Heat in the first quarter.

Despite my own–and likely all Hawks fans’–pleas to get Dedmon into the starting lineup as quickly as possible, it seems like Len is there to stay.

The addition of Spellman though is likely to help this team on the glass, where despite his best efforts, the ageless wonder, Carter, was a negative at best for the team.

From his first preseason action, Spellman has shown he isn’t afraid to insert himself into the action.

As long as the rookie can continue an impressive defensive start, it’s likely that he remains a starter for the rest of the season.

2. Can Atlanta win the Southeast Division?

Currently, the 5-5 Charlotte Hornets sit atop of the Southeast Division with a one-game lead over the now 3-5 Miami Heat.

Atlanta is just 1.5 games behind the Hornets at 3-6.

This game against the Heat was the Hawks first against a division opponent this year, and with the win, they join the Hornets (3-0) as the lone team without a loss to a division foe.

The Hawks head to Charlotte next to battle the Hornets and a win there suddenly gets them to just half a game back of the top spot in the Southeast.

Orlando and Washington are at the bottom of the standings in the division and neither has really shown enough promise to truly be a contender for a division title.

That means as long as Atlanta can keep up with the Heat and Hornets there’s a pathway to a banner being added in the State Farm Arena for 2019-2020.

One Prediction

1. Dewayne Dedmon gets traded this year

Again, I preface this by saying I want Dedmon on this team and to be ingrained as its starting center.

However, I am not running the Hawks front office. With Dedmon showing that he hasn’t missed a beat from last year, he will be sought after by nearly every playoff contender as trade bait.

Dedmon is easily one of the best backup big men in the NBA today, and while Atlanta is lucky to have him on their team he’s on an expiring contract.

It’s clear that the 29-year-old is unlikely to be brought back on a similarly team-friendly two-year $14 million dollar deal that the sides agreed to in 2017.

That means Atlanta will be looking to get some compensation back for Dedmon before he finds a new team.

Depending on how desperate the team, it’s not completely crazy to see Travis Schlenke land a late first-round pick in return.

The Hawks are building for the future right now and unfortunately, as things lie, Dedmon isn’t part of that future.