Atlanta Hawks: The Good and Bad of Cam Reddish
Why Cam Reddish Didn’t Live Up to the Hype
Coaching and Role
There are various reasons why Cam Reddish did not live up to the hype at Duke. One main reason was the role he played in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s offense. Cam was most often used as a spot up shooter, attempting 7.4 of his 12 shot attempts per game, from three-point range. Not the best use of a player, who is blessed with many talents on the offensive end of the floor. Even an NBA All Star like Kevin Love, who is a great shooter, saw his numbers decline when being confined to a similar role while playing with LeBron James. The ball handing skills of Cam Reddish, should have been utilized in a point forward role in my opinion. There his dribbling and passing abilities would have maximized, while still allowing R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson to focus on scoring the ball. Being Improperly cast, Cam Reddish only managed to register four or more assists five times last season, with a high of six assists for the 2018-19 campaign. He is capable of so much more.
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Injuries
Another reason that Cam Reddish was not as effective as expected, was the fact that he was injured for most of the season. One injury that he dealt with was a broken rib. He suffered the injury in practice just prior to the season starting. That is according to Kevin Connelly of Ball Durham, FanSided’s Duke University based website. He mostly played through the injury, but it definitely impacted his shooting,. The broken rib also likely limited his willingness to absorb contact, when attacking the basket as well.
Less than a month prior to the NBA Draft, it was announced by NBA.com that Cam Reddish would undergo a minor surgery to repair a core muscle injury. Before the announcement, the public was unaware of the injury. The injury was a nagging ailment, that bothered Cam all season long. This explains why he only participated in the measurement portion of the combine, while skipping all of the physical testing and shooting drills. This also sheds light on the probable reason, that he mysteriously missed an NCAA Tournament game. At the time Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports, refered to the problem as a mysterious knee injury. Certainly such an injury could be the reason, why Cam Reddish failed to meet the high expectations placed on him during his freshman year.