The Atlanta Hawks have started the new NBA season with 2-1 after falling to the Charlotte Hornets, 126-109, on Sunday.
Even with the loss, the Hawks have shown a lot of promise to start the new season with moments of electric offense and smothering on-ball defense by several players in the main rotation.
Along with the good play by the Hawks on the court, one of the major storylines over the past week came when the organization announced that they had signed their 2019 first-round pick De’Andre Hunter to a four-year, $95 million contract extension.
Hunter immediately rewarded the Hawks by having a superb opening night with 22 points in a victory over the Houston Rockets. Hunter followed that performance by posting double digits in each of the Hawks' next two games.
Therefore, the question that Sam & Greg posed to Terrell Thomas when he joined them on Sunday morning was: “Can De’Andre Hunter make a run at the NBA's Most Improved Player award in 2022-23?”
“De’Andre Hunter is healthy and making a huge impact,” emphasized Thomas when describing the good play Hunter is providing in the early part of this season.
Thomas also told Sam & Greg that he believes Hunter can be a key if the Hawks can and will become a contender in the Eastern Conference.
“I believe he will have a really strong chance to have his name in those NBA Most Improved Player rankings throughout the season,” replied Terrell when asked by Greg who could be the Hawks X-factor.
Through three games, Hunter is averaging 14.6 points and five rebounds per game.
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To hear the entire conversation between Sam, Greg and Terrell download the link above.