One moment, Luke Kennard was spacing the floor as planned against Golden State. Next, the Hawks were left scrambling. Atlanta’s night took an early turn in the second quarter when Kennard exited to the locker room with a neck strain, casting immediate doubt over the availability of one of their most reliable shooters. The Hawks’ 3-point specialist was ruled questionable to return, per ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel, putting a sudden strain on an offense built around his floor-spacing.

The injury was particularly jarring given Kennard’s consistency in his first season with Atlanta, having appeared in each of the team’s previous 35 games and carving out a steady role in the rotation.

Before exiting the game, Kennard had logged 4 points on 2 of 3 shots from the field. In his absence, CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, who were acquired from Washington in the Trae Young trade, were expected to fill the minutes.

However, Kennard returned shortly after, in the second quarter, for an excellent game. He exploded for 18 more points in the next two quarters. The Hawks player put up 22 points off the bench in just 22 minutes.

All of Kennard’s remaining points came from 3-point shooting in the last two quarters, as the Hawks looked dominant in their win against Steph Curry’s Warriors.

Kennard is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA, and the Hawks acquired him this season to space their floor. Kennard is a poor defensive addition for any NBA team. The Hawks signed him, and some reports suggest that Trae Young recruited him during the offseason.

According to Sham Charnaia, Kennard signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the team on July 1. Kennard’s first season with the Hawks didn’t start on the best note, and he has only found his game in the last few weeks.

After early season slump, Luke Kennard has revitalized himself as the Hawks eye playoffs

The Atlanta Hawks have been at the center of the NBA’s trade talk lately. They traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards and brought CJ McCollum and Kispert to Atlanta.

One of the primary reasons, and perhaps the only reason, the Hawks felt comfortable trading their franchise player away was due to Young’s impact on Atlanta’s winning. They had won just 2 of the 10 games that the Hawks suited up in.

Since the trade, the Hawks have continued their stride. They have won their last three games, which include teams like the Nuggets, the Pelicans, and on Sunday, the Warriors. The Hawks’ winning games have also coincided with Kennard finding his 3-point shooting after an early slump.

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In the first seven games of the season, Quin Snyder gave a lot of playing minutes to Kennard. However, the shooting specialist, despite being one of the best in the league in the specialty, shot poorly, and even worse, too little.

Since then, the Hawks’ coach has always taken a lot of Kennard’s minutes, which he is now earning back. The Hawks went 3-4 in their first seven games, and Kennard has just two games in the double-digits.

Despite leading the league in 3-point shooting for two consecutive seasons in the past, Kennard had a habit of taking safe 3-point shots. In the last few weeks, he has increased the volume of his shots from beyond the arc. Moreover, the Hawks player has also made his game more versatile.

He has started driving to the basket, and he has been very efficient. In the Warriors game today, he scored his first four points in the paint.

The Trae Young trade heralded a new age for the Hawks. With the new young team, they are looking to make a big push for the playoffs. The Hawks are currently ranked 9th with a 20-21 record.