After feeling hopeless once their star player Trae Young was sidelined with an ankle injury, it seemed that this 2019-2020 nightmare of a season was about to get even uglier.
But then, a glimmer of hope.
After watching Evan Turner flail around and letting DeAndre’ Bembry take point a few times, Atlanta finally gave the kid Brandon Goodwin a shot. The 24-year-old Florida Gulf Coast Product (shoutout Dunk City) and G-League vet had been all around the league before finally getting some reps with the College Park Skyhawks on a 2-way contract. Goodwin had only competed in 16 career games with Denver before this season, averaging 1.4 PPG and 0.9 APG. It’s safe to say he was probably on his last leg in the association.
The Norcross native hadn’t done much to impress during the preseason, averaging 3.8 points over 13.8 minutes per game, but he did have an eruption similar to last night, going off for 27 and 3 during a summer league game in 2018 for Memphis. I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s talk about last night.
On the heels of a ten-game losing streak, Atlanta traveled to Orlando to play the eight seed Magic. Markelle Fultz had been playing a lot better after being labeled a draft bust, but Brandon Goodwin stole the show last night. With lackluster efforts by the rest of the team, Goodwin exploded for 21 points on 7-11 shooting to go along with six assists and two steals. He had a clutch block and steal at the end of the game, setting up a nasty John Collins dunk.
THIS RIGHT HERE. pic.twitter.com/y42eOQFj0g
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 31, 2019
Is it possible Goodwin’s outburst was just a flash in the pan? Yes. Is it possible we finally have a reliable option at backup PG since Dennis and Teague were both in town? Yes. Did we finally win a game last night? Yes. That’s all that matters – on to the next.