CLEVELAND — De’Andre Hunter was dubbed by teammates the “Offseason MVP” heading into this year. But, thus far, it hasn’t translated into the regular season.
Hunter has been the basketball equivalent of a baseball player who hits the cover off the ball in spring training, only to then struggle once Opening Day arrives. It’s a common theme, and it leaves the player — regardless of sport — grinding to try to escape the rut.
“Yeah, it’s not clicking,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson admitted after the Cavs’ 123-112 loss to the Utah Jazz on Jan. 12, one of Cleveland’s worst defeats of the season. “Listen, I think it’s a prolonged slump, you know, and it happens.
“He’ll snap out of it. He’s too good of a player to be playing like this.”
Hunter was acquired at last year’s trade deadline with the goal of him being the final piece the Cavs needed to make a deep playoff run. He seemed to fit in flawlessly during one of Cleveland’s many winning streaks, but the same success hasn’t followed him in his first full season with the Cavs. Lately, Hunter has seemed out of place on the offensive end of the floor.
In his previous nine games entering the Jan. 12 loss, Hunter was averaging just 10.7 points on 39.5% from the floor and 24.2% from 3-point range. In his time with Cleveland last season after the trade, those shooting percentages were 48.5 and 42.6, respectively.
“I know what guys do. They grind through this. They work,” Atkinson said. “He’s out there extra after practice. He’s in the batting cage more. I see it. He’s trying to get through this slump.”
De’Andre Hunter stats
Hunter was in the running to be a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year for much of last season. He was slated to either transition into a starter (especially with Max Strus out) or continue to be a crucial sixth man off the bench in Atkinson’s rotation. Although the athleticism remains, Hunter’s shot seems to be missing, and the Cavs are trying anything they can think of to find it.
“We’ve got to figure it out because, obviously, it’s not just on the player,” Atkinson said. “It’s on the coaching staff, too, to help them.”
While the Cavs sputter through the first half of the season — largely because of a rash of injuries — getting Hunter back on track has become one of the main priorities for the second half and leading into the playoffs. When he was acquired at last year’s deadline, it wasn’t as a short-term rental, but rather the inclusion of a key, long-term piece to the roster after the core four.
“He’s a hell of a player. … We have our arms around him,” said guard Donovan Mitchell. “The biggest thing about him is it’s not affecting the mood, right? Like, he’s still a guy that comes one very day with the same positive spirit, and that’s who you want around you.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers trying to help De’Andre Hunter snap out of shooting slump
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
