Hawks' Larry Nance Jr. awards Dyson Daniels with perfect defensive nickname
Yesterday at 02:38 PM
On Tuesday evening, the Atlanta Hawks pulled off the biggest upset of the young NBA season by knocking off the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics on the road without Trae Young and several other key pieces in the lineup. The game featured a breakout performance from newly acquired wing Dyson Daniels, who scored 28 points and also registered his third straight game with at least six steals, a category he leads the NBA by a country mile so far this year.
At Hawks practice on Thursday, Daniels’ own teammate Larry Nance Jr., who was sent to Atlanta along with Daniels in exchange for Dejounte Murray this offseason, lined up along with reporters for his press conference and gave him a perfect nickname for his defensive prowess: The Great Barrier Thief (per Kevin Chouinard on X, formerly Twitter).
This of course refers to Daniels’ Australian heritage as well as his skills on the defensive side of the court, where he has quickly turned himself into one of the NBA’s elites.
A breakout start to the season
When the Hawks traded Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans this offseason, many treated Dyson Daniels as an afterthought in the deal considering that he hadn’t been able to get consistent minutes in the Pelicans’ rotation throughout the first couple of years of his career.
However, Daniels is quickly proving that he has all of the tools necessary to be an elite two-way wing in the NBA, constantly taking Jayson Tatum out of his comfort zone on Tuesday in Boston while also having an impressive game on offense both in terms of shooting and facilitating.
In order to truly break into the type of player that the Hawks are hoping he will, Daniels will need to continue to improve his three point shooting, which has hovered around 30 percent throughout his career. However, at just 21 years of age, there is plenty of time for that number to skyrocket, while his defense–which is already among the best in the NBA–can also continue to expand.
Combine Daniels’ breakout start to the season along with increased production from Jalen Johnson and some flashes from number one overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, and the Hawks have a trio of young wings who could form the makings of a new young core, even if Trae Young is no longer part of the franchise’s long term plans.
The Hawks will next take the floor on Friday evening vs the Washington Wizards.
The post Hawks’ Larry Nance Jr. awards Dyson Daniels with perfect defensive nickname appeared first on ClutchPoints.
