Over 48 hours you saw a microcosm of Taurean Prince’s second season with the Hawks.
In the victory over the Jazz , Prince shook off a foul-plagued first half and ignited a third-quarter surge that buried the visitors. Prince was aggressive offensively while making good decisions and chased the Jazz's ball-handlers, cutters and shooters all over the court.
“When he plays like that, it’s huge,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
But, two nights later, Prince turned in a dud in a loss to the Raptors: two points on three shots, zero assists, one steal and three turnovers in 13 minutes. Prince didn't play in the second quarter, then Budenholzer substituted for him after four minutes of the third before leaving him on the bench for the rest of the game.
“Taurean, in several situations, he has just got to be smarter, he’s got to be better,” Budenholzer said after the game. “Just kind of went with other guys. He’ll be better, Friday, I’m sure. “
Prince could play better at Charlotte Friday because he often follows bad games with good ones. But Prince, 23, still is looking for consistency in his second season.
Against the Jazz, Prince’s outburst included 17 points on 11 shots, three assists and three steals in just 25 minutes. It followed a four-game stretch in which he produced only 17 points on 24 shots, six assists and two steals in 107 minutes.
Prince had been dealing with a hand injury but said that wasn’t a factor in his offensive slump.
“I just stayed right mentally, continued to do what I do,” Prince said after the Jazz game. “There’s no reason for me to switch it up just because I had a couple bad shooting games. I’m back now, though.”
Then came the benching against the Raptors, which followed a passive defensive stretch for Prince. It included failing to challenge Serge Ibaka on a drive for a dunk and going under a screen before making a halfhearted challenge on OG Anunoby’s 3-pointer.
Prince has played just 2,405 minutes but already has established himself as a legitimate NBA player. It’s not uncommon for young players to be inconsistent. But there’s room for improvement in the big picture, too.
Prince has significantly improved his offensive efficiency, in large part because he's taking 3-pointers more frequently and making them at 39.6 percent clip. Prince also is producing much better as a passer.
Yet Prince’s passiveness and poor decision-making shows up in other numbers.
Prince’s efficiency as a pick-and-roll ball-handler rates poorly, according to Synergy Sports Technology tracking data. He’s been good when using screens to get to the basket, where his strength and long wingspan are assets, but inefficient when settling for jumpers off the dribble.
Overall, Prince is a better offensive player. But those improvements have been offset by Prince’s decline in defensive impact.
Among small forwards who've played at least 30 games and averaged 20 minutes, Prince ranks 23rd in ESPN's Defensive Real Plus-Minus, which attempts to adjust for quality of teammates and opponents. Prince ranked fourth among small forwards in that metric as a rookie.
Prince also has seen a big dip in production on blocks, steals, deflections and shots challenged. His Defensive Box Plus-Minus has plummeted.
The thing I like about Prince is that he's always quick to say he can make an impact defensively even when not making shots. He takes pride in defending. Yet sometimes that shows and sometimes it doesn't, as illustrated by Prince's contrasting games this week in an inconsistent season.
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