As Ilyasova nears return, should he start for Hawks over Babbitt?

Babbitt became the starter by default once Mike Muscala followed Ilyasova to the injured list and Budenholzer decided John Collins would get nearly all of his minutes at center.  I think Babbitt has been pretty good in his new role (relatively speaking). In five games a starter (155 minutes) Babbitt has scored 12 points per 36 minutes with a 59.76 effective field-goal percentage that includes 13-for-27 shooting on threes (48 percent).

Babbitt's -3.4 net rating per 100 possessions over 292 total minutes is third-best among the team's regulars, and his 62.8 effective field goal percentage is tops among Hawks rotation players. Babbitt's history suggests that he should remain an efficient, low-usage offensive player, and his stint with the Heat last season showed that he can be part of a good defensive group.

Ilyasova didn’t play well over the first four games, especially offensively, though Budenholzer lauded him for his defensive grit. Ilyasova showed signs of wearing down while playing career-high minutes last season but he’s been a solid rotation player for a long time so the expectation is that he will get better. If he does, Ilyasova’s longer and better track record means there’s likely to be more trade interest in him than Babbitt.

If your outlook on the Hawks is cynical (or existential), you may think that it doesn’t matter much in either the little or big picture whether Ilyasova or Babbitt starts. The Hawks can ride with Ilyasova as the starter because the difference between his production and Babbitt’s is not the kind of thing that much concerns a rebuilding team. But based solely on winning games now, I’d say Babbitt is the better choice as starter.

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