Has AJ Griffin Fallen Out of the Atlanta Hawks Rotation?

Griffin was impressive as a rookie last season

One of the reasons that I thought the Hawks could be a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference this season was because of their depth. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu, and Saddiq Bey were proven NBA players and they would give the Hawks experience and scoring, among other things. Another reason I thought their depth was strong was the play of AJ Griffin. Griffin played really well as a rookie and brought a lot to the floor with his ability to shoot. Defensively there were some hiccups, but that is expected of almost any rookie.  

He played in 72 games last season and averaged 19.5 minutes per game. He shot 39% from three and 46.5% from the floor and was impressive from night to night. Griffin was supposed to play a big role in this year's team, but so far, that has been far from the truth. He has played in eleven games and only averages 9.2 minutes. He has not played in more than 15 min in a game and his role with the team was evident last night. 

With Jalen Johnson out and Trae Young out last night against the 76ers, Griffin did not see any minutes and Garrison Matthews has gotten time over Griffin, which is confusing. Matthews has not made an impact when he is on the floor, yet Snyder still does not play Griffin. 

Has AJ Griffin fallen out of the rotation for the Hawks / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

It is not just Garrison Matthews getting time over Griffin though. Patty Mills and Trent Forrest also got minutes and I know those are both guards and were likely to see time with Young out, but it is still noticeable that Griffin still can't get on the floor. 

I still believe in Griffin and his abilities and if it were me, I would have him as a part of the rotation over both Wesley and Garrison Matthews. 

Wesley Matthews is supposed to be one of the Hawks's better wing defenders, but the numbers don't bear that out. Per Cleaning the Glass, in 116 minutes, Atlanta allows 13.1 points more when Wesley Matthews is on the floor. Now, that is not all Matthews's fault, but he is not the defender that the Hawks need. I think they could use Griffin's ability to stretch the floor and he will need more minutes to grow as a defender. 

At a minimum, I think Griffin should be getting minutes at College Park for the G-League if he is just going to sit on the bench. The Hawks sent Bruno Fernando to play in the G-League, but when asked about that, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said that playing in the G-League was partly Fernando's idea: 

On Monday of this week, Atlanta Hawks’ Bruno Fernando was assigned to the College Park Skyhawks for their home game against the Long Island Nets.

I asked HC Quin Snyder on Tuesday about Bruno joining the Skyhawks for that game, “He initiated that, which is great.” pic.twitter.com/uattFZQx8Y

— JJ (@JameelahJNBA) December 9, 2023

There could be a number of reasons that Griffin could not be playing. It is clear though that he appears to have fallen out of the rotation for the Hawks and it is unclear if he has a clear path back to playing time for Atlanta. I still believe that Griffin will be a good NBA player and hope he finds a way back into the rotation for a team that is struggling right now. 

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