Atlanta Hawks: 3 Takeaways From Blowout Win Over OKC

The game is slowing down for Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks drafted Trae Young for games like Tuesday night against the Thunder.

Young had a 24-point, 11-assist double-double with 6 rebounds. He did have 7 turnovers, but still finished a +16 on the floor in the win.

More than his high point and assist totals, which he has done before, it was the way he got his points and assist that were so impressive.

Young showed off a high-basketball IQ in the halfcourt, balancing out seeking out mismatches—a testament to head coach Lloyd Pierce as well—for his teammates and himself.

In the first clip above clip, Young has Steven Adams on him but immediately gets the rock to Collins with the slight-of-build Terrance Ferguson on his back. It leads to a quick bucket and shows why it can occasionally be a good idea to have Young’s man back off him a bit and try to disrupt his passing lanes. But if you back off him too much….

https://twitter.com/HawksOnFSSE/status/1085367390395744256

Young had it all working on Tuesday night, going 4/9 from the 3-point line (44%) while also converting on some crafty layups at the rim.

His playmaking has been awesome all season, while his scoring has been nice but often devoid of efficiency. But Youngs’ 3-point percentage and free throw attempts have been increasing if you look at his month-by-month splits, suggesting that more huge performances could be in store as we head closer and closer to the February All-Star break.