A quick look at a recent stat on double-teaming defense on Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young in the 2018-19 season.
The Atlanta Hawks found a treasure and franchise cornerstone in the 2018 NBA Draft by selecting Trae Young at #5 overall. Though, of course, General Manager Travis Schlenk was laughed off the internet for trading away Slovenian prodigy Luka Doncic, that move happened to work out for both sides – even to the point where more credence should’ve been given to naming them Co-Rookies of the Year.
Digression aside, Trae Young blew expectations out of the water and was easily one of the best rookies in the NBA – as well as the best rookie in Hawks franchise history. However, because Atlanta was fairly limited on the offensive end, Young’s exploits were often the team’s entire plan of attack on O – so much so that the rook was facing double teams as early as Utah Summer League in early July of 2018, mere weeks after the draft took place.
That double-teaming defensive trend carried over into the regular season. So much so, that a recent stat produced by ESPN’s The Jump showcased just how much attention Trae was receiving last season:
I knew @TheTraeYoung faced a lot of double teams last year, but 5th in the league per @espnthejump? For a rookie no less. Wow... pic.twitter.com/Uiry05KhIy
— Soaring Down South (@SoaringDwnSouth) August 21, 2019
Of course, the graphic features Devin Booker, who has been in the news for his disagreement with getting double-teamed playing pickup with various NBA players.
Ice Trae himself chimed in on the subject in agreement with Booker:
https://twitter.com/TheTraeYoung/status/1164242285485338624
As you can see, both players have an argument for not wanting to face double-teams in the offseason, considering both of them will likely be facing a huge amount of them once again in 2019-20.
Looking at the Atlanta Hawks situation at point guard next season, and Young in particular is likely to face an onslaught of double teams at the point of attack. The Atlanta Hawks did not really address the team’s backup point guard needs – only trading for Evan Turner (who is a wing) and signing Brandon Goodwin (who has played 57 career minutes at the one).
With that in mind, expect Young’s level of double teams faced to only go up next season for the Atlanta Hawks.