Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young Not Making Excuses for Preseason Turnover Issues
By Chris Guest
A quick note on the huge number of turnovers the Atlanta Hawks have produced over the course of the team’s first two preseason games.
Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks has his sights set on lofty goals in his second season, yet he has started off rather slowly over the course of the team’s first two preseason tilts.
In the team’s first game, Young was in more of a pass-first mood, as he piled up 11 assists against only 9 points. In the team’s second game, he upped his scoring production with 18 points and also nabbed 7 boards and distributed 5 assists.
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However, despite this production on the offensive end, Young continues to be an absolute turnover machine during the preseason – as he coughed up 9 turnovers in the team’s first preseason matchup and 8 in the following one against the Magic. Not a great look for a player that was 3rd in the NBA last season with 308 total turnovers last season.
According to recent comments from Young to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Young is making no excuses for his turnover-filled preseason showings:
“It’s embarrassing… It’s preseason, but I don’t want to use that as a tool, just an excuse for me to turn the ball over.”
Indeed, 17 turnovers over the course of the team’s first two preseason games is not a promising start, especially when combined with the team’s overall propensity to boot the ball all over the gym: Atlanta produced 29 and 27 turnovers, respectively, in their first two preseason games.
As has been stated previously, the next step towards success for the Hawks will be made via improving the team’s turnover and foul numbers. Though the preseason doesn’t necessarily mean much in the long run, the Hawks cannot continue to produce such staggering turnover totals and expect to win high-leverage games with any regularity.
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It’s good to see Young address this – even if it is just in the preseason.