Atlanta Hawks: Grading Trae Young’s season to the All-Star break
The Atlanta Hawks started the season incredibly well. They were near the top of the NBA pile for the first week and then the troubles started. They had multiple injury issues which have gotten worse over the season which has put a tremendous amount of pressure on their point guard Trae Young.
While Young has been a little inconsistent at times throughout the season he is still third in the NBA in assists per game, second in total assists, and first in assists in the restricted area. His scoring average is down from last season but part of that is the introduction of so many experienced players to the squad.
The problem for Young and the Hawks this season is the same as it has been since he came into the league. When he goes off the court, the offense almost grinds to a halt. However, Young can only direct the offense when he is on the court and he is doing that extremely well.
Trae Young’s lowlights and highlights for the Atlanta Hawks this season.
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Young has had several moments this season that have been negative. The first was the leaked disagreement with John Collins during a film session. While this happens between highly competitive athletes all the time, more was made of it than should have been.
The problem was exacerbated in the next game when the Hawks took on the Charlotte Hornets and struggled to contain them, particularly Gordon Hayward. The Hawks themselves struggled to score and Young finished the game with seven points and only three assists. Just three games later against the Utah Jazz, Young had four points on the night.
However, Young has 26 games where he has scored 20 points or more to go along with 16 games where he has 10 or more assists. He has 16 double-doubles on the season. When researching this article it surprised me that when Young has 10 or more assists the Hawks are 5-11
However, when Young scores 32 points or more, which he has done on 12 occasions the Hawks are unbeaten. While this points to an offense that is built around Young, it shows that when he is on the Hawks are unbeatable, just ask the Minnesota Timberwolves, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics, LA Clippers, and several other teams which were pure highlight games.
Next. Kevin Huerter is a true Nate McMillan type player. dark
The grade for Trae Young’s first half of the season for the Atlanta Hawks.
As mentioned earlier, Young is the key to the fortunes of the Hawks. If he can keep putting up more than 30 points a night when the rest of the team returns from injury, the Hawks may get a little deeper into the playoffs than first thought. The flip side of all that is Young is leading the NBA in turnovers which he needs to clean up.
Grade: A