Atlanta Hawks: 3 Takeaways from Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals
Takeaway from Atlanta Hawks Game 1 win No.1: Trae Youn is a bonafide superstar in this league
Reggie Miller mentioned it several times during the TNT broadcast. In case you haven’t noticed, Young is just 10th in scoring this postseason. But since the start of the second round, he’s sixth. He just took down the player right above him in Joel Embiid. And now he’s got his sights set on the only player above him that’s still playing in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In Game 1, Young dropped 48 points; the most in a Conference Finals debut and the most by a Hawks player since Dominique Wilkins in 1988. He also had another 11 assists (he trails only the playoff-departed Luka Doncic here), and seven rebounds. Seven!
Young put on a clinic, carving the Bucks up equally throughout the game. He had 12 points in the first quarter and shot 6-of-10 from the floor, though he was 0-for-3 from outside. In the second, he went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc as part of a 5-for-6 quarter.
The third was more of the same. Young still gave the Bucks buckets, with another 12 points.
It was the fourth quarter, though, where he showed what adds that “super” to his already certified stardom. Young was absolutely dreadful from the floor as the Bucks honed in on him (perhaps a bit too late). He was 1-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-4 from three. But he was able to get to the free-throw line 10 times, hitting nine of them, giving him 11 for the quarter.
Trae Young led the Atlanta Hawks to another upset victory in Game 1 over the Milwaukee Bucks
It’s that added ability to affect the game when his three-ball has been off or the floater isn’t falling that makes him special. A lot of guys can shoot deep threes now and make a lot of fancy passes. Not too many of those guys can get to the line the way Young has this postseason.
The way he runs the Hawks (Atlanta is first in pace since the start of the second round) gave the Bucks the biggest fit of all and might be the key to this series.