When a superstar such as Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young makes the choice to dominate, there is little anyone can do. The Cleveland Cavaliers found that out as he torched them for 32 second-half points. We have seen Young put together some incredible performances this season.
He made his way into the history books finishing the regular season as just the second person to finish as the total points and total assists leader.
That had not happened since Tiny Archibald in 1973. Young is also the only person in NBA history to finish averaging at least 28.0 points and 9.0 assists while shooting at least 38.0% from beyond the arc; a personal high for the fourth-year guard.
And he’s now led his team to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Trae Young proved once again that he was made for the biggest stage
His Herculean effort in the 107-101 win over the hosting Cleveland Cavaliers helped usher the Hawks into the first round of the NBA Playoffs and a series against the Miami Heat. But it was close to not being so after he scored just six points in the first half. He also had four turnovers, usually a recipe for disaster.
He had zero in the second half as the Hawks outscored the Cavs 56-40 in the final 24 minutes.
Capela went down with what the team is calling a hyperextended right knee after pulling Evan Mobley down on a foul.
He was off to another hot start with seven points and eight boards in just over 13 minutes.
His health is paramount to the Hawks postseason longevity, surprisingly, on offense. He recorded the best offensive rating of his career (plus-2.8) this season, per Cleaning the Glass. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that there is initial optimism that Capela avoided anything serious but that an MRI was needed to confirm.
Still, as we saw once again, as long as Young is healthy, the Hawks have a chance.
His takeover started rather late in the third quarter as he hit a three in the first 18 seconds but went more than two minutes without a made basket after that, scoring first on a technical free-throw. Young then went over seven minutes without another point scored but was already cooking.
That is because he had assisted on a Kevin Huerter three following his first make, dished out three more dimes – in a row – following the make on the tech, and then found Danilo Gallinari for a three giving Young a hand in 15 of the Hawks first 18 points after the break.
He would do most of the heavy lifting himself from then.
From the 2:00-mark through the end of the third quarter, Young scored 12 straight points for the Hawks single-handedly outdoing the Cavs who scored just eight points in that span while the point guard also tallied five assists.
The fourth quarter brought more of the same, literally, as Young scored 16 points in each frame of the second half.
After shooting just 27.3% in the first half, he shot 71.4% after the break.
It was such a dominant performance that it drew the Twitter attention of 15-year NBA veteran, J.J. Redick, and NBA 2K content creator, Kenny Beechum, who called the showing a “masterclass” which Redick agreed with.
LOGO TRAE AND HE LET 'EM KNOW pic.twitter.com/qdFmE4k1zn
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 16, 2022
Miami will pose a tall task for the Hawks. Especially if Capela – whom McMillan said they will know more about on Saturday – can’t go.
The Hawks went 1-3 against Miami this season with the only win coming at home on January 21. They lost the most recent head-to-head 113-109 after they were outscored 35-26 in the third quarter.
Young had 35 points with eight assists in that game and averaged 25.5 points on 62.0% true shooting with 7.3 assists against the Heat this season. They have made him work, though. He shot just 31.4% from deep against them this year and was average from deep against the Cavs, connecting on just 4-of-11 tries.
In the end, the Hawks got the win and the right to play at least four more games. We know what happened the last time they got that opportunity.