The Atlanta Hawks turned themselves into a genuine contender with the addition of Dejounte Murray. He is about to form one of the most hated backcourts in the NBA with Trae Young and that is fine. There is a huge level of speculation about how these two are going to work well together.
As such, NBA pundits are being cautious when predicting the Hawks’ win/loss record, and also media outlets are being safe with their power rankings. Still, the Hawks have to be quietly optimistic that they have a backcourt that will take them a lot further than last season’s version.
In order for this to happen though it will be up to both players to sacrifice some of their own games in order to improve the team as a whole. We all know what Young can produce as the primary ball-handler, but we are unsure of how Murray will fit with this squad, only time will tell. He is a tremendous ball-handler, creator, mid-ranger shooter, and finisher at the rim.
How Trae Young’s numbers can help the Atlanta Hawks.
While young’s shooting numbers are unparalleled from the logo, there are other numbers that he brings to the team which is going to help no end. If the Hawks are able to work out how to keep Young impacting the game with him playing off the ball, then the floor will open up for the rest of the team, particularly Murray.
Young shoots catch and shoot 3-point shots at 48.1 percent. Yes, you read that right, he makes almost one out of every two shots when he is the recipient of the pass. However, that number goes up to 55.2 percent when he takes a corner 3-ball.
Just imagine, if you will, Murray driving the ball from the top of the key or the other side of the court to Young. He has the ability to beat his defender one-on-one and now that he is in the teeth of the defense, he has the option to create for four teammates.
If Young is on the corner, this is one defender who cannot spare a second thought for Murray, if he takes his eyes off Young the point guard will be gone. This will be a level of freedom and space that Murray will never have experienced before. Young will be able to take the ball and make the right decision to keep the offense going, or Murray will use the rock for himself or a teammate to score.
To put it simply, Young is still the most important member of the Atlanta Hawks on offense. The problem is, that he will create havoc without the ball as well as with it. Look out for the Hawks’ offense to be the best in the NBA by a long shot.