Can We Finally Give Trae Young the Respect He Deserves?
With cat-like quickness, soft touch around the rim, along with persona about him like a vet, it’s about time we start putting some respect on Trae Young’s name.
After leading his team to a commanding 3-1 series lead over the New York Knicks which many had as the favorites in this series, Young has found his groove in these playoffs. A lot of the media attention over the last three years has pretty much centered around Luka Donic after the two were traded for one another during the NBA 2018 draft. Young has had similar numbers to Doncic every season they have been in the league but wasn’t receiving the same love.
Now with the Atlanta Hawks in firm control of this series heading back to Madison Square Garden the stage has been set for Young to shine and he’s done just that.
Tom Thibodaux, head coach for the New York Knicks, is known as a defensive-minded genius around the league for anchoring that ‘08 championship Celtics team and also as being the brain behind the Derrick Rose lead Bulls in the 2010s. With all that being said, he can’t seem to find an answer for Young and his ability to get to the lane and find his teammates.
He has been masterful as a floor general so far this series as in game three in the State Farm Arena Young scored 21 points and 14 assists and only had two turnovers on the contest. The way he has been able to control the game and pace has been huge as he is an extension of what coach Nate McMillian wants to do on the offensive end of the floor. He is the primary ball-handler and besides Lou Williams, he is the only guy that can create shots for others so it is a large toll for a guard who is new to the playoff scene.
via CBS Sports
The world has gotten to see what most Hawks fans have already known, and that is that Trae Young is good at this basketball thing. The front office put some quality pieces and veterans on the roster to help mature the young guys to play to their full potential. Young is also a strong competitor as he is letting the Knicks fans hear that’s he’s here and ready to take over. After Game 1 where the Hawks won, he was seen saying “it’s quiet as fuck in here” after they clinched the game in the final seconds.
If Atlanta can finish this series out quickly and make some noise in the next round it can potentially be the start of something great for sports in that town and market-wise. The city of Atlanta is a huge market but free agents don’t seem to want to come here as they have never had a really big name sign with the team in free agency. Young might be the biggest star the city has ever seen diffidently in the most recent years as Joe Johnson was the star of the team in the last era of basketball for the club in the 2000s.
One thing is for sure, Atlanta is going to be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future as long as Young is at the helm.