Trae Young is Doing His Job
The Atlanta Hawks are down 0-2 against the Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, but Trae Young is taking it in stride.
In practice on Thursday, Young was quoted saying: “[...] but this is probably the most fun and challenging series I’ve been a part of so far.”
Miami as a team has proven itself to be more of an obstacle in the postseason than Atlanta’s opponents in the play-in tournament: the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks defeated the Hornets on Wednesday, April 13, by a final score of 132-103. The Hornets’ focus going into the game was to surround and smother Young, with Terry Rozier saying they “can’t let him breathe,” but they were unable to keep Young at bay.
Young scored 38 points against the Cavaliers on Friday, April 15, and led the Hawks to a narrow victory with a final score of 107-101. 32 of those points were scored during the second half, with Young demonstrating that he excels under pressure.
Trae Young (11) taking a shot against Isaac Okoro (35)—Nick Cammett/Associated Press
And yet it seems to be his reputation as something of a hubristic character straight from a movie that brings him all his notoriety, not his offensive skill and the leadership role he’s assumed with the Hawks. Clint Capela is still out due to a knee injury and John Collins made his return just in time for the Hawks’ playoff push, but anyone who even spares a glance at Atlanta basketball right now is focused on Trae Young, for better or for worse.
Young is known as a “villain” to New York Knicks fans for leading the Hawks to postseason glory against the Knicks, and seemingly to anyone else who just finds him annoying. Still, escalating annoyance with a player to villainzing him and spitting at him during a playoff game is beyond extreme.
The Knicks players themselves, or at least R.J. Barrett, respect Young and seem to view him as a challenging opponent, rather than a comic book villain.
So Young may not have the same sunny disposition as Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the most arguably wholesome and talented athletes of his generation, and he may not be as efficient as Devin Booker, who I would argue is his Western Conference counterpart. Booker, who is currently missing from the Phoenix Suns roster due to a hamstring injury, is a well-rounded player who can defend the rim just as consistently as he can lead the Phoenix Suns in points scored per game.
At 7 P.M. tonight, Atlanta will host Miami for the third game of the playoff series. Playing at home could revitalize Young and the Hawks and shift the dynamic of future games, but is Young going to receive a hero’s welcome from Atlanta fans tonight?
Trae Young (11) against the New York Knicks— Vincent Carchietta, USA Today Sports
If you ask Kendrick Perkins, he’d probably cite relatively low average attendance at Hawks games and say no. If you ask Skip Bayless, who called Young “overrated” recently, he might tell you that Young isn’t playing well enough against Miami right now to deserve more positive recognition.
My only response to Bayless’ claim is that Kevin Durant, the other infamous “villain” of the NBA, hasn’t been shooting field goals at the level expected of him in the Brooklyn Nets’ series against the Boston Celtics. I’m not seeing half as much buzz about KD’s performance as Ice Trae’s.
Trae Young is going to keep proving himself, and “building his brand”.
Let him.
