Top 5 unchanged, but Jayson Tatum lurking on NBA Most Improved Player Ladder

The Atlanta Hawks have gone 5-7 over the last four weeks and while they are probably too far back in the Eastern Conference to make a legitimate playoff run, first-time All-Star Trae Young has the future looking bright in the ATL.

After the last four weeks, Young played in 11 of Atlanta’s 12 games — sitting out the Feb. 7 loss at Boston with a bruised right ankle — and has been scoring at will.

He has averaged 31.8 points, 9.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 36.6 minutes per game while shooting 42.6 percent overall, 35.4 percent on 10.3 3-point tries a game and 91.7 percent on a Harden-esque 10.9 free throw attempts a game.

Young went off for a career-high 50 points as the Hawks returned from the All-Star break on Feb. 20 with a big win at home over the Miami Heat, adding eight assists and going 18-of-19 at the foul line.

On the season, Young is averaging 29.9 points per game — third-most in the NBA — to go with 9.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 35.4 minutes a night, shooting 44.2 percent overall and 36.7 percent on 9.5 triple tries a game. He’s increased his free throw attempts from 5.1 per game as a rookie to 9.3 this season while improving from 82.9 percent to 85.9 percent.