Atlanta Hawks: Five takeaways from the first six games

Trae Young is playing like a man possessed.

After struggling to find his shot and adjust to playing with his new teammates during the preseason, Trae Young has taken his game to another level. Adding shooters around him has worked out as well as anyone could have hoped for. The addition of competent shooters combined with Hunter and Reddish’s continued development has opened up the floor for the crafty scorer and playmaker, making him more dangerous than ever before.

Young is shooting a career-high 11.7 free throws per game and has connected on 88.6 percent of his attempts, which is also a career-high for the third-year guard. He’s second only to James Harden in attempts per game and leads the league in total free throws made (62) and attempted (70). Young is getting to the line at such an astounding rate because he has mastered the art of drawing fouls.

Over the years, we’ve seen players like Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce master the art of drawing fouls by pump-faking and jumping into the defender, or the likes of Kevin Durant and James Harden punishing overly-aggressive defenders; with a “rip-through.”

Young has mastered the art of stopping short and forcing the defender to ream into him, similar to when a car gets rear-ended for stopping short in traffic. When Young goes around a screen, if his defender chases him over the top of the pick, Young changes pace, uses hesitation moves to get the defender directly behind him, then abruptly stops and feels for contact. As the defender runs into Young from behind, he braces for contact and heaves up a shot just before the referee blows the whistle.

The same way his penchant for nutmegs has aggravated opponents, his constant use of this move has frustrated opponents and coaches alike to the point where Nets head coach Steve Nash complained to one of the referees during the game, proclaiming, “That’s not basketball.”

Yes, he will continue to agitate players, coaches, opposing fans, and even the media as he continues to “hunt” fouls, but this is no different from what the aforementioned players have done.

Author’s Note:

It is very hypocritical to praise James Harden for getting to the line so much yet criticize Trae for doing the same thing. When in reality, Harden initiates contact more than he creates it, Young is actually creating contact, not initiating, and doesn’t need to flop to sell it like the Beard. Get over it.