After averaging 26.4 points in 36.5 minutes per game during his first 51 contests this season, Hawks guard Trae Young scored 15.0 PPG while playing 26.6 MPG in three games last week upon returning from hand surgery.
Having gotten a few appearances under his belt down the stretch, Young is hoping to see his usual playing time — and provide his usual production — in Wednesday’s play-in game vs. Chicago, according to Charles Odum of The Associated Press.
“I feel a lot better,” Young told reporters after practicing on Monday. “I’m just trying to make sure I can play at least close to my minutes that I played in the regular season in play-in games.”
Young logged fewer than 21 minutes last Wednesday in his first game back, but bumped that figure to 27 minutes on Friday and nearly 32 in Sunday’s regular-season finale.
As long as he can handle the increased workload, the Hawks figure to lean heavily on him, since they’ll be missing key rotation players like Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey due to injuries. Even on the road, without those teammates available, Young feels good about Atlanta’s chances.
“Obviously you just play the cards you’re dealt,” Young said. “… That’s just my mentality. You know I feel like we can still win with the players we have, so I’m going to go out there and try to do it.”
Here’s more on Young:
- Echoing previous reporting, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report says that many sources around the NBA believe Young will be traded this summer, though he cautions that the diminutive, offense-first guard wouldn’t be an ideal fit on some rosters. “It’s difficult to win with a player like Trae,” one Eastern Conference executive said to Pincus. “He needs to be the best player on your team, but he’s not at that top-tier level.”
- Pincus runs through a few potential landing spots for Young, considering what trades to the Lakers, Spurs or Nets might look like. Pincus suggests that it’s tricky to find many other clear fits, though he identifies the Pistons as a possible wild card. Keeping Young and trading Dejounte Murray may ultimately make more sense for Atlanta, Pincus writes, since Murray would be more popular on the trade market due to his less pricey contract and his two-way ability.
- Although the Spurs need a long-term answer at point guard and have been linked to Young since February’s trade deadline, Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News advises not betting on a deal that sends Trae to San Antonio. “There are a lot of different ways this can go, and a lot of different stars (the Spurs) might end up targeting, but they’re not going to be the team that meets Atlanta’s price for Trae Young,” Finger writes in a tweet.
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