If you had Trae Young in your DFS lineups last night, you must’ve been ecstatic. The young PG drafted in 2018 out of Oklahoma went bonkers yesterday, scoring 56 points on the Portland Trail Blazers while dishing out 14 dimes and adding 4 rebounds. Those 56 points set a career high for him. You know what the crazy part is? The Hawks still lost. Their defensive issues were not worked out, as the Hawks gave up an absurd 136 points. They have now lost 3 of their past 4 games, giving up an average of 128.8 PPG during that time period. The offense has been there for the Hawks, as they’ve scored at least 115 in their last 4. The defensive struggles are what’s bringing this team down. Back to Young, he owned a sweet 58.3% 3 PT percentage and went 15–15 from the charity swipe. He owns a streak of 16 straight games of 25 points or more, which ties the Hawks record that 9-time NBA All Star Domonique Wilkins currently holds.
When taking out the top scorers from each team, the score would be Hawks 75-Trail Blazers 93. Young accounted for 42.7% of his teams points and 45.1% of his teams assists. This is not going to cut it, you’ve got to be supporting your star PG and help him to a victory if you’re the Hawks. Guys like Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter both got 14 and 16 shots up, respectively, but they just could not convert them to points. PF Danilo Gallinari only made 1 of his 7 shots beyond the arc, and SF Kevin Huerter only notched 2 3-pointers on 8 attempts. The only 20+ point player for the Hawks besides Trae last night was C Clint Capela, who double-doubled. He contributed 22 points (10–10 FG) and hauled in 11 boards. The Trail Blazers on the other hand, had 3 scorers in the 20+ after their leading scorer, Anfernee Simons. Simons can’t be completely left in the dark here, as his performance was amazing too. The young SG scored 43 points and added 7 assists. Like Trae, he converted 100% of his free throw attempts. Back to the supporting cast, Forwards Norman Powell and Nassir Little went for 26 and 22 respectively, with Little 1 rebound short of a double-double. C Jusuf Nurkic did double-double, scoring 21 points, notching 12 rebounds, and adding 5 dimes in just 26 minutes. Portland just had the supporting cast tonight, which gave them a much needed win.
Atlanta’s disappointing 131–136 loss last night brought their record to 16–20, and the Hawks desperately need to get back on track. They should once they get healthy, but for now we’ll be stuck with this shaky version of the Hawks and left praying for a squad reminiscent of last year’s Eastern Conference runner-ups. The Trail Blazers bring their record up to 14–22, placing them 12th in the West. They also need to start some fire if they want to be in postseason contention. They continue their homestand tomorrow against the Miami Heat, while the Hawks travel to Sac-Town and face the Kings.
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