These NBA playoffs have been brutal for several of the NBA’s biggest stars. In the northeast, for example, James Harden and Kevin Durant have been getting clowned for their terrible play in round one.
Down south, Trae Young is the one who is getting the heat.
For most of the series, Young has dropped the ball and failed to show up. With the season on the line in Game 5, many fans were hoping he’d turn in a signature performance.
Instead, he scored just 11 points on 16.7% shooting.
The Hawks are going home now, and Young will have to endure some slander for the foreseeable future.
https://twitter.com/VICTAPLUS/status/1519132802750590977https://twitter.com/currypistonn/status/1519133169206837250
Trae Young everywhere other than New York: pic.twitter.com/ghmOsLn5JN
— James Howard (@JamesHo1988) April 27, 2022
This ain’t the same trae young from last year playoffs pic.twitter.com/pI7LeRTDfS
— Fran (@XIIIsicnarF) April 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/mauitookurbitch/status/1519131071895511040https://twitter.com/LakeShowYo/status/1519134100984004609
No Kyle Lowry. No Jimmy Butler. And Trae Young went 2-12 and 0-5 from three for a grand total of 11 points as his Hawks barely got closed out in Miami. I'll say it again: "Ice Trae" is laughably overrated – just a cute little sideshow. He melted every game in this series.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 27, 2022
Credit has to be given to the Miami Heat, who absolutely locked up Trae and the Hawks with amazing defense.
Even the star point guard himself was quick to note how difficult it is to score against them.
“I haven’t been guarded like this since like high school,” Young said after Game 4. “Obviously, it’s way better competition, so it’s hard for me to score a lot more through the double teams and face guards.”
The Hawks were riding high after making the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Young led the team on a Cinderella run that peaked when they beat the 1st-seeded 76ers in the second round.
Sadly, they couldn’t match that level of play this season. From October to April, they struggled to stay consistent and lacked much of the fire and energy they played with back in 2021.
On the wrong end of a lopsided series, team GM Travis Schlenk will have a lot to consider this summer, as he tries to surround Young with enough pieces and talent to bring home a title.
