The Atlanta Hawks have had one of the weirdest seasons ever. The dysfunction is just palpable.
You’ve got player and coach beef between Trae Young and Nate McMillan. You’ve got wild blown leads. You’ve even got the kid of the owner causing dismay throughout the organization.
So while it might just be me reading a little too deeply into things, it’s hard to not take all of this into account when seeing the shot that Trae Young took to try and end the Hawks’ game against the Pacers on Friday night.
Young essentially shot a half-court 3-point shot with more than a few ticks left on the clock. It was completely ridiculous.
JOHN COLLINS WITH THE TIP-IN FOR THE WIN 😲 pic.twitter.com/WPHsw3SOFq
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 14, 2023
John Collins saves the day here with that tip-in, but this could’ve ended so much worse than it actually did.
Not only did Young take a shot from the logo on what should’ve been the last possession of the game, but he took it with 5 seconds left while facing a double team.
There was more than enough time for the Hawks to make a move. They could’ve run some action and get a much better shot than this. Instead, this is what they came up with.
Tom Ziller, author of the NBA newsletter Good Morning It’s Basketball, summed it up perfectly here.
I've long been a Trae backer and I know he was hot from deep in this game. But if Collins doesn't save them here … yikes. https://t.co/eYqTGef9AO
— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) January 14, 2023
Young had gone 6-9 from deep before this. So, sure. A 3-pointer is probably a good shot for him. But this isn’t a normal 3-pointer.
Young shot that ball from 31 feet out. Currently, he’s shooting 31% on the year from between 30 and 34 feet away from the rim on the season. This is a makeable shot, sure. But it’s certainly not a good one.
If he makes it, great. He’s a hero and all is forgiven. Seeing him miss this, though, there can’t be too many folks happy with this shot. Luckily, Collins saves him in the end.
If not, we may have had another Hawks controversy on our hands.
Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery
