Trae Young has started the season off strong, as he's had to carry the load with several injuries to the team. Carrying the load means producing a lot of stats, and that's what Young is doing in scoring, but also assists. Through three weeks, Young is leading the NBA in assists with 82, while the next closest person is James Harden with 65.
The more Young gets assists, State Farm and NBA will donate $5 to improve youth-serving programs during key moments in the league.
Since Young has been in the league, he's always been among the league leaders in assists. His ability to find his teammates in any situation has always lifted the team, but this year there's been an emphasis on him getting everyone involved, even with the injuries.
“This year a focal point for him is trying to make the people around him better,” head coach Quin Snyder said earlier in the season. “Right now, without Dyson [Daniels], [De'Andre Hunter], Vit [Krejci], and others, he’s really got to lift people. That takes a lot out of him, not just physically but emotionally.”
“It’s just about reads. I don’t feel like it’s ever going to change,” Young said. “When I come off of screens, it’s up to me to make the right reads, and sometimes I mess up and I don’t. For me, it’s making the right reads, and my teammates are making plays.”
Young currently leads the league with 11.7 assists per game, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he keeps that crown through the entire season. As the Hawks gradually get healthy and some of their key players return, Young should continue to pile up the assists, but also keep his scoring numbers up.
Trae Young carrying the load for Hawks early in season
Over the past few games, Trae Young has played over 40 minutes as the Hawks have been down five rotational players in the lineup. In their game against the Sacramento Kings, Young played 42 minutes, and he is top five in minutes played per game this season.
Even with him playing so many minutes, he's still been able to produce at a high level, and Quin Snyder didn't want his play to go unnoticed, even though they lost.
“Everybody should get their pens out and start writing about Trae Young,” Synder said. “He was poised with the officials, from the very beginning of the game, he got blitzed. He trusted his teammates, wasn’t selfish, got off the ball early to shooters, and then he started hitting Clint [Capela] in the roll. He managed the game, took a charge with six minutes left in the game.
“If anybody doesn’t look at his performance tonight and respect the mental toughness that he has to play with right now when everything is going through him. With admiration for his competitiveness and the trust he has in his teammates, the guy was unbelievable. Not diminishing other guys’ effort, but that was a hell of a performance, and we shouldn’t lose track of that because we lost the game.”
The Hawks recently got Dyson Daniels back from a hip injury, and Young was able to rest a lot more, and that will be the case as more players get healthy as the season goes on.
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