Count Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash among those not impressed by Trae Young's latest trick to get to the foul line.
Irritated by Young's habit of stopping short when coming over a pick to draw a penalty on the defender, Nash could be seen complaining to the referees during the Nets' match against the Atlanta Hawks last Wednesday night.
Giving an earful, the rookie head coach implored the official to reverse the call, saying, “that's not basketball.”
"That's not basketball" – Steve Nash
Trae Young was drawing cheap fouls and Steve Nash was tired of seeing it, not being able to do anything about it. Coach Nash had to have a word with this ref. Talk heavy coach. #WeGoHard – @Keith_McPherson pic.twitter.com/tMEbkSD6Ga
— Talkin’ Nets (@TalkinNets) December 31, 2020
Young's maneuver is effective because it accurately predicts an overreaction by the defense as it looks to contain the young offensive star. Starting the action just above the arc, the Hawks will run Young through the screen, knowing that the defender will have to come over the pick to deny him space for a jump shot.
With the player rushing to get back towards Young, the point guard will suddenly step on the brakes, leaving no room for the trailing defender to slow himself down, most often leading to the player careening off of Young's back.
As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports pointed out, Young got to the free-throw line 16 times against the Nets, primarily thanks to the maneuver's use, a tremendous amount for a player that generally operates from the perimeter.
While Brooklyn was able to mitigate the action somewhat in the second match of the two-game set, Young will likely employ the move so long as officials continue with their current interpretation of the rules regarding player movement.
Though the rulebook is somewhat vague regarding a defender's right to forward progress, there has been some discrepancy as of late in the way referees call the action. Notably, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was whistled for an offensive foul when he used a variation of Young's sudden-stop maneuver.
Regardless of how the league handles this particular issue, Trae Young will almost certainly continue finding new ways to drive defenses and their coaches are mad.
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