Young’s Maturity Goes On Display
5Gifs Piston v. Hawks
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December 28, 2020
Trae Young asserted his control over an undermanned Pistons team. He scored within the flow of the game and from the line, dropping 29 points on 13 shots.
The Hawks’ team defensive principles protected Trae Young. Trae called for switches or ducked under screens when he fell behind plays. When switched on to bigger wings, the Hawks communicated to scram him out of mismatches.
1. Persistence in the Pick and roll to isolation pays off
John Collins and Clint Capela set two screens for Trae going right. The Pistons defend it well: Killian Hayes avoids getting screened; Mason Plumlee shows high above the 3 point line to prevent a pull-up 3; Jerami Grant gets a touch on the rolling Capela to slow his momentum and is in position to close out to Collins; Saddiq Bey, the low man, is in the paint ready to pounce on a pass to Capela.
The defense recovers to their original assignments. As Collins rumbles over to set another screen, Trae attacks the rookie in isolation. He drives hard to the right, forcing Hayes’ momentum towards the baseline, and pulls the ball between his legs for the step-back 3. Cash.
2. Nifty full speed floater executed in transition
The way Trae shoots his floater in transition throws off his defenders’ timing. He moves from a full sprint to a floater in the lane while his defenders expect him to go to the rim for a layup.
3. Trae stays just active enough on defense
Trae chases over two picks before switching onto a bigger player. He fronts the post long enough for his teammate to come over for the scram switch, eliminating the mismatch.
4. Excellent timing on the pick and roll leads to a wide-open three
Trae receives a quick pitch and flows into a pick and roll with Capela. Capela slips the screen and his aggressive rim run sucks in Josh Jackson, the low man.
Though the pass is an off-target duck, Bogdanović has plenty of time to launch because Trae timed it as Josh Jackson entered the paint. His momentum is carrying him forward. He has no chance to turn and close out on Bogdanović. Look! He stumbles getting ready to jump.
The pitch to set up this play acts as a screen/dribble handoff, which Hayes has to navigate before the Capela screen.
The way Trae passes the ball is deceptive—like he’s going to throw the lob.
5. But the kid is inconsistent. An impatiently executed pick and roll goes haywire.
Trae rockets off a Capela screen into an organized Piston defense. Plumlee is dropped back by the free throw line, inviting the drive. Grant is in the strong side corner with his arms wide, shrinking Trae’s driving window. Two Pistons body up Capela, keeping him from rim running or crashing the glass. Trae can’t get all the way around Plumlee and he loses control on the layup attempt.
In the previous clip (which involved a pitch), Trae waited for Capela to make his rim run and suck the defense away. Here, Trae turned the corner and attacked immediately, attracting all the attention from Plums.
With Plumlee dropped back, I think Trae should have pulled up for 3 off the screen. What do you think he should have done here?
And One!
