Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young and Luka Doncic Play to a Season One Stalemate

The Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks have completed their season series with each team winning once. Trae Young and Luka Doncic had a similar level of production. Here is a look at year one of Trae versus Luka.

Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks against Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, is the most talked about rookie matchup of the 2018-2019 NBA season. The fact that they were traded for each other on draft night, certainly adds to the intrigue of the matchup.

The season series was completed, when the Mavericks defeated the Hawks 114-107, in Dallas on December 12. Luka Doncic was second on the team in scoring with 24 points. Doncic had a double-double grabbing ten rebounds, also second on the team. Luka led Dallas in assists with six. He also had a steal and a block.

Trae Young matched his rookie counterpart, scoring 24 points as well. Young’s 24 was tops on the Hawks. He also had a double-double, but with assists. His ten assists were a game high. Young had no rebounds or blocks, but he did manage to swipe two steals.

Shooting wise Doncic didn’t have his best day, making only 5/14 from the field and 2/6 from downtown. His scoring day was saved by the fact that he got to the free throw line an unusually high 15 times. Luka knocked down 12 free throws in the game.

Trae Young shot the ball well making 11/20 shot attempts. Young has been in a horrible shooting slump. The game against the Mavericks marked the first time he shot over 40 percent, since November 3 against the Miami Heat. Trae had not shot over 50 percent, since October 30 in a game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Unfortunately Trae Young did not get to the free throw line at all against Dallas, or he could have had a really big scoring night.

All and all, Young was more efficient than Luka Doncic, even though the Atlanta Hawks did not win the ball game.. More than just a higher shooting percentage, this efficiency includes taking care of basketball. Trae Young only turned the ball over twice. Doncic doubled him up, turning it over four times.

Game Two Stat Comparison:

Points: Trae Young 24    Luka Doncic 24

Field Goals: Trae Young 55%    Luka Doncic 35.7%

3 Pointers: Trae Young 33.3%  Luka Doncic 33.3%

Assists: Trae Young 10     Luka Doncic 6

Rebounds: Trae Young 0  Luka Doncic 10

Steals: Trae Young 2    Luka Doncic 1

Blocks: Trae Young 0   Luka Doncic 1

Turnovers: Trae Young 2   Luka Doncic 4

Looking back at the first matchup in the season series, The Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-104, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on October 24. The margin of victory was seven points for Atlanta, just as it was for the Mavericks in Dallas, tying the season score at 218.

Trae Young scored 17 points in the win over the Mavericks. That placed him third on the Hawks behind Kent Bazemore and Taurean Prince, who scored 32 and 24 points respectively. He handed out five assists and pulled down four rebounds in the contest.

Young did not get a steal, but he did get a block against Luka Doncic, like Doncic blocked him in Dallas. Trae did not have his best day as far as ball security is concerned. He had five turnovers in the win.

Luka Doncic scored 21 points in the road loss. He nearly had a double-double, pulling down nine boards. Luka had just two assists, while turning the basketball over three times. He also added one steal and one block.

Trae Young did not have the best shooting night, in the October victory over Dallas. He only knocked down 3/12 shot attempts. Trae only attempted three shots from downtown, making just one.

A lot like Luka in Dallas, free throws salvaged the scoring total for Young. He used his dribbling ability to draw fouls, getting to the free throw line 13 times and swishing ten. Several of these free throws were down the stretch and help put the game away for Atlanta.

Luka Doncic shot the ball better than Trae Young, but not by much. He was 7/18 from the field. Doncic made one more three than Young, but attempted six more tries, shooting 2/9 from downtown.

In this game neither man was very efficient. Trae Young had two more turnovers, but Luka Doncic had a negative assist to turnover ratio. I would say that the slight edge went to Doncic overall, because he had more of an all around impact. He scored more points and grabbed more rebounds.

Doncic also shot a better percentage overall thanks to a hot first quarter, despite shooting poorly from three. He also had a steal, where Young had none.

Game One Stat Comparison:

Points: Trae Young 17    Luka Doncic 21

Field Goals: Trae Young 25%   Luka Doncic 38.9%

3 Pointers: Trae Young 33.3% Luka Doncic 22.2%

Assists: Trae Young 5     Luka Doncic 2

Rebounds: Trae Young 4   Luka Doncic 9

Steals: Trae Young 0      Luka Doncic 1

Blocks: Trae Young 1     Luka Doncic 1

Turnovers: Trae Young 5   Luka Doncic 3

Season Series Averages:

Points: Trae Young 20.5   Luka Doncic 22.5

Assists: Trae Young 7.5    Luka Doncic 4

Rebounds: Trae Young 2  Luka Doncic 9.5

Steals:  Trae Young 1        Luka Doncic 1

Blocks:  Trae Young 0.5    Luka Doncic 1

Field Goals: Trae Young 43.8%   Luka Doncic 37.5%

Threes: Trae Young 33%    Luka Doncic 26.7%

Free Throw: Trae Young 76.9% Luka Doncic 73.9%

Turnovers: Trae Young 3.5    Luka Doncic 3.5

Analyzing the statistics, Luka Doncic had a slight edge in points per game. This is mostly due to ten more free throw attempts and seven more made free throws. Trae Young had a significant edge in assists and Doncic dominated in rebounds.

Despite struggling for a lot of the season, Trae Young wins all three shooting percentage categories head to head.

Looking at the stats, they are about as even as stats can be. When scoring categories, Young wins four, Doncic wins three and the men tie in two categories. Yet three of Trae’s four wins are due to shooting percentages. One of Luka’s three wins comes on blocks, a skill that neither perimeter player excels at.

As much as I would like to give the advantage to Trae Young, the stats are just too close. Adding in the fact that both men led their teams to a seven point win, I have no choice but to declare this head to head matchup a push for season one.

Even though both men won rookie of the month for their respective conferences, Luka Doncic is currently ahead of Trae Young for rookie of the year. The main reason being, Trae Young has struggled shooting the three-point shot.

The two men will always be linked due to the draft night trade. Atlanta Hawks fans have to keep in mind that the trade can’t be determined, without factoring in what becomes of the future top five protected draft pick that Atlanta will receive from the Mavericks.

While many fans hang on every game and every shot, patience must be exercised when it comes to Trae Young. He’s being asked to create the majority of the Atlanta Hawks offense for himself and his teammates when on the floor, due to the team’s offensive system.

We must keep in mind that the Trae Young is also playing for a rookie head coach, who is still learning to lead an NBA team himself. The point guard position is also the most difficult to learn, as it is the NBA position stocked with the most talent.

Another thing to remember, is that many NBA greats put up far worse numbers in their initial seasons, than Trae Young is posting this season. Steve Nash who Trae Young patterns his game after, didn’t average 15 points and 7 assists until his fifth season. Trae Young is around those numbers currently.

So have patience Atlanta Hawks fans. The future is bright. Trae Young is going to be just fine.

ATL All Day will continue to bring you the latest on the Atlanta Hawks. We will also have up to date analysis on all of your favorite Atlanta area sports teams. Downloading the FanSided app and making All Atlanta Sports a favorite is great way to stay up to date with our articles. Thank you for your support.