Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young Shines in Opening Road Win

After game one the Atlanta Hawks remain undefeated taking down the Detroit Pistons on the road. The 117-100 win was highlighted by yet another lights out performance from Trae Young.

Trae Young picked up right where he left off for the Atlanta Hawks in-game one absolutely torching the Pistons.  He finished the night with 38-points 9-assists and 7-rebounds. What made the performance even more impressive is how he controlled the tempo.

The first half saw Young attack the basket and shoot the ball from deep on his way to scoring 26-points.  It was the first half that led many to believe the young point guard was well on his way to a 50-point game.

However, even with his first-half explosion, the Hawks went into the second half down three. Young’s approach wasn’t working and he adjusted. He looked to facilitate more than he did score getting his teammates opportunities, opportunities that energized them defensively on the other end.

It is another example of just how good Trae Young is, he cares more about winning than he does his own stat line.

Jabari Parker and John Collins both added in 18-points in the Hawks win. All three rookies impressed, though Cam Reddish failed to establish himself as a scorer finishing with a single point.

While the win was an encouraging one it is important to keep things in perspective here.  This is simply game one and Atlanta was lucky to face the Pistons on the second night of a back-to-back The Pistons are without star forward Blake Griffin as well lending to the Hawks success.

Winning game one was a huge step for this Atlanta team that looked great on opening night. However, it is a young team and to draw any conclusions about their ability to compete from game one would be an overreaction.

Kevin Huerter struggled in his return to action failing to score and piling up five fouls. He looked extremely rusty and is likely to be eased in offensively until he can find his shot once again. Atlanta’s next game will be their home opener on Saturday night against the Orlando Magic with tip-off scheduled for 7:30.