There is no doubt that Trae Young has been the face of the Atlanta Hawks franchise the last couple of years. When he came into the league, he was considered an elite point guard filled with excitement and anticipation. Now as it appears Young could be traded in the National Basketball Association offseason according to Brad Botkin of CBS Sports, At the same time, Young is playing art a high level, in what could be his final weeks in a Hawks uniform.
On Tuesday, Young put the rumours aside, and was instrumental in guiding the Hawks to a victory in the 7-8 game to open the 2023 NBA Play-In tournament. In a complete team performance, the Hawks defeated the Miami Heat 116-105 in south Florida. It was Young who led the way offensively with team-highs in points (25), and assists (seven).
Young was not the only Hawks player to have a standout performance. Center Clint Capela of Geneva, Switzerland had 21 rebounds.
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A major reason for the Atlanta win was their excellent first half. There they outscored Miami 65-50 after the first 24 minutes. With two minutes and 37 seconds left in the second quarter, the Hawks had a 23-point lead over the Heat, as they were up 63-39.
The Atlanta win over Miami was considered an upset. The Heat were a five-point favourite, and will now have to play either the Chicago Bulls or Toronto Raptors for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks will now face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Celtics are the number two seed and the Hawks are the seventh seed. The Celtics beat the Hawks thrice this year. They won by scores of 126-101 on November 16, 134-125 on March 11, and 120-114 on April 9.
