Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young’s shooting struggles shouldn’t be a concern

Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young may be struggling with his shot right now, but he’s still finding ways to be an effective player and scorer

Trae Young was hailed as arguably the best 3-point shooter coming out of the 2018 NBA Draft after sinking an impressive 118 3’s in just 32 games in college on a 36 percent clip.

Fast forward to just under 20 games into the NBA season with the Atlanta Hawks, and Young is immensely struggling to shoot the ball well. He is shooting just 38 percent from the field, and just 22 percent from 3-point range.

Many are starting to say that Young’s stellar shooting from college will never transfer over to the NBA, but I strongly disagree. It’s extremely early in his career, and it takes rookies time to get in a groove and really feel comfortable.

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Young is still third amongst rookies in scoring without even shooting the ball well from downtown. He is blossoming into an outstanding playmaker who is extremely talented at distributing the ball, averaging 7.6 assists per game, which is first among rookies.

The shooting will come

Young may never shoot the ball at as high of a rate as he did in college, but his talent to sink it from long range will eventually come around. The first-year guard literally made a name for himself in college because of how good he was at shooting 3’s from Steph Curry-like territory.

In Sunday night’s contest against the Charlotte Hornets, Young dropped 18 points in a 124-123 win, scoring 12 of his points via the 3-point shot. He went 4-10 from long range, showing signs that he could be getting back in the groove with his shooting. A lot of his 3’s against the Hornets were from way downtown, in both pull-up situations and catch-and-shoot scenarios. It’s definitely a step in the right direction that Young should build off of heading into Atlanta’s next game.

Despite his shooting that all the critics are quick to judge, Young could be even better at passing the ball. He has been an assist machine for the Hawks this season. His basketball IQ is very high for a rookie, finding lanes with passes that you would only expect to see from guys who have been in the league for a few years. The court vision he carries is unreal for such a young player. Whether it’s off the pick-and-roll or with his left or right hand, Young is very creative when distributing the ball.

He is scoring at a pretty high rate for a first-year player and that’s without an effective 3-point shot. How is he doing it? Well despite Young’s small stature, he is quick and athletic enough to get to the hoop on a dime, beating bigger players and converting a lot of his points via the lay-up. Add in some nifty handles that Young has flashed this year which have helped him get by opposing guards and the Hawks have a clinical finisher at the hoop.

Different aspects making Young a good player

Young may never become a fantastic 3-point shooter at the NBA level, and that’s totally okay. He is contributing to this Hawks team in several different ways and is still finding ways to score. He is their number one playmaker and arguably the best one amongst NBA rookies right now. Even though he’s small, Young is still finding ways to get to the rim and with more maturity and years in the league, he will only get bigger and stronger.

The shooting will come. If Sunday night’s performance is any indication, then Young is definitely heading in the right direction. His long-range shot looked very smooth and relaxed and he was converting with guys right in his face.

The early shooting struggles should not be a concern. Trae Young is an all-around basketball player who doesn’t need to rely on a 3-point shot.

The future is still extremely bright for the Atlanta Hawks youngster.