Trae Young has had an underwhelming first half of the season. Trae has been in an evident shooting slump, playing with no energy and terrible efficiency. However, Trae is beginning to heat up at the right time, stringing together a couple of great games at the start of the second half of the season. 

Out of the Slump

Maybe it is a good thing that Trae was snubbed from being an All-Star, as the break helped him tremendously. He is playing with a completely different energy at the start of the second half of this season. Trae is averaging 28.7 points, 9.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds with 48/40/90 shooting splits. He has become way more efficient than the first half of the season, where Trae averaged 26.7 points, 10.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds 42/32/88 shooting splits. His energy reflects in his actual play as well. Trae communicates with Snyder, even after losses, which he rarely does with McMillan. Furthermore, Trae is starting to look at the basket to score and not just earn free throws. Before, Trae would always look for the foul and not the basket, but now he is relying less on his foul-baiting activities and looking to score. While he is still excellent at drawing fouls, he has emphasized making the basket over anything else.

Improved Effort On Defense

His energy has even shown on the defensive end. Young has shown tremendous effort to try on the defensive end, averaging 1.7 steals per game compared to the 1 steal per game before the all-star break. His energy on defense also passes the eye test. Watching him play, Trae is being more active on the defensive end. He is navigating screens more, sliding his feet, and beating his opponents to different spots on the floor with his lateral quickness. Trae even picked up Monte Morris fullcourt when the Hawks faced the Wizards, causing a turnover. While he is not a complete 2-way player, he has become a neutral or positive defender. 

This Hawks team will improve over time under Quin Snyder’s tutelage. Trae is the primary beneficiary of Snyder’s coaching, as his energy reflects his appreciativeness on the court. There are still many problems with this Hawks team, as they reside in the 8th seed and still look like a play-in team. With Trae Young heating up at the right time, the Hawks can be problematic in the first round.