Quin Snyder Praises Trae Young's Defense

Young has been improved on the defensive end this year

Trae Young is one of the most criticized players in the NBA, especially on the defensive end. Now to be fair, Young has not been a great defensive player in the league and has limitations due to his size, but there has been something different about him this year. Young is top ten in the NBA in steals and he has put in a much more noticeable effort on that end. 

Here is Trae defending on Bridges in the final minute of OT. pic.twitter.com/JRPDRsWXye

— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) November 23, 2023

The topic came up after the Hawks loss to the Pacers earlier this week and Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was quick to praise Young for his effort on that end:

"I am glad you asked me that, I have been saying it all year and its whatever... there is a narrative that develops about someone. He has been good off the ball, he has been good on the ball, he has competed, I can show you a long edit of the times that he has picked up full court and someone should talk about it. It's not... when you talk about Trae tonight, you will talk about what a great offensive game that he had and he did but it is one of the things that I have told him, even early in the year when his shots were not going in, he did not stop defending and that is good to see, from all of our guys. That is the mentality that we have to have and there are some things tonight that obviously defensively that we can do better and we played against a really good offensive team."

Quin Snyder has been complimentary of Trae Young on defense / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Hawks have had defensive problems this year, evidenced by the last two games, but it is lazy analysis to say that the sole problem for the Hawks on defense is Young. He has been good on that end of the court and giving the Hawks what they need. The good news is that his shot is starting to fall and if that is the case, the Hawks can find themselves in the upper half of the Eastern Conference. 

Trae Young Outduels Mikal Bridges In Atlanta As Hawks Win 147-145 Over the Nets

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