Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Trae Young might not have gotten the foul call he wanted in the Atlanta Hawks’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks, but he did nutmeg Kristaps Porzingis twice.
There’s been great energy around matchups between the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks ever since the Hawks traded up and swapped out Luka Doncic for Trae Young on draft night in 2017.
Neither team, however, is performing as expected this season. The Hawks have assembled a playoff-possible roster that has been plagued by injury so far this season. They have managed to be in the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference at the moment though, so all is not lost.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, look awful. They’re 12-14 and 11th in the Western Conference with the All-Star game just around the corner. Their youth has really shown this season in a few close losses and Kristaps Porzingis missed the first nine games of the season with an injury.
Since he’s been back on the court, Porzingis has been struggling a bit, and Trae Young caught him slipping in their matchup.
Trae Young nutmegs Kristaps Porzingis in back-to-back possessions
Young is currently third in the NBA in assists, averaging 9.2 per game. He’s had some pretty amazing passes to this point in his career and his signature nutmeg move has become a thing in the NBA. Watch as Young nutmegs Porzingis in back to back possessions.
You’ve got to commend Young’s creativeness in getting the ball where it needs to go. With player’s Young’s size seeing less and less time in the league, you’ve got to figure out different ways to get it done.
The Mavericks need up just edging by the Hawks with a 118-117 win so it looks like Porzingis actually got the last laugh.