Trae Young’s Electric Playoff Debut Puts Him among NBA Elite

The magnificent Trae Young joins the likes of LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Derrick Rose with a 30-10 playoff debut. The New York Knicks had no answer for Young on Sunday, particularly down the stretch, as the Atlanta Hawks pulled out a wild 107-105 victory to take a 1-0 series lead. With a total of 32 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, Young, joins LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Derrick Rose as the only players in history to post at least 30 points and 10 assists in a playoff debut.

Young was in his zone and everything he touched turned to gold. He weaved into the lane for his accurate floaters. Baited the New York defense into committing fouls and went 9-for-9 from the line. He distributed and rotated the ball with precision and flung passes to the corner shooters to score. He spoon-fed alley-oops and dunks. Plus, he did it all in crunch time.

Every time he has the possession he posed a threat and just felt like a complete player. Young then put the dagger in the hearts of the Knicks and the vocal Madison Square Garden crowd with the game-winning floater with under a second remaining on the clock.

“When you're in a zone, and everybody's chanting FU... it got real quiet at the end,” Young said in his postgame interview with the TNT studio crew. “For me, I wanted to hear those FU chants again.”

Young has positively villainous blood. He's cocky, taunts crowds, infuriates you with floppy foul-drawing tactics but he can back all those antics with game-winning performances. Young still has a long way to go before being named as the next Reggie Miller, but to his advantage, there aren't a lot of players, who have taken ownership of the MSG like that in the playoffs. We are pretty sure that when Young steps out to the court for Game 2, the energy of this series will have officially gone berserk.

Julius Randle had an All-NBA season, but Young looks like the best player in this series and the real difference-maker. In the past, amid all the offensive genius, there was always a hair-brained pass, or an ill-advised moon shot. These always made you wonder whether Young's game was built more for stats or substance. Now we know it's both. He's not a great shooter, so he cut his attempts from 9.5 per game last year to 6.3 per game this year, and more specifically, he trimmed his early clock bombs, which too often hijacked possessions before they could even start to put together a strong move. That's partly because he's suddenly surrounded by more capable scorers and playmakers, all unified on the court not just by strategy but by sharp, coordinatedbasketball team uniformsthat reflect their chemistry and focus. A lot of star playmakers wouldn't be so willing to curb their instincts.

That shows true growth. By his changed game we can be sure that he's not going to be so defensively detrimental, he's not going to take unnecessary early threes, and he is going to be in total control from the starting whistle to the finishing buzzer. For years, Young has had run-ins with teammates because of the way he was running the offense. He hasn't let any of it get in his way and has gracefully curbed his game and gotten better. Now here he is, on perhaps the biggest basketball stage in the world, hitting game-winners and generally dominating all-star defenders.

Trae Young has arrived, and the New York Knicks are on notice.