How the Heat stifled Trae Young and the Hawks
Miami's defense on Trae Young is a big reason why they dominated in their Game 1 win.
The Miami Heat could not have asked for a better start to their first-round playoff series, as they beat the Atlanta Hawks 115-91 Sunday afternoon at FTX Arena.
After more than a week between games, the Heat defense was dialed in and held Atlanta’s second-ranked offense to just 38.7% shooting. Specifically, Miami limited Trae Young to just eight points on 1 for 12 shooting.
Bam Adebayo (health and safety protocols) and P.J. Tucker (calf sprain) each returned from their ailments to help anchor Miami’s defense.
The Heat stuck with the season-ending, nine-man rotation of Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler, Tucker and Adebayo. Though coach Erik Spoelstra cautioned that others could be called on during the postseason.
With eight 3-pointers off the bench, Duncan Robinson set the postseason franchise record (on nine attempts) and scored a game-high 27 points.
Heat Defense vs. Trae Young
There’s a lot of respect in the Heat’s building for what Trae Young can do.
He’s as smart as anyone in the league in manipulating a defense, attacking mismatches and finding open teammates. His scoring can ignite in a flash and he needs only a smidge of room to get into a rhythm. The Hawks are in the playoffs because Young scored 32 points in the second half of Friday night’s play-in against the Cavaliers. That version of Trae Young is not something the No. 1 seed Heat want to deal with. This series comes down to how the Heat defend Young.
“You better be on edge,” Spoelstra said after the game.
Coming into Sunday’s Game 1, the Heat practiced four straight days. They’ll practice again Monday. That’s more practices than the Heat have had all season. They’re dialed in.
With only one of those practice sessions coming when the Heat knew their first-round opponent, they didn’t do anything particularly new to defend Young Sunday. After all, they saw Young and the Hawks four times this season and held him to below his season averages. So they defended him per usual: close the gaps when Young comes off screens, double strategically and stay home on shooters.
“It’s always all hands on deck,” Butler said of Miami’s strategy.
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