Trae Young was voted ‘most overrated’ player in the NBA by his peers. Then Celtics fans let him hear it.
The two-time All-Star is struggling against Boston in Round 1.
Trae Young stood at the free-throw line and chewed on his mouthpiece as loud chants of “overrated” rained down at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
The two-time All-Star guard had another rough shooting night during Atlanta’s 119-106 loss to Boston. He went 9-22 from the field, including 2-8 from 3-pt. range, with five turnovers.
He was noticeably better than in Game 1, when he had as many turnovers (five) as made field goals. And the Hawks seemed more consistently competitive than they were on Saturday, although the final margin of defeat was larger.
But Young still hasn’t come close to the level of performance he usually brings. He’s shooting 35 percent from the field during the series.
“I have to be better,” Young said. “I didn’t shoot the ball really well. I had some turnovers where I was just driving and it left my hands. But, I’m going to be better at home.”
The Hawks return to Atlanta with a 2-0 series deficit in the Eastern Conference First Round.
Earlier in the week, Young told Jeff Schultz of The Athletic that Celtics fans were more respectful than Knicks fans. New York was Atlanta’s first-round opponent in 2021.
“Both places are very loud,” Young told The Athletic on Monday. “Boston fans, although they’re rowdy and cheering for their (team), they’re a little more respectful. They weren’t yelling F.U. in the first quarter. That’s the only difference.”
Young was also voted the NBA’s “most overrated” player in an anonymous player poll conducted by The Athletic.
The turning point of the game came when Derrick White swatted one of Young’s shots into the hands of Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon raced to half-court and swished a half-court buzzer-beater, giving breaking a 25-25 first-quarter tie and capping a 17-3 run.
“That’s tough,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Sometimes those things when you go into halftime can deflate you a little bit. But, I think more than anything, I really felt like we were playing really good basketball. We kind of lost it a little bit, and that shot was impactful.”
Young had a lighthearted moment in the postgame press conference when he was asked about the officiating.
“Are you trying to get me fined?” Young joked. “Nah, it was good officiating.”
“Trae is competing,” Snyder said. “The ball hasn’t gone in for him the way that it can and will. I think he’s no different than anyone else on the team as far as us finding a rhythm together. We had it tonight at the beginning of the game … we’ve just got to stay after that. That’s when it’s a series. We’ll evaluate the film and see where we can be better.”
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