MIAMI - The Heat's defense may have stunned Atlanta Hawks star Trey Young in Sunday's 115-91 game all-out of his first-round series win, but the former No. 1 seed knows he's going to lose Young and eighth seed. Can't get the Hawks to go quietly.
"He's going to score the ball," said Heat forward P.J. Tucker said of Young. "It's a game. You look at it that way. Treat him like the next game. Expect him to take a lot more shots and be a lot more aggressive, so to bring us that same type of energy and even more." Got it. Because that would be better."
After averaging 31 points in Atlanta's two play-in victories to earn the No. 8 spot, Young was bottled up on Sunday as he scored a career playoff low 8 points on a 1-for-12 shooting (from 3-for-3). 0 for 7) and had higher turnover (six) than assist (four). His 8.3% shooting mark was tied for the worst field goal percentage of his career — including the regular season and playoffs — according to ESPN Stats and Information Research.
The Hawks scored the first three points of the game, but it was all heat from there, with Miami leading 32 points in the fourth quarter. Hawks coach Nate McMillan knows the quick turnaround from Friday's play-in win in Cleveland to 1 p.m. Sunday. A local tipoff in Miami pulled Young into the third quarter with two minutes, 34 seconds remaining and kept him on the bench for the rest of the game.
"Miami played on another level," McMillan said. "We have to go to another level. There's another level of intensity where you're locked on winning every capture. We have to execute and value every possession in these games."
The Heat assured they would see a better version of Young in Tuesday's Game 2.
"Listen, he's going to make more than one shot," said Kyle Lowry, who had 10 points and nine assists. "He'll have more than four assistants. He's going to explode. But we just have to be patient and stick with what we do."
Miami, which ranked fourth in the NBA in defensive ratings during the regular season, employed switching plans on Young when Atlanta attempted to free him by setting the screen on their primary defender. The Heat's defense was strengthened by the return of Bam Adebayo, a perennial defensive player of the year, who overcame a recent bout of COVID-19 to play for the first time since April 8.
When asked about Miami's strategy on Young, Jimmy Butler said, "Put him in the front." "He's constantly breaking defenses and prompting you to help, and if you don't help it's a layoff, [or] it's a floater. And if you help, that's every The bar is hitting the right man [with a pass]. I think we did a great job of not being foul and just moving our legs and being in front of him."
According to Second Spectrum, The Heat switched 21 times against Young in Game 1, earning 0.8 points per direct pick. During the regular season, Young averaged 0.96 points per direct pick against all opposing defenses on Sunday, showcasing Miami's expertise in that department.
"It's all on deck," said Heat coach Eric Spoelstra as his team was moving away from Caleb Martin as Young's primary defender, as the Heat did in the regular season, and rotating the assignment on Sunday. "Whatever is necessary."
Young acknowledged the fatigue caused by that schedule, but acknowledged that Miami's defense played a factor in tying his own low-water mark for the second-most 3-pointers in a game.
"You definitely feel the heavy legs, but you have to give them credit," Young said. "They came out aggressive, they came out with a lot of energy."
That's exactly the way the Heat are expecting Young in a bounce-back effort.
"You're better off on the edge," said Spoelstra. "You have to stay on the edge. That team can really score in bunches. Obviously Trai Young can just ignite at any point. So if you rest at any point, all of a sudden he's going to score a couple of points." Hits, which can turn into a lot. You have to respect that.
"And our guys have that respect, but with respect, even on the sidelines, he's still capable. So we have to be prepared for Game 2 and somehow erase this memory." And that edge has to be maintained."
Young, who led Atlanta to a surprise conference final as the No. 5 seed last year when the Hawks took a 1-0 lead over the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks before losing the series in six, said experience was a factor in this. Reminds me of how speed can be hammock.
"You have to win four games to win a series, you won't win one and win it all," Young said. "If that were the case, we would have been in the finals last year."