Hornets Are a Good Bet to Keep Trae Young Under His Point Total Prop

The name Trae Young strikes fear in the heart of NBA defenses coast to coast. The Atlanta Hawks’ point guard is the fourth-highest scorer in the league with an average of 28.4 points per game. He is the centerpiece of this offense and, if he struggles, the Hawks usually lose.

This is a big deal considering tonight’s play-in game against the Charlotte Hornets is a win or go home matchup. 

But, every superstar has a nemesis, and the Hornets might be Young’s. Young has played the Hornets four times so far this year with mixed results. The results were generally positive for Charlotte and it held Young under his average points per game in three of four games.

The Hornets also held Young under 20 points twice. All in all, Young averaged 20.8 points per game against the Hornets this year.

For whatever reason, the Hornets just have Young’s number on defense.

Their best defensive performance of the year might have come the last time these two teams played. Despite being one of the most potent scorers in the league, Young scored just nine points against Charlotte in mid-March.

It was the first, and only time, Young was held to single digits scoring all year. The last time he scored less than 10 points in a game was on Jan. 15, 2021.

Young enters tonight’s game with a predicted scoring total at WynnBET Sportsbook of 31.5. It is the highest of the game on either side and a few more points that Young averages.

He has upped that average to 31 points per game in April and the Hornets will need another Herculean effort on defense to slow Young down. I doubt we see another nine-point game, but the Hornets have proven their ability to show Young down and frustrate him into making mistakes.