Trae Young Predicted to Carve Up Sixers’ Defense in Game 2

Trae Young has answered all of the questions about whether or not he'd be able to handle the postseason, and he’s primed to put on another show in the Atlanta Hawks’ Game 2 matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

WynnBET has Young’s player prop projection for points and assists set at 37.5 on Tuesday, and the under (-120) is actually favored to the over (-108). This is surprising given the fact that Young scored 35 points and had 10 dimes in Game 1 against the Sixers, and he is currently averaging 30.2 points and 9.8 assists per game this postseason. 

Taking the under would be expecting a down game from Young compared to his performances this postseason. Still, Young did just miss the over on 37.5 points and assists in Games 2 through 4 against the Knicks. 

However, he combined for 37, 35 and 36 in those three games, which shows that he’s always been hovering around the 37.5 total. After watching Young continue to pick apart the Sixers in the pick-and-roll in Game 1, I like him to hit the over on this projection. 

Joel Embiid is clearly not at 100 percent, and the Hawks have attacked him on offense by making him play the screen-and-roll and make quick decisions.

It’s clear in that second clip that Embiid is limited vertically due to his meniscus injury, and I’d expect the Hawks to continue to attack him until the Sixers come up with another game plan. 

When Philly tried to overplay the pick-and-roll, Young was lethal at getting past his defender and getting to the cup for an easy basket.

This isn’t a fluke, Young picked apart the Knicks in the same way during the first round, and Philly may have to put the larger Ben Simmons on him to keep him out of the lane. 

However, even if that happens, I’m still confident in Young’s ability to hit the over because of his 9.8 dimes per game, and the fact that he’s gotten to the line 24 times over the past two games and is 22-for-24 from the stripe.