Two seasons after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, the Atlanta Hawks have been struggling through a disappointing campaign despite the presence of two-time All-Star guard Trae Young.
On Saturday, they defeated the Indiana Pacers, 143-130, but Young got ejected after he aggressively tossed the ball at an official at one point.
Trae Young was ejected vs. the Pacers for throwing the ball at an official. pic.twitter.com/avGJYZ9UD4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 25, 2023
Before getting tossed, Young had scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting while also dishing off five assists.
Some fans don’t seem to have a problem with Young getting ejected as a result of firing the ball at the referee.
I was at the game & saw it live. Luckily the ref caught the ball & it didn’t bounce off his dome. Trae really fired it in there.
— Commodore Schmidlapp (@ChrisNHarrelson) March 26, 2023
This fan feels like Young is starting to make a bad name for himself.
Trae is really writing his own villain script. He’s whining because he got called for foul hunting. Dude really plays the worst brand of basketball and throws a tantrum when he gets a call he doesn’t like.
— Injonito (@injonito) March 25, 2023
But these two fans don’t seem to think Young should’ve been ejected, and they instead blamed the referee who made the decision to toss him.
The refs feelings got hurt
— The Rally Mullet (@TheRallyMullet) March 26, 2023
Refs really have been toxic all year tbh
— Roger Salas (@Not_Javian) March 25, 2023
Last summer, the Hawks traded for guard Dejounte Murray, an emerging All-Star last season for the San Antonio Spurs, and therefore some felt they would be a dark horse team in the Eastern Conference.
Instead, they currently hold a 37-37 record and are in eighth place in the East.
Young is averaging 26.8 points and 10.0 assists per game, but he is shooting just 43.3 percent overall and 34.1 percent from 3-point range.
Some have criticized him for attempting to play like Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, even though he greatly lacks Curry’s outside marksmanship.
However, Atlanta’s real problem is on the defensive end, where it ranks just 22nd in defensive rating.
The 130 points and 54.2 percent field-goal shooting it gave up to the Pacers, a mediocre offensive team, on Saturday is indicative of its struggles on defense.
NEXT:
Trae Young Had Hilarious Response To Reporter’s Referee Question
