Oklahoma Basketball: Trae Young suffers injury scare vs. Utah

Former Oklahoma Sooner star Trae Young struggled in his final game in the Utah Jazz Summer League as tempers flared.

When matching up against Grayson Allen, many were curious to see if Trae Young could handle the physicality in the game. He struggled, and his frustrations showed on NBATV.

Forced to play aggressive

Young came out of the games with an aggressive mindset. He showed guts when he defended Allen. He got downhill fast and tried to beat his defenders off the dribble. It was a sight for sore eyes after seeing so many perimeter shots miss the previous two games. Even when he wasn’t shooting, he was making the right decision with the ball in his hands.

Injury scare

Two minutes into the game, Allen drove in and banged knees with Young, and Young came up holding his left knee. He was able to put weight on it on his way to the bench. In less than five minutes of playing time, he was back on the floor. It might have been a safer move to keep him out of a summer game with an injury scare, so there should be absolutely no concern about his knee moving forward.

After coming back into the game, he stopped guarding Allen for a while. He was still aggressive, but he was looking for his teammates more than himself.

Making mistakes

As the game progressed, the old Young (pun intended) started to show. He air-balled a floater, made a dumb foul that gave Utah a four-point play opportunity, and lost his man on the baseline, allowing for an easy layup. Once things went wrong, he went full Sooner mode: taking crazy shots in hopes that they would fall. Unfortunately for Atlanta, they did not. After losing his man on the baseline, he took a shot that was many feet behind the line with a hand in his face. If it goes in, it’s an absolute highlight. However, his stats from recent games would suggest that it is not going in. When threes weren’t falling, he would drive with reckless abandon and turn the ball over before making a play. He finished the play on 0/6 shooting and four assists.

Scuffling with Allen

In the third quarter, his frustrations got the best of him. After a personal foul on Allen, Young continues to play and shoves him towards the floor. Grayson responded by ramming his shoulder through Young, and they had to be separated by officials. They both ended up with a technical foul, and the pace heated up from there. Allen played better, forcing turnovers and defending well when guarding Young.

The Hawks tried to pull close near the end, but they lost by five. Young finished with 10 points on 3/16 shooting and 6 turnovers.

Recapping the summer

This has been a Summer League to forget for Trae Young. With Utah closing, it is clear that Young has been better as a distributor than as a scorer in Utah. The team went on runs when he was making the right decision. That will come with more minutes in a regular season, but Atlanta fans should be ready to experience some growing pains.

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He will also need to learn to handle his frustrations on the court. After the double technical, it felt as if the game was a pickup basketball game with two players trying to show each other out. This is a type of battle that Young has the potential to win, but it is not what the Hawks will need to be successful. His mistakes in three summer games are marginal when it comes to an entire NBA career, but I would expect him to be putting even more time in the gym and film room after his results.

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