When De’Andre Hunter entered the fourth quarter, he had 5 points and his Hawks were down by 25 to the Knicks. When he exited the fourth quarter, he had 19 points and his Hawks were only down by 23 to the Knicks. Anyone else getting some T-Mac vibes here? Talk about a fourth-quarter takeover, and by a rookie, no less.
Okay, so Hunter didn’t have a very good game until it was totally over and the Knicks were willing to let him score some pity buckets, but that’s okay. He’s a rookie, he needs all the experience he can get when it comes to putting the ball in the hole. He can, basically, chuck as much as he wants and I won’t be very critical of him. Confession time: last year, I was pleased with Kevin Knox’s ability to shoot tons of shots, even if they didn’t always go in. I even said as much. I know. It’s embarrassing, but I have a soft spot for rookies on bad teams. So I’m not going to criticize Hunter for statpadding in the fourth quarter of a blowout or anything.
I am, however, going to totally criticize Trae Young for statpadding. At least, minutepadding. What the heck is he doing out there playing until the very end of a blowout? Going for 40 again? I get that without him on the court everything falls apart offensively, but you could at least tell him to stop shooting.