“I encourage coaches to stick their big guards on me”: Trae Young comments on Franz Wagner and his physical brand of defense as Hawks beat Orlando Magic to go 6-9

Trae Young is on a roll right now, and he feels like nobody can stop him. The Hawks superstar is ready to take on any challenge thrown his way.

It seems a large faction of NBA fans have finally woken up to the whole ’empty stats’ charade. The likes of Trae Young and Devin Booker, among others, proved their caliber as players beyond a doubt.

Trae Young was especially stellar as the heart and soul of a mightily impressive Hawks team. They were right on track to make an NBA Finals appearance before he went down with an ankle injury in this year’s playoffs.

Trae’s stock has also been down a bit recently because the Hawks were on a 6-game slide. In addition, when Trae complained about the rule changes instituted by the league this year, it was viewed as a case of sour grapes.

Well, the 23-year-old has put all of that talk on the backburner of late. He’s now averaging 25.7 points and 9.1 assists per game – the same as last year – on better shooting splits. And the Hawks seem ready to emerge from the trenches. They’re 6-9 and climbing with 2 straight wins now.

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Trae Young comments on Franz Wagner and his defense as Hawks beat Orlando Magic

Trae Young had another characteristically vibrant night for himself as the Hawks beat the Magic at home. He finished with 23 points and 6 assists on 9-of-21 shooting. He didn’t, however, get to play on ball as much he normally does.

The difference was apparent as the young Orlando Magic threw their young guards at him, giving him little room. However, Trae is no ordinary All-Star, and he was able to still navigate the game as he wished.

However, he did acknowledge Franz Wagner’s valiant efforts in the post-game presser. This is a pattern that Ice Trae is beginning to see coaches adopt in order to dull his effectiveness. And he seems up for the challenge:

“Coaches like to put bigger guys on me to be more physical. If that’s what they think can work, I obviously encourage them to keep doing it.”

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Being guarded by a big perimeter defender is nothing new for Trae Young. He spent his Conference Semifinals series against the Sixers coming off screens when guarded by Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle. Trae can only get better at it with more reps.