By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Atlanta Hawks are a young team. They are led by second year point guard Trae Young. Young was selected as a starter in the upcoming All-Star Game.

So far, he’s one of the few bright spots on the team. They are currently 12 – 35 and tied with Cleveland for last place in the East. They have the second worst record in the league behind Golden State.

The team got a rare win Sunday against Southeast division foe Washington, 152-133. Despite the W the league was in a very somber mood.

NBA legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning. There were nine people involved in the crash, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.

Young was mentored by Bryant and he knew Gianna, nicknamed Gigi. He was her favorite player.

She came to two Hawks games this season and met with Young. Their relationship began when Kobe Bryant asked Young, who trained him, and hired Alex Bazzell, to work with Gigi as well.

Young started the game wearing a # 8 jersey and taking an eight second violation.

Young had 45 points and 14 assists to lead the Hawks to victory.

“One of the last conversations we had, he was just telling me how much he’s seen my game progress and he’s just been happy for me,” Young said between pauses. “He said how proud he was of me and how he wants me to continue to be a role model for kids growing up and for Gigi and all the kids looking up to me to inspire these kids and continue to play my heart out.”

Atlanta had lost three of four going in to that game. They scored the most points in a game this season. Several other players stepped up and had big games. De’Andre Hunter finished with 25 points, Kevin Huerter had 18 and John Collins scored 16.

Bradley Beal scored 40 points for the Wizards, who dropped to 15 – 30.

“Trae, he’s a problem,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said. “He’s a handful. He’s an All-Star for all the right reasons. He’s a hard guy to guard. He was making his shots and getting guys involved.”

I was initially outspoken about wanting the Hawks to keep Luka Doncic instead of trading him to Dallas on draft night.

I was wrong about him because he has proven to be a great pick thus far. He has averaged 30 points per game, 9 assists per game and 5 rebounds.

Journeyman Jabari Parker has been a pleasant surprise. He has averaged 15 ppg and 6 rpg. The other power forward John Collins is averaging 19 ppg and 10 rpg.

The player they are counting on to be great is rookie small forward Cam Reddish. He was drafted tenth overall out of Duke. So far, he is only averaging 9 ppg. He has to develop into a star player, which is what we expect from players drafted that high.

The season could be a blessing down the road. This is a young team experiencing growing pains and learning how to play together. The best-case scenario is to continue at this pace and have one of the worst records in the league.

I hope that they can draft a player in the top five. If they can add a game changing player to pair with Young, they can become an instant playoff contender.