In the second quarter of Thursday’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers, Hawks guard Trae Young was being defended by Cavs guard Darius Garland in the corner of the 3-point arc.
Young, in an apparent attempt to draw a foul, suddenly flailed his body. The result was Garland catching a shot to the face, but the contact was still deemed a foul on Cleveland, meaning Young had accomplished his likely mission.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert didn’t seem to be a huge fan of the call, so he took to X during the game and offered some amusing advice to Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson.
Hey, Coach Kenny A: there’s a new strategy you might want to consider… elbow the defender in the face and watch the defender get called for a foul.
— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) January 31, 2025
Like it or not, foul-baiting isn’t exactly a rare sight in today’s NBA, even though the league has tried to mitigate it. Players like Young have had success getting to the free-throw line using unsightly tactics, and they’re probably going to keep doing so as long as it keeps working.
Young, who is a strong free-throw shooter, has averaged 7.6 attempts per game from the charity stripe during his NBA career. In seven NBA seasons, he has averaged 25.2 points per game overall, with 6.6 of those points coming from the line on average.
But on Thursday, the Cavs got the last laugh, coming away with a comfortable win over the Hawks as Cleveland continues to get back on track. The victory gave the Cavs their third in a row, a streak that has helped wash away the taste of a three-game losing skid that took place last week.
By his standards, Young didn’t have a very good performance overall on Thursday. He did register a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists, but he shot just 5-for-16 from the field, 2-for-8 from deep and 3-for-4 from the line.
Meanwhile, Garland led the Cavs in scoring with 26 efficient points, adding seven assists, two rebounds and two steals. Cleveland won by 22.
The Hawks are struggling this season, but they do currently have a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re 22-26 and have lost seven straight games.
The Cavs, on the other hand, are still the top team in the Eastern Conference at 39-9 and recently reclaimed their place as the No. 1 team in the entire NBA.
