By Ian Thomsen (@ianthomsen)
Russell Westbrook of the visiting Washington Wizards was meaning to put the game out of reach when his drive was blocked by Clint Capela, the Atlanta Hawks center acquired one year earlier to do just that.
The rebound found Trae Young like a short outlet pass sending him upcourt. He pushed the pace in a loping dance, dribbling to one side and then the other, fast enough to scramble the defense while enabling his teammates to sprint ahead to their favored spots around him. Watching the pieces fall into place from his seat three rows behind the scorers table was Travis Schlenk, the President of Basketball Operations and General Manager who in 2018 had settled on Young as the point guard capable of driving the Hawks further than they’d ever gone in Atlanta.