New York City mayor Bill de Blasio apparently is among the Knicks fans who have a bone to pick with Trae Young.
Clad in a Knicks hat during a press conference on Tuesday, de Blasio complained about Young pleading for fouls against the Knicks in Game 1. He evoked the name of Nets coach Steve Nash in saying "that's not basketball."
"A message to Trae Young on behalf of the people of New York City — and anyone who actually cares about playing basketball the right way — stop hunting for fouls, Trae," de Blasio said. "That hawk's not gonna fly in New York City.
"Come on. Play the game the right way, see if you can win. I think the Knicks are going to teach you a lesson."
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has a message for Trae Young.
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 25, 2021
"Stop hunting for fouls ... Play the game the right way." pic.twitter.com/89bKTSnNee
It's impressive that in a 30-second clip, de Blasio was able to reference both New York basketball teams and work in a hawk pun. For that, he deserves credit.
MORE: Pelicans players reportedly "not vibing" with Stan Van Gundy
However, considering that the Knicks shot 15 free throws compared to the Hawks' 12 in Game 1, it would seem that de Blasio's request is an odd one. Young did shoot nine free throws, but that was just one more than Alec Burks, who had eight attempts off the bench.
There wasn't a major free-throw discrepancy and frankly, there weren't many fouls called in totality (29 combined between the two sides). Young may have asked for some fouls — what NBA player, let alone star, doesn't nowadays? — but he certainly didn't cross the line at any point.
Either way, it appears that Trae Young is living rent-free in the heads of New Yorkers. He embraced the villain role in Game 1 of the series when he hit a game-winning shot with 0.9 seconds left on the clock in front of a stunned Madison Square Garden crowd. Needless to say, he'll be happy about this development.
Meanwhile, many intimated on Twitter that de Blasio's comments about Young did more harm than good for the Knicks, as it provided plenty of motivation for the Hawks star to go off in their Game 2 matchup on Wednesday night.
Hawks in 5 now https://t.co/O2hIyAuIGO
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) May 25, 2021
Weird, Trae wasn’t looking for a foul when he dropped that dime to beat the Knicks on Sunday. But go off. https://t.co/qr7ZSmanL7
— JD (@daly_jack) May 25, 2021
I hope Trae Young goes for 60. The audacity of a Knicks fan talking about playing basketball the right way. The franchise has 9 playoff wins this century. https://t.co/TdMsiYDf8U
— James Quigley (@Jquig85) May 25, 2021
Trae about to go for 50 with 25 FTA 😂 https://t.co/VTCJrE54O1
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) May 25, 2021
Who’s gonna tell him about James Harden? https://t.co/Cz51qF1P6C
— Ian Nikkel (@IanNikkel) May 25, 2021
@BilldeBlasio https://t.co/xXAkdTVtr2 pic.twitter.com/qi5iN7XkQG
— Drewbie (@64ozKoolaid) May 25, 2021
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Trae Young's over/under point total currently sits at 25.5 points.
After de Blasio's comments, the over seems like a very good bet.