Trae Young has had a good season as he finished with 30 points and 10 assists in seven consecutive games in December 2023, tying Robertson's all-time record. Trae Young is very popular and has been outstanding individually this season, so can Trae Young be an All-Star starting guard in the East this season?
A few days ago, the NBA officially announced the results of the first phase of the All-Star vote, and Trae Young received 873979 votes, ranking third among Eastern defenders, behind Haliburton (1380795 votes) and Lillard (955751 votes). Lillard's Bucks have the second-highest record in the East, and with a record bonus, and Lillard is also a popular player, Trae Young should not be able to compete with him in the starting race.
So can Trae Young compete for Haliburton? Today, the Pacers hosted the Hawks, Trae Young vs. Haliburton, I thought it would be a chess rival battle, but I didn't expect the Pacers to play a flower game in the third quarter and finally beat the Hawks by 34 points. Haliburton clocked out after 25 minutes of play, he was 4-of-6 (2-of-4 from three-point range), scored 10 points, 8 rebounds, 18 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, only 2 turnovers, plus/minus +24, he delivered 18 assists in 25 minutes was amazing, and his passing activated the whole team. Trae Young was 4-of-18 from the field (1-of-11 from three-point range) and 4-of-5 from the free-throw range to finish with 13 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, and a plus/minus of -28. There was no doubt that Haliburton beat Trae Young by a beating.
Today's defeat to Haliburton will inevitably have a direct impact on the all-star voting of the two, and Haliburton's vote share should further increase, and Trae Young's vote share may decrease. Trae Young should not be able to compete with Haliburton, who has been so good with his passing this season that he scored at least 20 points and 20 assists in two consecutive games a few days ago, and is the only active player who can achieve that feat.
The All-Star starters in the East this season will most likely be Haliburton + Lillard. So can Trae Young be selected as an All-Star as a substitute? The answer is that it is not easy, because there are also good players such as Maxey, Mitchell, Brunson, White, and Holiday who are expected to be selected as All-Stars.