Knicks not getting ‘wrapped up’ in trying to pay back Trae Young for ‘dice roll’ villainy
NY Post
Few, if any, opposing players have embraced the Reggie Miller-esque role of villain at the Garden in recent years quite like Trae Young has.
The Atlanta point guard played the foil during the Knicks’ first-round loss in the playoffs in 2021, resulting in profane chants featuring Young’s full name from the MSG faithful ever since.
The 26-year-old Young only added to the venom — which he has called “a love-hate relationship — earlier this season when he mockingly imitated rolling a pair of dice on the Knicks’ midcourt logo after the Hawks earned a trip to Las Vegas and a spot in the NBA Cup semifinals with their latest head-to-head win in December.
“I think if that’s what he wants to do, it’s good for him,” Jalen Brunson said after Sunday’s practice in Tarrytown, a day before Young and the Hawks will be back in New York for an MLK Day matinee. “I mean, if he embraces it, great for him.
“I have a lot of respect for him as a player and everything, and I think that dates before I even got here [in 2022]. So I guess the fan base and him had something deeper before obviously me getting here. It’s another challenge for us, we’ve just gotta be ready to go.”
Brunson had said following the Dec. 11 “dice roll” loss that the Knicks “should win the game if we don’t want [Young] to do that.” Mikal Bridges echoed that stance on Sunday, saying, “We weren’t playing the right way on both ends … and if we played better, he wouldn’t have” done it.
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