Trevor Ariza tried to dethrone Trae Young, the king of the NBA nutmeg, by throwing a shoulder check at the Atlanta Hawks stud after the guard went through the legs of the Portland Trail Blazers vet.
But it’s not going to work, and for that, I’m extremely glad.
Young doesn’t use the nutmeg to show anyone up. Rather, it’s a weapon in his prodigious offensive arsenal. If he catches a defender with his legs open, he’s going to get by with a dribble through the wickets. If NBA defenders start thinking about closing up their legs when they see the All-Star coming, Young will catch them flat-footed and blow by them.
Young ignored Ariza’s flagrant foul and subsequent comments (“I told him, ‘Don’t do that (expletive) again; not to me at least.'”), which means we’re in for more nutmegs, and thank goodness for that:
The answer isn’t hitting him with a warning shot like Ariza did. It’s about finding how to defend that move … and good luck with that.
