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Statistically he was playing better before by almost every advanced metric. He had improved across the board. The only difference was he was shooting fewer 3s but making them at a higher percentage. That dip in scoring was all voters really looked at. His points per shot, TS%, Offensive Rating, Win Shares, etc were all career highs.

There is simply no statistical argument for Beal being an all-star over Trae...especially this season. There can be a feel good (he's been snubbed...bla-bla-bla) argument, but that is it. Trae is having his best season to date, the Hawks are better off than they were...and this is with basically the same lineup as last season minus Hunter over the past few weeks.

Beal was a worse rated defender than Trae last season.

Except Trae's better already than Marbury's greatest season ever.

I don't currently have the time to see how consistently my value system coheres to all the teams. Instead I chose teams where there was a clear-cut MVP on the team and some where there have been some debates. If there is a strong coherence to the eye test, then I'll try it across the NBA. Until then just working on a theory of player comparison. Thanks for helping out!

Thanks! I have been slammed at work developing systems to care for at-risk populations in the city. Sorry to have been absent from here. Miss, miss, miss the Squawk and the Hawks!!!

Hey Squawkers, I have been gathering data and stats for a while (working on an approach to player comparison) and am wanting to compare my statistical results to our personal views/opinions on certain players. In other words, comparing the "eye-test" to the data-test. Since I am not sure where to place this, MODs feel free to move it. My only concern is that most of the other forums get little traffic in the past. I'd like to gather at least 100 responses. So you can share this with your friends. All I ask is that you do your best to choose one MVP for each team listed. I have used 13 teams for good luck and narrowed the choices down to a handful of choices. I do include the "Other" for a write in candidate, but do use that only if you really believe a case could be made for someone other than the players listed. Here is a link to a google form where I will gather the data. Thanks ahead of time for taking 3-5 minutes to share your personal opinion with me. https://forms.gle/WCqEeDVqXvpQxBso9 Have a great day and hope our Hawks get a win tonight!

And Trae just crossed the threshold of a 2:1 Assist to Turnover ratio for the first time this season. That is a huge marker that also helps our Hawks avoid the horrific transition defense. While he is still throwing a few passes each game that are turning into turnovers, in general the past month he has been one of the best at cranking out high efficiency assists!!!

Our boy keeps disrespecting his elders okay. If nutmegging an older gentleman is disrespectful, then not sure what to call trouncing their accomplishments And this is who he just nutmegged... Shocked that he passed Kidd already!

He’s not just unleashing chaos, he might be writing history too!

We are starting to see more defensive effort from the team. This little jewel is just one example

I'm not a hater, but there have been games (too many) where I felt he laid a proverbial egg for the Hawks. Recently, however, he (and a few others...including Trae's D) has been playing much better all-around games...more effort, more focus. I love it!!! I am a bit miffed at Trae's recent 3pt woes...definitely need his outside shots to fall at 35-38%...would love to see them pop toward 40% (Dame made that jump over the last two months).

Awesome as always!!!! My only beef Is that Trae’s the “worst” defender in the NBA is only really using RAPM. There are many other stats that place him well above Beal, IT, and others. Bottom 30 defender for sure. Worst? No. Needs significant improvement? Absolutely!!! Just have decided not to accept that narrative anymore without stating there are other metrics to consider besides ESPN. Jealous!!!!

I hate to say this, but it looks like Cam is still filling out and getting used to his body. He has all kinds of potential. It’s really crazy. I thought he’d be a bust after Duke. Man, I am a huge fan now.

For sure. I tried to tell the lukastans this from his pro career. He is a historically weak 3 pt shooter. Lifetime average 32-33%. Free throws around 78%. Neither have gone up a lot during his pro career in Europe and US. If he’d focus on driving and midrange more (his strengths) he’d help his team win more. As it stands he isn’t even Top 5 on his team in on/off. He brings down their team 3pt% too. Don’t get me wrong. He is great. So is Trae. They are just exceptional in different ways. Unless Luka has Trae’s work ethic I’d say we got a huge bargain in Trae.

A few disconnected thoughts/observations: 1) The Westbrook issue is inefficiency more than winning. His true shooting percentages and points per shot have always been well-below many other prolific scorers. I’d Trae was posting numbers that inefficient I’d scream at him to pass and pass again. 2) The irony of the “winning” Stats=real stats and losing stats=empty stats is really shown when we get to Draft time. Many lists have Lamelo Ball at the top, yet his Australian record is worse than Trae’s Hawks. Not many commentators are even discussing this as they were posting his stat lines game by game. 3) I have no idea where to post this tweet regarding lineups in ATL. So here you go. I was surprised at the net rating but love what I’m seeing here.

That is the deal. Sorry. Just waking up I didn’t know you had no subscription. I get the + award for the original post.

With the increasing defensive effort I have seen from him in the last two games, I will predict Trae is incredibly sick of hearing the comments and will find a way to even start silencing those critics.

Also is now number 2 rookie in steals!

Here’s a stat I just saw:

I use fox sports for all of the games via the web. EPB Fiber.

I loved his suit on draft night, but After the first month I didn’t think I’d see games like he’s been having this past month during his rookie season. Cam is a MAN.

As long as you missed the first quarter you would have enjoyed most of it. Replaying on foxgosports

Continuing his “prove-my-doubters-wrong” campaign:

He did in this game at least once then...pushed in the back, still grabbed the board.