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Okay according to basketball reference he is playing PF 54% and C 46%. So I’m good saying that based on the statistics JC is more effective at PF.

Based on these stats (and thank you for saving me time) I’d say that JC does a better job at the PF* The asterisk is there based on sample size. The advanced metrics are all estimates and approximation based on adjusting values with constants to try to make the right mix of actual counting stats. All of them are highly suspect in using them to compare players (even positionally) who have disparate playing times.

I don’t know if he is or not. But I can pull some stats later tonight and generate some quantified thoughts. I’d trust your eye test, but if you’d like some stats I think I can get some.

I never expected us to be so poor with the ball this season. The fact that Trae is at 4.9 TO per game and yet has reduced his TO% speaks volumes to our overall ball control (or lack thereof). Here is our ranking https://stats.nba.com/teams/traditional/?sort=TOV&dir=1 We are dead last on some key metrics (3pt%, TO, Fouls, etc.) and this is one that we pay doubly for...not only is it a possession we have no means of scoring, but also it places our fragile defense in the worst possible scenario. It would be great it we cut our turn overs down from almost 17 a game to 14 a game...those 3 TOs lead to more L's on close games.

Perhaps “because we think you have to earn your keep, earn your spurs, pay your dues, etc” is code for getting embarrassed publicly on an international stage

Totally agree with you...a lack of proactive communication is surprising at this level of the sport. Wherever there is a vacuum of info, many creative minds (i.e., almost every human I know) will create their own narratives to answer all the questions of why. The end results are never what the leadership would desire in the long term. It really is Old Skool thinking and doesn't play well with younger generations.

Well there is finally a little Colangelo explanation on why Trae was not invited. For those who prefer to avoid reading anything on Yahoo, the money quote on Trae's omission from the invite list is: Colangelo said it was only because they wanted players who had paid their dues with Team USA. “So, what we decided to do was – first of all, there were no first-year players on the list. Or second-year players. One three-year player,” Colangelo said. “Basically, because we think you have to earn your keep, earn your spurs, pay your dues, etc. And there’s a lot of good young players, but not for this Olympics. We took the players that we felt had equity. In other words, they had played for us in previous competitions.”

Oh, I’d beg to differ. The 1999-2006/7 rebuild took the cake for me.

If TS knew it was likely that Capela would not lace up those Chucks this season, he would definitely have a crisis of unmet expectations for most of Hawks-nation and, dare I say, Trae. Not sure he would not have shared that possibility if Capela sidelined for months was a somewhat probable reality. Just my thoughts.

You are aware those 3 players would cost us 64 million this year alone.

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere but it is worth a quick read. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2876876-exposing-nbas-worst-defender-at-every-position

Here’s a positive perspective on Collins and Capela sharing the court in ATL

What is your preferred Value stat?

The fact that his fan vote was as high as it was is a testament to that. It’s great to play for Lakers, Boston, Dallas, etc. Their fans are rabid! I really didn’t realize how popular (and equally unpopular) Trae was. Fortunately there wasn’t a thumbs down vote for people who are Traetors. If there was he may have been zeroed out

Yes. It’s almost like a mentality and focus is lacking. I realize that is part of adjusting to the NBA for rookies, but our culture is in need of GRIT.

The problem with almost any metric is sample size. Look at Damian on his ORtg here https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jonesda03.html#per_poss::none I would hesitate to look at any players stats with much confidence if they are playing less than 25 minutes a game. There is just too much error in the overall projections. I prefer the PPS over most any other shooting statistic (not playmaking, defense, or overall value...Points Per Shot tells you nothing about a players ability to create for others or add value via screens, defense, and rebounding) simply because it doesn't really matter the pace of the team. What matters is when player A attempts to shoot a shot what is outcome in points (which is the obvious goal of any attempted shot). There are some players (with smaller sample sizes) who will be ranked incredibly high...higher than they should. For me, seeing a player over 1.4 points per shot for a season (assuming decent usage rate and playing time) lets me know that he is truly producing at a very high level. In fact, in NBA/ABA history, there are only 34 total seasons where any player averaged more than 29 points a game and more than 1.4 points per shot. On that elite list are a total of 14 different individuals all of which you and I would recognize and most of which are in (or will be in) the Hall of Fame. Here is the list of players ranked from higher pps season to lowest. Using this metric, Adrian Dantley had by far the most powerful offensively efficient 5-year span in his era. He was amazing...especially considering the fact that he wasn't incredibly tall/large, nor was he a 3pt shooter. He mixed an amazing array of floaters, jumpers, and foul drawing wizardry to simply score points in droves. Here is the list for anyone whose interested.: Adrian Dantley (1.68pps), Karl Malone (1.57pps), James Harden (1.54pps), Kevin Durant (1.54pps), Shaquille O'Neal (1.49pps), Stephen Curry (1.49pps), LeBron James (1.48pps), Michael Jordan (1.46pps), David Robinson (1.44pps), Oscar Robertson (1.44), Jerry West (1.43pps), Kiki Vandeweghe (1.43pps), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1.41pps), and Gilbert Arenas (1.4pps). Interestingly, this season there are actually 4 players on pace to join the club or place another season on this list: James Harden (1.52 pps), Giannis (1.49pps), Dame (1.45pps), and Trae (1.43) Pretty amazing that we are watching a season with 4 players on a scoring tear at such a historic pace. I'd love our boy Trae to keep it up, but I'd love even better to see our season wrap up with a good glimpse of potential being realized as a whole team. I am eager for Capela and Dedmon to get integrated into our rotation, Cam to continue to develop, Trae to keep his efficiency while decreasing his TOs, our defensive roles to become clarified, and our beloved Hawks to win!!!!

While debating the recent draft is exciting and invigorating (as well as a comedic stimulus for @Spud2nique), here is a tweet regarding Trae and the 4th quarter debacle last night.

I’m a big fan of points per shot. Adjusts for pace, rewards three points (non-chucker), high efficient in the paint and the foul drawing fiends who can actually shoot free throws. for shooting metrics it is the simplest and easiest tool in comparing folks.

Thanks for posting this... There are two money quotes for me: 1) was from Jeff Van Gundy (one of the funniest, humblest guys around): "I hate the focus on defensive numbers, I don't think they really tell you what you need to know," Van Gundy said. "When you're looking at Trae, first of all you're looking at an extremely gifted offensive player. I mean, one of the best I've seen. "The way his body is (6-1, 180 pounds), he's probably never going to be an elite defender. But you don't need him to be. He's the best player on a team. You want to look at how he leads with defensive effort, energy and within the team (dynamic). ... There are plenty of clowns in our league who don't get better. Will he put the work in and get better?" I don't fear Trae's capacity to work...he has demonstrated it in his short NBA career. 2) was from Trae himself...sort of underscoring what we all have stated...he needs increased focus and effort consistently on Defense (there are moments in games where we see it). Trae said: "But that's all about an effort thing. Getting in better conditioning, better shape. That's definitely an area I need to improve (individually). I believe we will see this focus come over this off season. It should make a big different in the coming years.

At least he’s got something to win today. Let’s give some love for his 16 minute double-double.

He doesn’t have the vision to see that.

The offense without Trae had trouble creating. Painful to watch the 4th.

On a lighter and much more fun note: Came here to post this and saw that @Plainview1981 actually meant (in a undefined way) what he posted.

Just for the record...you can call Luka (over 9 3s a game) a chucker from downtown. Similar to Iverson in that arena. Trae doesn’t qualify for that kind of rhetoric and certainly not on a board like this Currently if season ended today Trae would be only the 5th player in history (joining Tiny Archibald, Oscar Robertson, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook) to have 29 points per game and 9 assists per game. Now on that list Trae would: 1) Youngest (beating Harden and Westbrook by 6 and 7 years) 2) boasts the highest eFG% 3) boasts the second highest TS% Here is the link http://bkref.com/tiny/iBMuU Currently he is 81 of 152 in 3pt% So just to keep some perspective I pulled a few random names from players that are lower than our high volume, inaccurate chucker: Lou Williams is 108, Kyle Lowry is 98, Harden is 97, Booker is 95, Siakam is 92, CP3 is 91....On a side note, Luka is 139...LeBron is 113. I’m sure you get my point. If Trae has earned the moniker Chucker, then certainly those boys have earned something worse...maybe “poop throwers” I don’t know, all I know is I certainly would say by historic standards you shouldn’t use the title “chucker” for Trae. For future conversations I’d think it would be helpful to define your terms...quantifying them. I’ve historically used the term Chucker for any high volume (5+ attempts from downtown) and lower efficiency (33% or less) shooter. By your definition, you might fairly be calling Trae a chucker. So forgive any sarcasm above.

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