JeffS17

It's not about the spreadsheet math but more about the fact you have guys that aren't touching the rock after busting it on defense every possession and you start to lose rhythm/flow on offense, not to mention guys will inevitably get a little salty if you brick too many of those. Ultimately, this is a coaching issue though. The coach needs to set the expectations for Trae and the team on whether or not he is launching from 30 feet. He should not have a perpetual green light on those.

Yep, a lot of us called it out during the game and this article pretty much confirms his actions were malicious compliance. I hope to see this squashed by Saturday -- I don't know if I can handle another loss to McRib and Lamelo.

I hope we can get it together quick. I've always thought the first natural peak of our rebuild is going to be the 2022-2023 season (given how our contracts line up and how young our team is), and that is still a ways away. I was hoping this team would have a couple playoff appearances and experience before then, but that's TBD... all this to say we have A LOT of time to sort things out like this. John not signing this offseason was always going to present these issues and frankly we have too many mouths to feed right now, a problem which only gets worse when everyone is available. I feel like a large trade is inevitable for this team, so any chemistry issues right now are going to be flipped upside down in the next year/offseason. I still believe Collins was the centerpiece of a large deal that feel through this past offseason, which is why we were never able to come to agreement on extension terms and that can kept getting kicked. I will not be surprised at all if we move some pieces before the deadline but that is all likely dependent on how other teams fare the first half of the year.

Until we get this, we won't be close to our ceiling on offense

He didn't prove anything. He proved that our bench unit got us back into the game because he was playing so poorly. Of course the guys need the point guard to play well for the offense to churn. No team is going to have good results if the PG just passes it around the key and stands behind the 3P line the entire possession. This was a bush league outing by Trae and I wish we had a strong coach to correct this type of behavior -- it's my biggest fear with any superstar these days -- that they turn into a complete diva and drag the team down

McGrady wasn't a star in his first 2-3 years either. He broke out at some point in his 3rd or 4th year which is still possible for Cam. If he can settle in to his shot and return to early 2020 shooting %s he's halfway there. He is clearly unpolished but that always takes time. All star players start out rough around the edges.

His floater has failed because instead of shooting it, he's thrusting his ass into the defender to try to draw fails. The foul baiting is hurting his overall game because he's forcing himself into situations where he's considering 4 things and has 1 second to decide: go to the rim and layup, floater, find an open man, or bait a foul. It's too much. He will get foul calls regardless because he's our star player and he demands guys play him close because he's very quick and a good shooter, so he needs to stop trying to bait fouls and actually score -- he has a good floater when the paint is occupied and he's good at beating guys to the rim when its not. I really think the egregious foul baiting is hurting other aspects of his game.

No one is asking Trae to only take 3 3PA a game... they're asking him not to chuck 30 footers early in the shot clock and not to dribble out the shot clock for 10 seconds before moving into a set. It ruins the flow of the offense and sucks the wind out of guys who are giving 100% on defense, hustling back to get into position, off-ball screening, etc only for Trae to throw up a 30 footer. If he's hot by all means heat check but it's not something you do when you need some rhythm on offense. As a lot of us pointed out Wednesday, it looked (and now seems to be partially confirmed) like Trae was just pouting. He has to grow up if he wants to be an actual leader of the team. I genuinely hope this is a 1 game lapse and he's not actually this thin skinned. JC looks like our actual on-court leader. He's constantly encouraging guys, talking, keeping morale up, etc. One thing that has always bugged me about LP that this article calls out is his avoidance of accountability. We can talk about player-leaders all day long but the coach is the actual intended leader of the team -- and when they coach is blaming losses on low effort or intensity -- instead of actually taking accountability, it's a bad sign. You don't get to make excuses when you continually blow big leads and fail to see what is working on the court. If this was last season, I would chalk it up to developing guys in different situations and give LP a pass, but the clearly stated goal is to win games and make the playoffs this year.

A lot of dramatic takes after that 3 game stretch -- and rightfully so -- but I still believe Trae Young has the "it" factor if we can manage whatever that was last night (rebellion? pouting? is he hurt? misguided by coaching?? trying to be a "true" PG?). Trae needs to be a score first point guard. It open up the floor for everyone else when defenders know he's capable of attacking the basket and floating in 2 points at will. Last night he played like a subpar college point guard, dribbling twice then passing it around the key, rinse and repeat. I don't know the driver behind that weird play and behavior last night but it needs to be rooted out. I'm not worried about the other guys... It's infinitely harder to teach defense than offense so my hope is that Cam comes around. We've seen how good he can be on offense but that clearly hasn't been a focus for him and the 9 month break reset some of the gains we saw on that end of the floor. Hunter is exceeding expectations at this point imo and can/will be a solid team defender. Heurter is also looking better than I expected -- I was admittedly down on him this offseason but he's been playing well within his means. He will never be a primary ball handler but he does O.K periodically taking control and his shot is still solid which provides spacing on offense. Hopefully his defense can improve to just barely below average instead of bad. Collins has looked solid and honestly looks like the real leader of this team. I saw him talking Cam up after a timeout when we were down big and leading by example with his play. He's missed a few bunnies recently which needs to be cleaned up but he's proving to be a level-headed mature guy on the floor that can manage the emotions of the team. Not commenting on whether he deserves max or not but there is definitely value there Bogi looks like he's playing through nagging injuries or he's just slumping, not sure. He was hesitant to shoot last night which is worrisome because imo his value is only on offense and making defenders respect him. I think he will come out of this slump Capela has looked good. I know everyone thinks you can't play him late in the 4th because of fouling, but I want to see him out there. He makes our defense so much better and fouling him is still typically resulting in ~1 point, which I will take over what I've seen from this team in the clutch. The guy is too good for our defense to be sitting out late in games, and his +/- routinely reflects that. As for all of our injuries, I think we will start to phase these guys in throughout the season. I feel like the coaching staff has an issue of too many mouths to feed right now so there's not much harm letting guys sit out. And by not much harm, I don't mean winning/losing, but I mean no matter who is available, we need time to see what combinations of lineups work versus ones that don't. The only injury that actually worries me is Gallo -- I hope he comes back 100% because we need that guy on that floor. This isn't to say I'm not sorely disappointed with out last 3 games because I am, but I don't think it's time for too many hot takes on the players. I do think LP's leash is getting shorter though. I'm having a harder time than usual disagreeing with @Bonkers

Hayward playing like a star that knows how to close games. I hope Hawks show us something new these last 5

How is this rookie getting boards over half our team

THat foul baiting from Trae...smh leading with your right shoulder and body perpendicular to the basket isn't an honest shot attempt. If this game were closer, or if Trae was playing better, I'd turn my homer blinders on but I don't like it.

His last drive was much better, controlled, drew the foul... but yeah, you're right -- if we can lock them down we might have a chance to make a run...

Open the half with Trae trying to turn it over and a Reddish bricked 3. I want to have hope, and I might even still have an inkling of hope, but it's about to vanish.

Turn it back off trust me

Trae can fill a 5 minute lowlights video with his first half play

Bogi SHOOT the three man thats why we paid you

lol I understand you dont like Pierce but not EVERYTHING is his fault. Trae doesnt need a good coach to not get 8 sec backcourts or stepping over the line to inbound...

Lloyd needs to draw up better plays than Trae just standing outside the perimeter while other guy dribble then pass to him. Why isnt he moving? Use his gravity.

Trae are you shitting me

This isnt the unit to cut into any lead...

Cam wont take the wide open three off the screen but instead clanks a step back of the front of the rim... coach please talk to the kid

Hawks looking like they had an election party at Magic City last night

What happened to Trae this year? He wont even take a wide open 3???

SOMEONE REBOUND