Trae Young - The Man, The Viper, and The Prosecution aka The MVP aka Ice Trae

[REHawksFan]

Here's some interesting stats.  Trae has played in 28 games as of this writing. Hawks are 13-15 in those games. 

Regarding 3pt Shooting:

• Hawks are 3-13 when he shoots < 40% from 3pt
• Hawks are 10-2 when he shoots 40% or better from 3pt
• In 13 W's:  Trae avg 7.1 attempts from 3pt
• In 15 L's:  Trae avg 5.5 attempts from 3Pt
• Hawks are 5-1 when he makes 4 or more 3pt (only loss by 1 to Mavs)
• Hawks are 9-4 when he makes 3 or more 3pt (L's to BKN at home, Dal x 2, and Bos)

Finally, regarding assists:

• Hawks are 4-10 when Trae logs double digit assists
• In the 4 W's, he shot 40% or better from 3pt in all 4
• In the 10 L's, he shot 40% or better from 3pt only 2 times (Bos and Clev)
• Hawks are 9-5 when he has 9 or fewer assists
• In 9 W's, he shot 40% or higher 6 times
• In the 5 L's, he shot 40% or higher ZERO times

So whoop dee do, what does it all mean?  To me, it seems to confirm a lot of our suspicions that Trae's scoring and 3pt shooting in particular have a MUCH greater impact on the Hawks W/L than his assists (facilitating) do.   

 

 

[macdaddy]

1 minute ago, REHawksFan said:

Here's some interesting stats.  Trae has played in 28 games as of this writing. Hawks are 13-15 in those games. 

Regarding 3pt Shooting:

• Hawks are 3-13 when he shoots < 40% from 3pt
• Hawks are 10-2 when he shoots 40% or better from 3pt
• In 13 W's:  Trae avg 7.1 attempts from 3pt
• In 15 L's:  Trae avg 5.5 attempts from 3Pt
• Hawks are 5-1 when he makes 4 or more 3pt (only loss by 1 to Mavs)
• Hawks are 9-4 when he makes 3 or more 3pt (L's to BKN at home, Dal x 2, and Bos)

Finally, regarding assists:

• Hawks are 4-10 when Trae logs double digit assists
• In the 4 W's, he shot 40% or better from 3pt in all 4
• In the 10 L's, he shot 40% or better from 3pt only 2 times (Bos and Clev)
• Hawks are 9-5 when he has 9 or fewer assists
• In 9 W's, he shot 40% or higher 6 times
• In the 5 L's, he shot 40% or higher ZERO times

So whoop dee do, what does it all mean?  To me, it seems to confirm a lot of our suspicions that Trae's scoring and 3pt shooting in particular have a MUCH greater impact on the Hawks W/L than his assists (facilitating) do.   

 

 

To me this means 2 things

- Trae is our most important scorer

- We win when other guys are making plays and making passes rather than just jacking up whatever Trae T's them up (hence more wins when he has lower assist numbers.  I bet those 'hockey assists' are high in those wins)

[REHawksFan]

Straight from the worthless stats department:   

Hawks now 11-2 when Trae shoots 40.0% or better from 3pt range.  

Hawks now 10-5 when Trae logs 9 or fewer assists. 

Hawks are now 13-6 when Trae's PPS is 1.30 or better.  

 

I say worthless stats because while I find these interesting, the sample size is so small I'm not sure whether there's actual correlation or not.  

[REHawksFan]

NBA Young Talent Rankings from The Athletic are out.  Trae comes in at No. 7.  Here's the write-up.  Really high praise for him.  

 

7. Trae Young | 6-1 guard, 22 years old | Atlanta Hawks | Contract: 2 years, $14.8 million, restricted free agent in 2022 | PR: 5

We’re starting to get to the point where we need to make cases for certain guys over others. So, why Trae over Ja, LaMelo and Fox? Good, fair question, all. I think Young is simply more dynamic as an overall playmaker than Fox, possessing much more offensive upside that has already showcased itself. Young’s shooting makes him a bit more scalable to the playoffs than Morant, while maintaining similar long-term defensive questions. And in Ball’s case, we’ve just seen more from Young than the Charlotte point guard, which makes me buy into him a bit more.

Young remains an utterly elite offensive weapon not just in the construct of today’s game but genuinely in the history of the NBA. As I wrote last year, Young averaged 29.6 points and 9.3 assists on a pretty ridiculous 59.5 true-shooting percentage. The players who posted at least that many points per game on that level of efficiency? It’s a veritable set of Hall of Famers, guys who sprinkle the NBA’s all-time elite. Try these names on for size: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Bird, Stephen Curry, Adrian Dantley, Kevin Durant, George Gervin, James Harden, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Bob McAdoo, Shaquille O’Neal and Kiki Vandeweghe. That’s 14 guys, 13 of whom are Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers, plus Vandeweghe, who did it in one of the insanely uptempo Doug Moe seasons in Denver, where the Nuggets posted a pace that was absurdly nine possessions above the league average per game. And the number of players to post that scoring combination while also averaging nine assists? Just Young this season and Harden in 2017. The numbers are worth repeating because it’s absolutely preposterous for a 21-year-old to put up such impressive production.

Young still went into this season with questions, largely because those numbers from last season came on a losing team. Now on a Hawks team battling for a playoff berth, all Young is doing is averaging 26.9 points and 9.5 assists on a 60.8 true-shooting percentage. It is impossible to overstate how good he is as an offensive player, and he’s putting up those numbers while not even getting the most out of transition opportunities (he’s been unusually careless with turnovers and missed free throws). Barring injury, we’re going to look back on the career numbers that Young puts up and be blown away.

We’re at the point now with Young where the whole conversation is going to shift to, “how good will he be in the playoffs?” Until we see it, there is going to be some natural skepticism. My take is that he’s going to be an absolute star offensively. He’s too good of a pull-up shooter and creator for his offensive game not to work. It’s too hard to defend him. Switch him with bigs, and he’ll beat those guys off the bounce. Play drop coverage, and he’s going to take side-step pull-up 3s and beat you that way. He’s always going to be able to beat you with his passing, which is his best skill. Importantly, the turnover issue he had last year while trying to do too much is down this year. His skill level is just exceptionally high in half-court settings, which is where most NBA games are played.

I do have some concerns on defense. I think there is a chance Young’s deficiencies get exacerbated in the playoffs where his opponents hunt mismatches against him. The best players in the league are often able to find the guys they want guarding them, and for bigger wings, that’s almost always going to be Young. His offense should outshine his defense. The question is simply whether or not it will be enough for him to maintain the superstar-level talent that ranking him this highly necessitates. We’ll see, but Young is unquestionably on a Hall of Fame trajectory, and I’d expect him to make quite a few All-NBA teams before his time is done.

[kg01]

A discussion about NBA ratings and nat'l tv games, etc. on NBARadio a couple minutes ago.  Host said the NBA "missed a huge opportunity by not putting Trae/Hawks on national TV like they did with Zion".

To my surprise, the league didn't cut the guy's feed.

ETA: They weren't discussing the Hawks game at all, just talking about the league in general.  Made it even more shocking to get a mention.

Edited February 25, 2021 by kg01

[macdaddy]

18 minutes ago, kg01 said:

A discussion about NBA ratings and nat'l tv games, etc. on NBARadio a couple minutes ago.  Host said the NBA "missed a huge opportunity by not putting Trae/Hawks on national TV like they did with Zion".

To my surprise, the league didn't cut the guy's feed.

ETA: They weren't discussing the Hawks game at all, just talking about the league in general.  Made it even more shocking to get a mention.

Yeah.  that guys fired. 

[benhillboy]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:43 AM, REHawksFan said:

Here's some interesting stats.  Trae has played in 28 games as of this writing. Hawks are 13-15 in those games. 

Regarding 3pt Shooting:

• Hawks are 3-13 when he shoots < 40% from 3pt
• Hawks are 10-2 when he shoots 40% or better from 3pt
• In 13 W's:  Trae avg 7.1 attempts from 3pt
• In 15 L's:  Trae avg 5.5 attempts from 3Pt
• Hawks are 5-1 when he makes 4 or more 3pt (only loss by 1 to Mavs)
• Hawks are 9-4 when he makes 3 or more 3pt (L's to BKN at home, Dal x 2, and Bos)

Finally, regarding assists:

• Hawks are 4-10 when Trae logs double digit assists
• In the 4 W's, he shot 40% or better from 3pt in all 4
• In the 10 L's, he shot 40% or better from 3pt only 2 times (Bos and Clev)
• Hawks are 9-5 when he has 9 or fewer assists
• In 9 W's, he shot 40% or higher 6 times
• In the 5 L's, he shot 40% or higher ZERO times

So whoop dee do, what does it all mean?  To me, it seems to confirm a lot of our suspicions that Trae's scoring and 3pt shooting in particular have a MUCH greater impact on the Hawks W/L than his assists (facilitating) do.   

 

 

Great digging.  You don’t have to look up the results based on TOs to know we’re much better when he’s around 2 than 5.  Those live ball TOs kill us as he’s useless in transition.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[terrell]

NBA Central

 

@TheNBACentral

 

Steve Nash praises Luka Doncic’s playmaking and ability to draw fouls

 

WOW!! Really?

Edited February 28, 2021 by terrell

[Spud2nique]

27 minutes ago, terrell said:

NBA Central

 

@TheNBACentral

 

Steve Nash praises Luka Doncic’s playmaking and ability to draw fouls

 

WOW!! Really?

Seriously is it Trae’s face? Why don’t Nash, Curry and some other seem to like Trae. Must be jealousy. Nobody hated on these lil $hits when they were up and coming and now everyone wants to hate on Trae. It only means he’s gonna crush any records set by Nash and Curry. 
 

Ive always hated Curry but was indifferent to Nash. Now I’m starting to see his ugly side. It’s ok Stevie, it all comes from fear.

[bleachkit]

9 hours ago, terrell said:

NBA Central

 

@TheNBACentral

 

Steve Nash praises Luka Doncic’s playmaking and ability to draw fouls

 

WOW!! Really?

Steve Nash also praised Trae. Nash was caught on a hot mic complaining to an official about the calls, he never publicly criticized the calls. Complaining about calls is part of the job, you're have to look at the context of when and where it was said.

[bleachkit]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30977477/james-harden-sings-praises-luka-doncic-mavs-got-specal-one

I have noticed that Doncic gets praise from peers, but Trae doesn't. Personality has to be part of it too. Luka never toots his own horn. During his rookie year, Luka never publicly campaigned for rookie of the year, but Trae openly said he felt he deserved it. When Luka struggles he admits he struggles, when the team wins he praises the team, not himself. Trae seems to be more prickly and not willing to admit faults as readily. He plays the "I'm being disrespected card" instead of the "how can i be better" card. Other players notice these things. Quite frankly, it's not easy for a White Euro to win over American Black players, but he is because of his game of course, but also his personality and approach. 

[MarylandHawk]

26 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30977477/james-harden-sings-praises-luka-doncic-mavs-got-specal-one

I have noticed that Doncic gets praise from peers, but Trae doesn't. Personality has to be part of it too. Luka never toots his own horn. During his rookie year, Luka never publicly campaigned for rookie of the year, but Trae openly said he felt he deserved it. When Luka struggles he admits he struggles, when the team wins he praises the team, not himself. Trae seems to be more prickly and not willing to admit faults as readily. He plays the "I'm being disrespected card" instead of the "how can i be better" card. Other players notice these things. Quite frankly, it's not easy for a White Euro to win over American Black players, but he is because of his game of course, but also his personality and approach. 

That’s a good point. But it is also the reason why I think Trae is the perfect fit for Atlanta. This team has been overlooked, underestimated, and has never really won anything of significance. Nobody is going to heap praises on a team or a player who hasn't done that.  But Trae has the guts to stand up for himself and the city until we can win it all. I love it. 

[bleachkit]

4 minutes ago, MarylandHawk said:

That’s a good point. But it is also the reason why I think Trae is the perfect fit for Atlanta. This team has been overlooked, underestimated, and has never really won anything of significance. Nobody is going to heap praises on a team or a player who hasn't done that.  But Trae has the guts to stand up for himself and the city until we can win it all. I love it. 

Disagree. Keep your head down and stay humble. Playing the disrespected card is so old and tired.

[NBASupes]

11 hours ago, terrell said:

NBA Central

 

@TheNBACentral

 

Steve Nash praises Luka Doncic’s playmaking and ability to draw fouls

 

WOW!! Really?

When your idols become your rivals

[MarylandHawk]

2 hours ago, bleachkit said:

Disagree. Keep your head down and stay humble. Playing the disrespected card is so old and tired.

Thats the thing. He is humble and is a great kid. But nobody is out there disrespecting Luka so he doesn't have to defend himself. It is easy to be humble when you are compared to Larry Bird. Trae has rejected the comparison to him and Steph a thousand times humbly.  Trae put up better more efficient numbers this year and they say he is the 11th best guard in the east?  Come on man.  Check Trae’s response, super humble. Atlanta doesn't have the luxury of laying low because no one outside of Atlanta will know what we have here. 

[JayBirdHawk]

Trae has probably been discounted his whole life because of his size. He's had more to prove thru High School, College and even getting drafted into the NBA and being called a bust from his Summer League struggles - Let Trae be Trae.

[bleachkit]

17 minutes ago, MarylandHawk said:

Thats the thing. He is humble and is a great kid. But nobody is out there disrespecting Luka so he doesn't have to defend himself. It is easy to be humble when you are compared to Larry Bird. Trae has rejected the comparison to him and Steph a thousand times humbly.  Trae put up better more efficient numbers this year and they say he is the 11th best guard in the east?  Come on man.  Check Trae’s response, super humble. Atlanta doesn't have the luxury of laying low because no one outside of Atlanta will know what we have here. 

Is Milwaukee a big market? I would say Giannis is a fairly big star.  Atlanta is decent sized enough market. The Atlanta thing is overblown. If you're a true star, stardom will find you.

[terrell]

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

When your idols become your rivals

Yep. Nash knew what he was doing...

[JayBirdHawk]