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

[kg01]

47 minutes ago, EazyRoc said:

When Trae hurt his ankle, it felt like the season was over. Either way..great run.

 

On a side note: Is it time to consider firing Emorys ass ? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many injuries on a Hawks team ever

In fairness, injuries are a widespread problem across the league iiuc.  And it ain't like Emory sent the dumbarse ref to go stand on the sidelines refusing to get outta the way of a player.

[agentorange90]

I wouldn't fault Trae if he didn't play; I don't want to see him risk injuring his foot any worse.  Knowing Trae he will play however.  I think he may be used as a decoy and just turn into a shooting guard.

[RandomFan]

 

[RandomFan]

 

[AtLaS]

13 minutes ago, RandomFan said:

 

I hate when pundits use dumb stats like this to try and prove a point, as if the Hawks are actually better without Trae.

Most of our wins have been close, and we've had a few double digit losses.  Regardless, Trae's +/- is going to be highly skewed in a small sample size of games in which we were blown out by the Bucks in Game 2, and post ankle injury Middleton led the Bucks on a 22-5 run while Trae was basically standing in the corner.  

 

 

[AHF]

1 hour ago, AtLaS said:

I hate when pundits use dumb stats like this to try and prove a point, as if the Hawks are actually better without Trae.

Most of our wins have been close, and we've had a few double digit losses.  Regardless, Trae's +/- is going to be highly skewed in a small sample size of games in which we were blown out by the Bucks in Game 2, and post ankle injury Middleton led the Bucks on a 22-5 run while Trae was basically standing in the corner.  

 

 

Unless I am reading that wrong, that stat makes the case we are much, much worse when Trae isn't on the court.  (That said, the 9 minutes without him is such a small sample size that it is hard to draw much from them.  Our regular season impact which also shows we are much worse without Trae is more meaningful given the extreme variation that can come in just 9 minutes of play.)

[AtLaS]

4 hours ago, AHF said:

Unless I am reading that wrong, that stat makes the case we are much, much worse when Trae isn't on the court.  (That said, the 9 minutes without him is such a small sample size that it is hard to draw much from them.  Our regular season impact which also shows we are much worse without Trae is more meaningful given the extreme variation that can come in just 9 minutes of play.)

Agreed, the stat that Nathan tweeted shows that we are worse with Trae off the court.  However, he was quoting a tweet where the person was slamming Trae and basically saying the Hawks were worse with Trae on the court, but it looks like that tweet has now been deleted so it makes my comment look irrelevant.  I guess that person decided to retract it.

Edited June 29, 2021 by AtLaS

[EazyRoc]

Trae out vs Bucks tonight

[Thomas]

On 6/28/2021 at 3:48 PM, kg01 said:

And it ain't like Emory sent the dumbarse ref to go stand on the sidelines refusing to get outta the way of a player.

So like who did?? We know....

[RandomFan]

Soo, this is Luka news, but I'm going to tie it back to Trae so that this is relevant to this thread: 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2021/06/28/nba-insider-i-dont-know-how-many-people-are-going-to-be-excited-to-play-with-luka/

--- Doncic’s generational talent has drawn plenty of high praise from his peers and predecessors, but according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, admiration of the 22-year-old All-Star combined with Dallas’ big front office moves may not be enough to sway superstars to Dallas.

“I don’t know how many people are going to be excited to play with Luka,” Windhorst said during an interview with Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] Monday. “I think Luka is, maybe, a difficult person. He’s a great player, but when you watch the Mavericks play, he’s barking at the coach, he’s barking at his teammates, he’s barking at the officials. He’s always barking about something. He can really be an irritable guy.

“So, with a guy who has options, I will be interested to watch to see how that goes going forward. I do think that Luka isn’t a guy... let’s just say it’s not like going to play alongside LeBron [James] or Kevin Durant, guys who you can tell really form good bonds with teammates. I think he’s going to be a challenging guy to play with sometimes, but if you win, ultimately that’s usually going to be the only thing that matters.”

Windhorst was not the only one to question Doncic’s ability to play well with others on Monday. During an appearance on First Take, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins said he would take Hawks guard Trae Young -- Doncic’s frequently compared counterpart -- over the Mavs superstar if he were the general manager of a team.

“If I’m a GM and I’m starting a franchise, I’m taking Trae Young,” he said. “You know why? Because I know one thing, I’m gonna keep my job, I’m not gonna walk away or get fired or let go. See right now, what’s going on in Dallas, we don’t know what’s going on. The coaches are walking away, the general managers, the front office, it’s a disaster over there. And that goes to show me that something is going on in that locker room with their star player.

“It looks to me, guys love playing with [Young]. I can’t say the same for Luka.”__________________________________

 

This makes me wonder if Luka was always going to be this way, or did the early success and media frenzy proclaiming him the next basketball Jesus go to his head and make him more difficult to deal with? Is the early success going to make it more difficult to coach the hero ball out of him in order to turn him into a winning team player? 

It also makes me wonder the opposite with Trae? Because we saw Nate have success in doing that with Trae this year. It's not like Trae has totally changed his game, but even Trae's dad has acknowledged that Trae gets along better with his teammates since Nate took over, and Trae plays a better team oriented game more frequently instead of reverting to hero ball when things get tight.  

With how disrespected he's been by the media and the NBA, combined with the lack of early team success, did that actually make that an easier coaching job for Nate to get Trae to make that shift in his game? Did it make Trae more coachable than he would have been if he would have had the early media and team success Luka had? 

I only bring these things up to point out we never know what silver linings might be staring us in the face when we think things are at their worst. It's very possible that our trials ands tribulations have paved the way for a much higher ceiling with this team than the early success that a team like Dallas had with Luka will do for them. 

[hawkman]

7 minutes ago, RandomFan said:

Soo, this is Luka news, but I'm going to tie it back to Trae so that this is relevant to this thread: 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2021/06/28/nba-insider-i-dont-know-how-many-people-are-going-to-be-excited-to-play-with-luka/

--- Doncic’s generational talent has drawn plenty of high praise from his peers and predecessors, but according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, admiration of the 22-year-old All-Star combined with Dallas’ big front office moves may not be enough to sway superstars to Dallas.

“I don’t know how many people are going to be excited to play with Luka,” Windhorst said during an interview with Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] Monday. “I think Luka is, maybe, a difficult person. He’s a great player, but when you watch the Mavericks play, he’s barking at the coach, he’s barking at his teammates, he’s barking at the officials. He’s always barking about something. He can really be an irritable guy.

“So, with a guy who has options, I will be interested to watch to see how that goes going forward. I do think that Luka isn’t a guy... let’s just say it’s not like going to play alongside LeBron [James] or Kevin Durant, guys who you can tell really form good bonds with teammates. I think he’s going to be a challenging guy to play with sometimes, but if you win, ultimately that’s usually going to be the only thing that matters.”

Windhorst was not the only one to question Doncic’s ability to play well with others on Monday. During an appearance on First Take, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins said he would take Hawks guard Trae Young -- Doncic’s frequently compared counterpart -- over the Mavs superstar if he were the general manager of a team.

“If I’m a GM and I’m starting a franchise, I’m taking Trae Young,” he said. “You know why? Because I know one thing, I’m gonna keep my job, I’m not gonna walk away or get fired or let go. See right now, what’s going on in Dallas, we don’t know what’s going on. The coaches are walking away, the general managers, the front office, it’s a disaster over there. And that goes to show me that something is going on in that locker room with their star player.

“It looks to me, guys love playing with [Young]. I can’t say the same for Luka.”__________________________________

 

This makes me wonder if Luka was always going to be this way, or did the early success and media frenzy proclaiming him the next basketball Jesus go to his head and make him more difficult to deal with? Is the early success going to make it more difficult to coach the hero ball out of him in order to turn him into a winning team player? 

It also makes me wonder the opposite with Trae? Because we saw Nate have success in doing that with Trae this year. It's not like Trae has totally changed his game, but even Trae's dad has acknowledged that Trae gets along better with his teammates since Nate took over, and Trae plays a better team oriented game more frequently instead of reverting to hero ball when things get tight.  

With how disrespected he's been by the media and the NBA, combined with the lack of early team success, did that actually make that an easier coaching job for Nate to get Trae to make that shift in his game? Did it make Trae more coachable than he would have been if he would have had the early media and team success Luka had? 

I only bring these things up to point out we never know what silver linings might be staring us in the face when we think things are at their worst. It's very possible that our trials ands tribulations have paved the way for a much higher ceiling with this team than the early success that a team like Dallas had with Luka will do for them. 

Trae had his pouty moments during this season. It wasn't the smoothest transition but he became a better player because he actually listens. He has unshakable confidence but his ego isn't so out of control that he refuses to change like other superstar talents (Harden, Westbrook, now maybe Doncic?). Those guys had more than enough talent around them to win if they weren't more concerned with their own numbers. I thought the narrative would shift after another season or two, but it appears Trae going to the ECF and possibly beyond accelerated things a bit. It shines a light on who is actually making their team better. Doncic is a generational talent and is still young enough to change, but the Mavs organization pretty much brought this on themselves by allowing him to carry on like he has for this long while rewarding him for it. The media shares some blame for that too I guess. Oh well, I'm just glad it's not our problem. 

[Atlantaholic]

1 hour ago, RandomFan said:

Soo, this is Luka news, but I'm going to tie it back to Trae so that this is relevant to this thread: 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2021/06/28/nba-insider-i-dont-know-how-many-people-are-going-to-be-excited-to-play-with-luka/

--- Doncic’s generational talent has drawn plenty of high praise from his peers and predecessors, but according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, admiration of the 22-year-old All-Star combined with Dallas’ big front office moves may not be enough to sway superstars to Dallas.

“I don’t know how many people are going to be excited to play with Luka,” Windhorst said during an interview with Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] Monday. “I think Luka is, maybe, a difficult person. He’s a great player, but when you watch the Mavericks play, he’s barking at the coach, he’s barking at his teammates, he’s barking at the officials. He’s always barking about something. He can really be an irritable guy.

“So, with a guy who has options, I will be interested to watch to see how that goes going forward. I do think that Luka isn’t a guy... let’s just say it’s not like going to play alongside LeBron [James] or Kevin Durant, guys who you can tell really form good bonds with teammates. I think he’s going to be a challenging guy to play with sometimes, but if you win, ultimately that’s usually going to be the only thing that matters.”

Windhorst was not the only one to question Doncic’s ability to play well with others on Monday. During an appearance on First Take, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins said he would take Hawks guard Trae Young -- Doncic’s frequently compared counterpart -- over the Mavs superstar if he were the general manager of a team.

“If I’m a GM and I’m starting a franchise, I’m taking Trae Young,” he said. “You know why? Because I know one thing, I’m gonna keep my job, I’m not gonna walk away or get fired or let go. See right now, what’s going on in Dallas, we don’t know what’s going on. The coaches are walking away, the general managers, the front office, it’s a disaster over there. And that goes to show me that something is going on in that locker room with their star player.

“It looks to me, guys love playing with [Young]. I can’t say the same for Luka.”__________________________________

 

This makes me wonder if Luka was always going to be this way, or did the early success and media frenzy proclaiming him the next basketball Jesus go to his head and make him more difficult to deal with? Is the early success going to make it more difficult to coach the hero ball out of him in order to turn him into a winning team player? 

It also makes me wonder the opposite with Trae? Because we saw Nate have success in doing that with Trae this year. It's not like Trae has totally changed his game, but even Trae's dad has acknowledged that Trae gets along better with his teammates since Nate took over, and Trae plays a better team oriented game more frequently instead of reverting to hero ball when things get tight.  

With how disrespected he's been by the media and the NBA, combined with the lack of early team success, did that actually make that an easier coaching job for Nate to get Trae to make that shift in his game? Did it make Trae more coachable than he would have been if he would have had the early media and team success Luka had? 

I only bring these things up to point out we never know what silver linings might be staring us in the face when we think things are at their worst. It's very possible that our trials ands tribulations have paved the way for a much higher ceiling with this team than the early success that a team like Dallas had with Luka will do for them. 

These are young kids, we lose sight of that with all the money and preassures they face. I definitely think it helps that Trae has been disrespected and disregarded his whole career, while Doncic has always been praised, even when he was very young and still not doing much of anything in Europe. One set of circumstances helps foster a chip on his shoulders mentality while the other fosters entitlement. 

[Gray Mule]

Hawk fans know about Trae's family.  Any one know anything about Doncic's?

Another note.  Kindergartner kids have on their report card:  Plays well with others (yes-no).

Wonder how his team mates would answer?  

 

[AHF]

14 minutes ago, Gray Mule said:

Hawk fans know about Trae's family.  Any one know anything about Doncic's?

Another note.  Kindergartner kids have on their report card:  Plays well with others (yes-no).

Wonder how his team mates would answer?  

 

His mother got a lot of reaction after the draft.

[MarylandHawk]

On 6/30/2021 at 2:23 PM, RandomFan said:

Soo, this is Luka news, but I'm going to tie it back to Trae so that this is relevant to this thread: 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2021/06/28/nba-insider-i-dont-know-how-many-people-are-going-to-be-excited-to-play-with-luka/

--- Doncic’s generational talent has drawn plenty of high praise from his peers and predecessors, but according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, admiration of the 22-year-old All-Star combined with Dallas’ big front office moves may not be enough to sway superstars to Dallas.

“I don’t know how many people are going to be excited to play with Luka,” Windhorst said during an interview with Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] Monday. “I think Luka is, maybe, a difficult person. He’s a great player, but when you watch the Mavericks play, he’s barking at the coach, he’s barking at his teammates, he’s barking at the officials. He’s always barking about something. He can really be an irritable guy.

“So, with a guy who has options, I will be interested to watch to see how that goes going forward. I do think that Luka isn’t a guy... let’s just say it’s not like going to play alongside LeBron [James] or Kevin Durant, guys who you can tell really form good bonds with teammates. I think he’s going to be a challenging guy to play with sometimes, but if you win, ultimately that’s usually going to be the only thing that matters.”

Windhorst was not the only one to question Doncic’s ability to play well with others on Monday. During an appearance on First Take, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins said he would take Hawks guard Trae Young -- Doncic’s frequently compared counterpart -- over the Mavs superstar if he were the general manager of a team.

“If I’m a GM and I’m starting a franchise, I’m taking Trae Young,” he said. “You know why? Because I know one thing, I’m gonna keep my job, I’m not gonna walk away or get fired or let go. See right now, what’s going on in Dallas, we don’t know what’s going on. The coaches are walking away, the general managers, the front office, it’s a disaster over there. And that goes to show me that something is going on in that locker room with their star player.

“It looks to me, guys love playing with [Young]. I can’t say the same for Luka.”__________________________________

 

This makes me wonder if Luka was always going to be this way, or did the early success and media frenzy proclaiming him the next basketball Jesus go to his head and make him more difficult to deal with? Is the early success going to make it more difficult to coach the hero ball out of him in order to turn him into a winning team player? 

It also makes me wonder the opposite with Trae? Because we saw Nate have success in doing that with Trae this year. It's not like Trae has totally changed his game, but even Trae's dad has acknowledged that Trae gets along better with his teammates since Nate took over, and Trae plays a better team oriented game more frequently instead of reverting to hero ball when things get tight.  

With how disrespected he's been by the media and the NBA, combined with the lack of early team success, did that actually make that an easier coaching job for Nate to get Trae to make that shift in his game? Did it make Trae more coachable than he would have been if he would have had the early media and team success Luka had? 

I only bring these things up to point out we never know what silver linings might be staring us in the face when we think things are at their worst. It's very possible that our trials ands tribulations have paved the way for a much higher ceiling with this team than the early success that a team like Dallas had with Luka will do for them. 

I don’t read too much into it.  Trae’s game has not changed all that much under Nate. I think Nate carried Pierce’s message but it meant more because Pierce just got fired for lack of success. So I think Trae’s and everybody else's ears perked up a little bit more even though the message was the same. Also Nate’s game management and in game adjustments were way better than Pierce’s and that is what unlocked the key to our winning. As far as Doncic is concerned, that is just the media being the media dumping on a guy when a team loses.  

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

Quote

Trae Young

The Hawks weren’t supposed to have made it this far, currently in an Eastern Conference Finals series against the Bucks. Trae Young has been the primary reason why.

Young has shimmied his way into postseason stardom, setting new records and shocking the world in the process, as he’s averaged 29.8 points, 9.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds so far this postseason.

The point guard is the first player in NBA history to notch at least 20 points and seven assists in each of the first 13 playoff games of his career, and he’s had at least 30 points in seven of those. He’s also the first player in NBA history to score at least 48 points in a conference finals debut—he had 48 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to beat the Bucks in Game 1. And he’s already had eight double-doubles.

Young has been out for the last two games with a bone bruise in his right foot and is expected to try to take the court again in Game 6. Regardless of whether the Hawks make it to the Finals or not, he’s had quite the impressive run to lead his team to do the unthinkable in his first time in the playoffs.

 

[Spud2nique]

Most stars… some stars.. would not have played if they were in Trae’s place. Nice Trae.

 

.  

[NBASupes]

While I am not expecting Trae to have a special game in game 6, this should put us over for the win. 

[FL_BRYANT]

Can't score, no defense.  Got to step up the intensity or they will regret it forever.

[FL_BRYANT]

Can't score, no defense.  Got to step up the intensity or they will regret it forever.