The Next Phase in Trae's Development

Post #181 » by **Jamaaliver** » Thu Jan 19, 2023 3:30 am

Post #182 » by **Jamaaliver** » Thu Jan 26, 2023 5:55 pm

NBA Players Who Need to Step Up

Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

All season, we've gotten reports that Trae Young might not be the best teammate or the easiest guy to coach. Maybe it's not too late to unring the bell on those accounts. And you have to wonder if having Young simply play like himself might turn the volume down on one of the noisiest teams in the league.

Young's counting stats glisten. He's putting up 27.0 points and 9.9 assists per game. The two-time All-Star's shooting percentages dull the shine considerably, as Young is posting his worst shooting percentages since he was a rookie in 2018-19. A 31.4 percent clip from beyond the arc is particularly troubling after last year's climb to 38.2 percent.

Along with Young's shooting accuracy, the Atlanta Hawks are nosediving in offensive efficiency, falling from last year's No. 2 ranking to a dispiriting 21st. Maybe it's not fair to pin that decline on Young. His presence on the floor coincides with a boost in Atlanta's offensive rating that ranks in the 98th percentile, right in line with his impact of a year ago. But as Charles Barkley notes so often on Inside the NBA, responsibility comes with being a great player. Young is a fully maxed-out, face-of-the-franchise figure in Atlanta. If the Hawks are going to get their house in order, he has to be the one to organize the cleanup.

That means acting in a way that changes what can only be described as an increasingly negative perception of his leadership. The shooting numbers also need to improve, and Young must put forth a modicum of effort on D. Those aren't big asks.

Young is "the guy" here, and the survival of this version of the Hawks depends on him to deliver on the floor and in the locker room.

Bleacher Report

Post #183 » by **Jamaaliver** » Fri Apr 14, 2023 7:08 pm

Gotta improve that jumper this summer and get cleaner looks for TY in the offense next season.

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Spoiler:

Post #184 » by **HMFFL** » Sat Apr 15, 2023 11:10 am

Jamaaliver wrote:Gotta improve that jumper this summer and get cleaner looks for TY in the offense next season.

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Spoiler:

Baby steps and small adjustments and Trae will appear to have improve greatly. We shall see if he does improve.

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Post #185 » by **Jamaaliver** » Wed Jun 14, 2023 2:02 am

Just substitute Trae for James.

Spoiler:

Post #186 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sun Aug 6, 2023 7:55 pm

Facts.

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jayu70 · Post #187 » by **jayu70** » Thu Aug 10, 2023 3:19 am

Ranking the NBA's Most Underrated Players of the Last 5 Years

#1.
Trae Young's entire NBA career is the five-year sample size we're talking about here. And it didn't take long for fans and pundits alike to focus more on his shortcomings than the fact that he's off to one of the hottest starts in NBA history.

Yes, he's small. No, he isn't a plus defender. And sure, his shot selection can leave you scratching your head. Young's 35.1 career three-point percentage might even be lower than a lot of people realize, too.

But even with those weaknesses, Young has been a massive plus for the Atlanta Hawks throughout his brief career.

During his five seasons, Atlanta is minus-0.6 points per 100 possessions when he plays, but it's minus-3.7 without him. If you limit the sample to the last three years, those numbers are plus-2.9 with Young and minus-0.7 without him.

Those numbers are the result of offensive engineering that few players across history have been able to pull off. Young has had almost exclusive control of most Hawks possessions when he's on the floor, and their offenses for his five seasons have ranked in the 89th, 99th, 99th, 97th and 93rd percentiles, respectively.

If that doesn't convince you he belongs here, maybe a bit of history will.

Young has 8,990 points and 3,285 assists in his career. Oscar Robertson is the only other player in NBA history to match or exceed both totals in his first 353 NBA games.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10084372-ranking-the-nbas-most-underrated-players-of-the-last-5-years

Post #188 » by **Jamaaliver** » Thu Aug 10, 2023 3:23 pm

Trae works too hard for bad shots...

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jayu70 · Post #189 » by **jayu70** » Thu Aug 10, 2023 3:44 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:Trae works too hard for bad shots...

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I'm hoping and praying a revised offensive philosophy solves some of this.

Post #190 » by **Jamaaliver** » Fri Aug 18, 2023 3:01 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:Facts.

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It's happening!!!

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Post #191 » by **Jamaaliver** » Fri Aug 18, 2023 4:22 pm

Trae Young’s workout with Stephen Curry will excite Hawks fans

Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young was seen putting in work alongside future Hall-of-Famer Stephen Curry in a recent Instagram post

Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young is putting in work this offseason. Just days after Young was seen playing pickup games with several NBA colleagues including most notably Kevin Durant, he was back in the lab on Thursday, posting pictures of a recent workout featuring himself and future Hall of Fame point guard Stephen Curry.

As for his time with Stephen Curry, Trae Young can learn a lot from working out with one of the best players to ever step on the basketball court. Perhaps the area where Young could borrow the most from Curry's game is his movement without the basketball, which is part of what separates Curry from his NBA counterparts.

While Young has shown improvements throughout his career in his willingness to cut to the basket and come off of screens, most Hawks fans would agree that there is still a lot of room for the former Oklahoma Sooner to grow in that department, especially now that he has another ball-handler in Dejounte Murray to play off of.

Of course, offensive schematics also play a large role in how persistent a player will be with off-ball movement, and it will certainly benefit Young to have a full offseason with new head coach Quin Snyder to create a new offensive system that plays to his strengths.

...in the short term, taking notes from an NBA great like Curry certainly can't hurt.

Clutch Points

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Post #192 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sat Aug 19, 2023 11:35 pm

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Post #193 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Sep 4, 2023 2:57 pm

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Post #194 » by **Jamaaliver** » Fri Oct 13, 2023 5:03 pm

It's so much easier to score when the entire defense isn't staring you down waiting to stop you the entire play.

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Post #195 » by **Jamaaliver** » Thu Nov 23, 2023 5:45 pm

Just phenomenal. I love the buy-in from TY!!!

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Post #196 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sun Nov 26, 2023 8:52 pm

Tweet of the week:

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Post #197 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Nov 27, 2023 7:38 pm

Spoiler:

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Post #198 » by **Jamaaliver** » Wed Jan 1, 2025 12:15 am

It's finally happening!!!

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Post #199 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sat Feb 8, 2025 5:41 pm

Credit to Quin Snyder. He's managed to get Trae:

playing a modest level of defense with effort on most possessions
trusting his teammates and moving off ball more often
actually, turning down some of the terrible shots from deep and those foul baiting 3-pt heaves.

And not a minute too soon.

Spoiler:

Post #200 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 2:21 pm

Finally!!!

Code: Select all

“I love that s—,” Young said after the game. “As long as we score, I’m happy. There’s definitely times in the game where I love being a distraction. I love when I’m out there on the floor where somebody is worried about me and my teammates can eat.

“As long as we score I don’t care. I know there are times in the game where I have to get the ball and be more aggressive, but there are times where I wish that I can be a distraction and just be out there. Not a distraction, but a decoy. It’s good whenever my teammates are aggressive and they make plays without me even touching the ball.”

Clutch Points

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