Is Trae's lack of defense just an effort thing?

[REHawksFan]

I was reading the article on Trae from The Athletic and it had the following quote:

"An interesting stat to mention is Young’s 94.4 defensive rating in clutch time, which is excellent, but not the total story when talking about defense during his rookie season."

This led me to wonder if he has the ability to play quality defense, but just didn't put forth the effort during the vast majority of his playing time (and only really focusing on that end of the court when the game was in the balance)? I recall LP's comments during the season where he stated Trae had to earn more minutes with effort on the defensive end. I also recall observing on several occasions what I would classify as disinterest on the defensive end.

I guess it makes sense if he's never been asked to really put forth consistent effort on that end of the court that he wouldn't be in the habit of doing so now. I'm just curious as to what y'all think about it.

Also, I haven't been able to find any way on bb-ref to look up a player's defensive rating situationally. Does anyone know where that 94.4 d-rating comes from or if it's even accurate??

[D21]

I was reading the article on Trae from The Athletic and it had the following quote:

"An interesting stat to mention is Young’s 94.4 defensive rating in clutch time, which is excellent, but not the total story when talking about defense during his rookie season."

This led me to wonder if he has the ability to play quality defense, but just didn't put forth the effort during the vast majority of his playing time (and only really focusing on that end of the court when the game was in the balance)? I recall LP's comments during the season where he stated Trae had to earn more minutes with effort on the defensive end. I also recall observing on several occasions what I would classify as disinterest on the defensive end.

I guess it makes sense if he's never been asked to really put forth consistent effort on that end of the court that he wouldn't be in the habit of doing so now. I'm just curious as to what y'all think about it.

Also, I haven't been able to find any way on bb-ref to look up a player's defensive rating situationally. Does anyone know where that 94.4 d-rating comes from or if it's even accurate??

But is this article wrong ?
The reference I got about this defensive rating in clutch time is about... Vince Carter, and not Trae

...
When things get close and the possessions start to really matter, however, Carter can turn back the clock with the best of them. The Hawks have been very good in the clutch this year (defined as a five-point game with five or fewer minutes to play), posting a +8.4 net rating in these minutes, good for the ninth-best mark in the league. Carter has been a huge part of that success; their net rating in crunch time skies to +10.6 when he’s out there and his largest effect is on the defensive end, where they give up a measly 94.4 points per 100 possessions, nearly three points better than when he sits.
...
Link

[kg01]

An interesting note in CLP's exit interview was on defensive effort. Basically said guys "tell on themselves" in that regard. Meaning, they often show on tape that they can indeed put forth the effort on defense but that they need to do it for extended periods of time.

It seemed like this was about Trae so, although there's some dispute over who that metric applies to, I think CLP was saying that Young could be better with consistent effort.

We've all said his poor defense is probably more about knowing how to defend. As his defensive bbiq increases, he'll get better. He doesn't have to be friggin Gary Payton. Just be smart, savvy and he'll be fine.

And I still reject the defensive metrics. There's too much that cannot be captured for people to subscribe to them to the extent that they do.

[graymule]

Defense can be learned. Rookies in the NBA must learn to play defense without fouling. Trae never had to worry
about defense in school because his team couldn't afford for him to foul out early. This applied to last season's
Hawk team. He was needed on the floor.

Collins is still learning NBA defense. LP will put in a lot of time teaching defense between now and the opening
tip off of the regular season. We can expect to see the results when regular season play begins.

No, it's not just an effort thing. It is his ability to stay on the floor and not foul out. As noted, late in the game
when it's close, his defense improves. He's not running scared of fouling out. He will learn and improve.

[Atlanta Hawk Fan]

8-)

Defense can be learned. Rookies in the NBA must learn to play defense without fouling. Trae never had to worry
about defense in school because his team couldn't afford for him to foul out early. This applied to last season's
Hawk team. He was needed on the floor.

Collins is still learning NBA defense. LP will put in a lot of time teaching defense between now and the opening
tip off of the regular season. We can expect to see the results when regular season play begins.

No, it's not just an effort thing. It is his ability to stay on the floor and not foul out. As noted, late in the game
when it's close, his defense improves. He's not running scared of fouling out. He will learn and improve.

Definitely lots of growth ahead and agree it isn't all about effort. I'm not sure the foul trouble is a big issue for Trae, though. He never even reached 5 fouls in a game this year and had 3 or fewer fouls at the end of the game in 75 of 81 games.

[King Ken]

He be putting a **** load of pressure on defenses in the clutch and his team defense is better as well. I personally think Trae got a stamina issue. He obviously better on offense so he puts most of his energy there but I don't think he is an awful defender like I do with John.

[REHawksFan]

I was reading the article on Trae from The Athletic and it had the following quote:

"An interesting stat to mention is Young’s 94.4 defensive rating in clutch time, which is excellent, but not the total story when talking about defense during his rookie season."

This led me to wonder if he has the ability to play quality defense, but just didn't put forth the effort during the vast majority of his playing time (and only really focusing on that end of the court when the game was in the balance)? I recall LP's comments during the season where he stated Trae had to earn more minutes with effort on the defensive end. I also recall observing on several occasions what I would classify as disinterest on the defensive end.

I guess it makes sense if he's never been asked to really put forth consistent effort on that end of the court that he wouldn't be in the habit of doing so now. I'm just curious as to what y'all think about it.

Also, I haven't been able to find any way on bb-ref to look up a player's defensive rating situationally. Does anyone know where that 94.4 d-rating comes from or if it's even accurate??

But is this article wrong ?
The reference I got about this defensive rating in clutch time is about... Vince Carter, and not Trae

...
When things get close and the possessions start to really matter, however, Carter can turn back the clock with the best of them. The Hawks have been very good in the clutch this year (defined as a five-point game with five or fewer minutes to play), posting a +8.4 net rating in these minutes, good for the ninth-best mark in the league. Carter has been a huge part of that success; their net rating in crunch time skies to +10.6 when he’s out there and his largest effect is on the defensive end, where they give up a measly 94.4 points per 100 possessions, nearly three points better than when he sits.
...
Link

I don't know. Maybe it isn't about Trae but it was quoted from Chris Kirschner's article directly talking about Trae. I just haven't been able to find any way to verify that independently.

[peoriabird]

**Yawn** So tired of this tired discussion. Same discussion about Harden for years. Give the dude a chance to turn 21 first before dissecting what he can be during his peak years as a player.

[hawks_fan25]

I'd honestly rather get a rim protector and another solid wing defender in place of Prince to help on the defensive side than to ask Trae to put more effort into that side of the floor. Trae is the primary ball handler and expends a lot of energy on offense, so the energy he puts in on defense will take away from our offense.

When you build around a player, you get complementary pieces to fit around him and that's what we need to do with Trae. I think Collins needs to put more in on the defensive side because a lot of his offense is either straight run to the rim or spot up shooting made available by Trae's work. Obviously, Trae can improve on defense, but I think that should be about making smarter defensive decisions and not about expending more energy.

[graymule]

Definitely lots of growth ahead and agree it isn't all about effort. I'm not sure the foul trouble is a big issue for Trae, though. He never even reached 5 fouls in a game this year and had 3 or fewer fouls at the end of the game in 75 of 81 games.[/quote]

Yep. It is. If he had played hard defense and added those fouls, then he would be out of the game early.

[shakes0]

I'd honestly rather get a rim protector and another solid wing defender in place of Prince to help on the defensive side than to ask Trae to put more effort into that side of the floor. Trae is the primary ball handler and expends a lot of energy on offense, so the energy he puts in on defense will take away from our offense.

When you build around a player, you get complementary pieces to fit around him and that's what we need to do with Trae. I think Collins needs to put more in on the defensive side because a lot of his offense is either straight run to the rim or spot up shooting made available by Trae's work. Obviously, Trae can improve on defense, but I think that should be about making smarter defensive decisions and not about expending more energy.

Agree 100%! Trae's defense will look a lot better once we surround him with a rim protector and better wing defenders.

[Sothron]

Some of this is effort, yes. Mostly it is due to not having any defensive IQ and not having the length and elite athletic ability to be a truly top notch defender.

That being said, he doesn't need to be a top notch defender. Get him up to average. Get his legs better conditioning so he has the wind to play better defense. He has the offensive skills to be a superstar. He needs to at least get to average. If the expectation is that he's somehow going to become one of the best defensive PGs in the league then we need to evaluate realistic expectations.

Starter level average defense is what I think is realistic and what I do think he can get to in time.