Re: LP sees the big picture with Hawks young core
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 2:49 pm
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Clutch PointsThe 3 Hawks players facing the most pressure in 2019-20
Trae Young
This one should be obvious. Before he was even drafted, Trae Young had been hyped as the next Stephen Curry. Comparisons to the Golden State Warriors star might be early, but Young showed the NBA that he is capable of hitting the deep three and dishing out eye-popping assists, both Curry trademarks.
Even after a terrible start to his season, Young finished the campaign averaging 19.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 3.7 boards per game. He shot 41.8 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three. Shooting below NBA average from distance will not cut it for Young or the Hawks.
Expect to see his three-point numbers rise dramatically, even while the degree of difficulty on his shots remains the same. As the current face of the Atlanta Hawks franchise, Young has got a ton of weight on his shoulders at only 20 years old.Spoiler:
The RingerCan Trae Young and Co. make yet another leap—and cause some chaos in the East?
The main source of any Hawks optimism has to be Trae Young. The overall culture and system that GM Travis Schlenk and head coach Lloyd Pierce have instituted is the team’s foundation, sure, but any good building needs a cornerstone. It’s remarkable that we’re only a year removed from Young’s disappointing summer league performance and slow regular-season start, and we’re already christening him as the key figure on an ascending team. But that’s how much progress Young made in the latter half of the season, when he averaged nearly 25 points and 10 assists per game.
When I visited Atlanta in March to talk to Young about his passing, his magnetism became clear. Teammates raved about him. Members of the organization will tell you this was part of the plan, that they drafted Young over Doncic because the overall fit was more to their liking. And it’s clear the team is outlining its future with Young as its compass. Alongside Young is John Collins, who is one of the more exciting rim runners in the game. He averaged nearly 20-10 a game last season while also making 34.8 percent of his 3s. The duo’s synergy is already advanced, as is their connection with Kevin Huerter, who is the Klay Thompson to Young’s Stephen Curry. (Huerter’s true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage are nearly identical to the numbers Thompson put up in his rookie season).
The Hawks also used this year’s draft to add De’Andre Hunter (a versatile, defensive-minded wing) and a high-upside talent in Cam Reddish to the aforementioned trio. Hunter has the potential to act as a Swiss-army knife and complement the rest of the roster. Reddish is more raw, but has a higher ceiling with his athleticism. Much like Alex Len last season, Reddish will benefit tremendously from playing alongside Young. Both rookies could contribute this season, but especially Hunter, who will cover for the team’s lack of size in the backcourt and has a good chance to be an elite defender on the wings.
The Stepback25. Deandre Ayton
24. Justise Winslow
23. Bam Adebayo
22. Domantas Sabonis
21. Aaron Gordon
20. Mitchell Robinson
19. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
18. John Collins
13. Trae Young
Behind an exciting young core, the Hawks could be primed for a leap in 2020. What they get from John Collins could determine just how far they go.
When Trae Young tosses lobs to his teammates, he has a habit of leaving his feet just as the recipient of the pass sends the ball through the rim. The two were made to complement one another on offense and have forged a dynamic and synergistic pick-and-roll partnership with one another. Collins ranked among the most efficient pick-and-roll finishers in the NBA last season, and the force and flair with which he finishes is nearly as demoralizing as the points themselves.
The Hawks have as much young talent as any team in the Eastern Conference and -- optimists believe -- the league at large. Trae Young rebounded over the season’s second half to consistently exhibit shotmaking and playmaking talent reserved for truly elite ball handlers. Young, already one of the best passers in the league, seems poised to cement himself this season as the driving force behind an above-average offense for years and years to come.
John Collins is one of the league’s most explosive athletes with a burgeoning set of overall skills and rapidly developing 3-point range...Few outside Atlanta paid proper attention to Kevin Huerter’s rookie campaign, one in which he flashed rare prowess as a shooter – spotting up, sprinting around screens, and even off the dribble. He’s a better athlete than advertised coming out of Maryland...
Is rookie De’Andre Hunter, despite troublingly low rates of blocks and steals at Virginia, the defensive linchpin general manager Travis Schlenk believes? Will fellow lottery pick Cam Reddish even break into the rotation this season?
And he’s not going to put any extra pressure on his players.
‘Expectation’ is a word that won’t come out of my mouth,” Pierce said. “This is a low-pressure environment that our players will have. They get enough expectations from social media and from family and from friends and from everyone else. That’s not what this is about. My job is to put them in a position to succeed. My job is to challenge them to be more and to be better. But expectations, I don’t want to undervalue our guys either. I don’t want to say ‘X’ and they go over that.”
It’s tough having to understand that, especially me being such a competitor and wanting to win every game right away,” Young said. “It’s the truth. You have to understand that this is a rebuilding process, but at the same time you want to be great, you want to win as much as you can. Just because you say it’s a rebuilding process doesn’t mean losing is acceptable, because it’s not. I’m definitely not taking that type of approach and I’m trying to win as many games as possible.”
CBS SportsTop 25 under 25: Ranking the NBA's best young players entering the 2019-20 campaign
14. Trae Young | Atlanta Hawks | PG
Young is already one of the most creative passers on the planet, and the Hawks have empowered him to play with freedom. I love watching him play, but I'm not sure how to properly evaluate a player who is so obviously helpful on offense and so obviously harmful on defense. One thing he has going for him, though: Atlanta has stacked the roster with long, versatile, athletic players around him. (Age on opening night: 21)
18. John Collins | Atlanta Hawks | PF
Last season, Collins getting healthy coincided with the Hawks getting decent. He made a monster leap from his rookie season, becoming an average 3-point shooter out of absolutely nowhere and establishing himself as one of the league's premier rollers and rebounders. Collins wants to do everything, though -- shooting off the dribble, facilitating for others, posting up, etc. -- and Atlanta should let him try, as long as he continues to make strides on the other end. (Age on opening night: 22)
Bleacher ReportTrae Young, Atlanta Hawks Give NBA a Glimpse of the Future
It's just one game. But Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks put everything that makes them so exciting on display in Thursday night's 117-100 road win over the Detroit Pistons. Young dazzled with 38 points, nine assists and seven rebounds on 11-of-21 shooting. Like Stephen Curry before him, he looks like another link in an evolutionary chain that includes Steve Nash.
And while he'll lead most Atlanta highlight reels, this is a team that is going to cause problems for others around the league.
"Trae had an unbelievable night offensively, but that was a great team win," head coach Lloyd Pierce told Fox Sports after the victory. "And I just love their composure."
John Collins had some of his trademark slams, but he also showed off his expanded range. De'Andre Hunter was the same steady presence he was at Virginia. Veteran Jabari Parker went for 18 points on 11 shots.
Thursday in Detroit, it all came together for Atlanta, laying the foundation for a team that could surprise plenty over the course of this season. Against Detroit, Young looked as comfortable as ever, controlling the pace and rarely forcing the issue in a disadvantageous spot. Like Curry, he demands attention almost immediately after passing half court. When this is in your back pocket, defenses always have to be pressed up:
When multiple defenders have to crowd a point guard 30-plus feet from the rim, it turns the rest of the possession into a four-on-three drill. You've seen this play out countless times over the last five years with Curry-Draymond Green pick-and-rolls. Right now, Young doesn't have that secondary playmaker, but that may not matter for him.
He might already be superior to Curry as a passer.
"Like all of the great passers before him, Young is as selfless as he is effective," Nekias Duncan wrote for SB Nation during Young's rookie campaign. "He doesn't pound the ball into the dirt hunting for assists. He keeps the chain moving, and that Nashian ability to empower his teammates makes them all threats."
Like Nash and Curry before him, he has a chance to be an offensive engine, and Atlanta has surrounded him with a cast that should keep the engine running smoothly.
Collins' bounce is reminiscent of vintage Amar'e Stoudemire's, though he's also shown the ability to stretch the floor beyond the three-point line. He'll be the primary target for Young throughout the foreseeable future. Hunter plays with a quiet steadiness that almost makes you think of a young Joe Johnson.
The comparison to the Nash-era Suns sort of breaks down here, but that's fine. The Hawks are going to fly their own course. They have a chance to be one of the game's most dynamic offenses this season. In a couple of years, they could be unstoppable.
EvanZ wrote:Is Huerter going to get back in the starting lineup when he's fully healthy?
EvanZ wrote:Is Huerter going to get back in the starting lineup when he's fully healthy?
EvanZ wrote:Is Huerter going to get back in the starting lineup when he's fully healthy?