Trae Young is Ridiculously Underrated

[tsherkin]

He was never a good shooter to begin with, his shooting ability has really has been exaggerated.

The 87.6% FT shooter who has, to date in his career, shot 35.0% on 7.1 3PA/g and 45.1% on shots from 16-23 feet isn't a good shooter?

Let's try that one again, and revisit reality.

He has shot poorly for 2 games to open the season. Let's not make the horribly foolish mistake of conflating that with a quality evaluation of his shooting proficiency. Not liking him isn't an excuse for violently poor analytical approach.

[Rainwater]

Guys shoot poorly sometimes.

MJ, for example, shot 9/26 in Game 5 of the 98 Finals. And no one gives him crap for that. So compared to that, the FIRST game of a regular season means comparatively little.

Trae is a mediocre shooter, this is just not a one game issue. The guy has only shot above 45% once in his career.

Tell me you dont understand how FG% works with high-volume 3pt shooting without telling me..

You do realize there are plenty of "stars" who are high-volume 3pt shooters and are able to shoot the ball over 45% percent, right? Last year Doncic, Brown, Dame, Tatum, etc shot the 3 ball just as much as Trae or higher and got over 45% . The thing is that you actually have to be a good shooter to do so.

[tsherkin]

You do realize there are plenty of "stars" who are high-volume 3pt shooters and are able to shoot the ball over 45% percent, right? Last year Doncic, Brown, Dame, Tatum, etc shot the 3 ball just as much as Trae or higher and got over 45% . The thing is that you have be actually a good shooter to do so.

You understand that you're talking about a player who is very clearly and specifically an elite shooter, yes?

What you're TRYING to articulate is that Trae is a poor finisher specifically inside the restricted area. That would be true. But calling him a bad shooter is factually inaccurate and ignores reality. Some of that is expected given his size; there is only so much of that which matters, of course.

But he is in fact quite a good shooter. What he does is struggle to finish in tight, which affects his global 2FG%. Not the same thing.

[lethalizer]

You do realize there are plenty of "stars" who are high-volume 3pt shooters and are able to shoot the ball over 45% percent, right? Last year Doncic, Brown, Dame, Tatum, etc shot the 3 ball just as much as Trae or higher and got over 45% . The thing is that you have be actually a good shooter to do so.

You understand that you're talking about a player who is very clearly and specifically an elite shooter, yes?

What you're TRYING to articulate is that Trae is a poor finisher specifically inside the restricted area. That would be true. But calling him a bad shooter is factually inaccurate and ignores reality. Some of that is expected given his size; there is only so much of that which matters, of course.

But he is in fact quite a good shooter. What he does is struggle to finish in tight, which affects his global 2FG%. Not the same thing.

It's 2023, and unless we're talking about mid range specialists like DeRozan and Shai, we judge shooting by the ability to hit the three ball.

Trae shot 33.5 from three last season on a whopping 6.3 attempts per game.

That really is not what you would call "quite good" in today's game. Even Luka shot better than him last season, and this is the only area Trae should be better than him theoretically as far as their reputations go.

If you compare him to average players, Trae is not a bad shooter.

If we're comparing him to the truly elite players of the game, he's a truly mediocre shooter. I mean, the numbers are there.

[Rainwater]

He was never a good shooter to begin with, his shooting ability has really has been exaggerated.

The 87.6% FT shooter who has, to date in his career, shot 35.0% on 7.1 3PA/g and 45.1% on shots from 16-23 feet isn't a good shooter?

Let's try that one again, and revisit reality.

He has shot poorly for 2 games to open the season. Let's not make the horribly foolish mistake of conflating that with a quality evaluation of his shooting proficiency. Not liking him isn't an excuse for violently poor analytical approach.

I have no clue what ft shooing has to do with Trae's FG%...... But last year, Trae had one of the lowest FG% amongst players avg 20 ppg. He was down there with Jordan Clarkson, Terry Rozier, and Jordan Poole. And as Trae consistently shoots below 45% I am pretty certain that has always been the case through out his career. And having a 45% 2 point avg is not something I would rave about, most stars last year were shooting over 50% as a 2 point percentage.

You can blame it on his teammates, you can blame it on his 3 point volume, or his inability to distinguish what a good shot is but Trae has never been a good shooter and still isn't a good shooter. I don't know if you are the guy's fan but there is no convincing you otherwise. If you want to build your team around the guy by all means, but i wouldn't.

[Rainwater]

You do realize there are plenty of "stars" who are high-volume 3pt shooters and are able to shoot the ball over 45% percent, right? Last year Doncic, Brown, Dame, Tatum, etc shot the 3 ball just as much as Trae or higher and got over 45% . The thing is that you have be actually a good shooter to do so.

You understand that you're talking about a player who is very clearly and specifically an elite shooter, yes?

What you're TRYING to articulate is that Trae is a poor finisher specifically inside the restricted area. That would be true. But calling him a bad shooter is factually inaccurate and ignores reality. Some of that is expected given his size; there is only so much of that which matters, of course.

But he is in fact quite a good shooter. What he does is struggle to finish in tight, which affects his global 2FG%. Not the same thing.

I don't think I called Trae a bad shooter, I think the word I always used was mediocre shooter.

[xBulletproof]

You understand that you're talking about a player who is very clearly and specifically an elite shooter, yes?

The last 5 league average 3 point percentages by the NBA

36.1%
35.4%
36.7%
35.8%
35.5%

Trey Young in that time?

32.4% - Below league average by 3.7%
36.1% - Slightly above league average
34.3% - Below league average by 2.4%
38.2% - Finally a year clearly above league average
33.5% - Below league average by 2%

"Elite"

**EDIT** Had to edit a bit, because I had 23-24 season at the top of it. Same gist though.

Also think the years are mismatched because the websites stats, one was ascending, another descending. Not going to bother flipping them to correct it all, it still makes the point.

[tsherkin]

It's 2023, and unless we're talking about mid range specialists like DeRozan and Shai, we judge shooting by the ability to hit the three ball.

Only if you want to be disingenuous. Especially for a player who shot 41% from 16-23 feet and had that as a DOWN year.

Trae shot 33.5 from three last season on a whopping 6.3 attempts per game.

Yep. The career 35.0% guy had a down year; it isn't an indictment of his actual ability. Stats vary from season to season. The previous 4 years, he shot 36.4% on 7.9 3PA/g. Not Steph, but who else is? That's very good. Judging a player's actual proficiency on a single season isn't sensible.

I have no clue what ft shooing has to do with Trae's FG%....

This isn't rocket science. Shooting ability is more than raw FG%...

I don't know if you are the guy's fan but there is no convincing you otherwise. If you want to build your team around the guy by all means, but i wouldn't.

Haven't read the whole thread, have you?

[Rainwater]

I have no clue what ft shooing has to do with Trae's FG%....

This isn't rocket science. Shooting ability is more than raw FG%...

Generally, when most are talking about FGs or Shooting, you know shots from the field, most are not talking about FTs, shots that don't count towards FGs. Just saying. But it's whatever.

[Jamaaliver]

Nowhere to go but up, right?

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[Texas Chuck]

I have no clue what ft shooing has to do with Trae's FG%....

This isn't rocket science. Shooting ability is more than raw FG%...

Generally, when most are talking about FGs or Shooting, you know shots from the field, most are not talking about FTs, shots that don't count towards FGs. Just saying. But it's whatever.

Actually when discussing shooting FT shooting is always cited because its the purest indication of a shooter. You are comparing Trae who has been assisted on only 30% of his 3 pt attempts with catch and shoot guys who are only taking idealized shots and looking at percentages and thinking you are really on to something.

Does he have poor shot selection? Oh yeah he does. Is he an elite 3-pt shooter? No, he isn't. But take Dirk. I think we would all agree Dirk was an elite shooter, no? Well in his prime years he barely shot 3's at all. Would be absurd to ignore his mid-range game and his FT shooting. Just as its absurd to ignore FT for Trae a guy who is always among league leaders in attempts. Those are points for his team. If you draw a ton of shooting fouls and make close to 90% of your FT's that's some super valuable play.

Way too many people are too quick to not like a guy and then find reasons to hate on him. Or use apples to oranges comparisons either ignorantly or intentionally.

Is he a perfect player? No. Is he a good shooter? Of course he is.

[Pumpkin17]

He just isn't a good enough shooter to justify his volume/ making him the focal point of the offense for a winning team. In that sense he is an overrated shooter and he also is and overrated player with respect to his salary.

His role on a title team could probably only be a super spark plug from the bench.

That being said, he is a fun player to watch and there Is nothing wrong in putting out a fun team to watch and just make playoffs more often than not.

[Rainwater]

This isn't rocket science. Shooting ability is more than raw FG%...

Generally, when most are talking about FGs or Shooting, you know shots from the field, most are not talking about FTs, shots that don't count towards FGs. Just saying. But it's whatever.

Actually when discussing shooting FT shooting is always cited because its the purest indication of a shooter. You are comparing Trae who has been assisted on only 30% of his 3 pt attempts with catch and shoot guys who are only taking idealized shots and looking at percentages and thinking you are really on to something.

Does he have poor shot selection? Oh yeah he does. Is he an elite 3-pt shooter? No, he isn't. But take Dirk. I think we would all agree Dirk was an elite shooter, no? Well in his prime years he barely shot 3's at all. Would be absurd to ignore his mid-range game and his FT shooting. Just as its absurd to ignore FT for Trae a guy who is always among league leaders in attempts. Those are points for his team. If you draw a ton of shooting fouls and make close to 90% of your FT's that's some super valuable play.

Way too many people are too quick to not like a guy and then find reasons to hate on him. Or use apples to oranges comparisons either ignorantly or intentionally.

Is he a perfect player? No. Is he a good shooter? Of course he is.

I feel like if you want to incorporate free throws this is why we have TS% but for actual shooting ability it is better to use FG% or better 3pt%, and in this stats obsessed world that we now live in there are stats for midrange shooters which would better describe Dirk since 3s weren’t a thing in his early part of his career. Yes, Trae is good at getting to the line and it’s an extremely important skill but his ability to get to the line and draw a foul is not a shooting ability. Amongst stars in the league, Trae is avg at best as a shooter from the field (2s and 3s) but just because he baits for fouls makes him a good shooter?

Maybe because I’ve played a lot of basketball in my life but TS% is quite annoying because it doesn’t determine your shooting ability but your scoring ability; however, people confuse the two. I can’t imagine calling a guy who consistently goes 2 from 20 from the field but goes 15/15 from the free line a good shooter. This is equivalent to the annoying dude on the playground who rarely hits a shot but calls a foul every 5 seconds and says I am a good shooter.

[Texas Chuck]

If you make all your free throws your conclusion is bad shooter? Interesting....

Sent from my SM-A136U using RealGM mobile app

[Rainwater]

If you make all your free throws your conclusion is bad shooter? Interesting....

Sent from my SM-A136U using RealGM mobile app

Being a good free throw shooter does not make you a good shooter or vice versa. Its just not the same. There are a whole host of guys who aren't considered good shooters that can hit some free throws at a decent rate. Someone like Jerry Stackhouse, who was not a good shooter, shot mid to upper 80s from the FT line in the prime of his career is he suddenly a good shooter? I would agree good free throw shooters tend be good shooters but that is not always the case.

Ask anyone who has played basketball, just because you can hit some free throws doesn't mean you are a good shooter. Hitting from the field is whole different dynamic compared to the free throw line. I know guys who got there points from driving, post play, free throw shooters but doesn't mean I would trust them to to shot the ball.

[Jamaaliver]

I'd trade him for Poole and Tyus Jones at this point. At least Poole makes less money and won't command another hefty contract afterwards. But Trae plays like how the best player at the local runs play.

Nah.

You don't really mean that.

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[jayu70]

I'd trade him for Poole and Tyus Jones at this point. At least Poole makes less money and won't command another hefty contract afterwards. But Trae plays like how the best player at the local runs play.

Nah.

You don't really mean that.

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Thank you. People say the weirdest stuff sometimes.

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[ChuckChilly]

I'd trade him for Poole and Tyus Jones at this point. At least Poole makes less money and won't command another hefty contract afterwards. But Trae plays like how the best player at the local runs play.

Nah.

You don't really mean that.

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I was halfway joking but my logic was that at least with Poole it would be easier to convince him of a bench role and there would no way we would give him a lucrative extension.

[JN61]

Half of the league is capable of scoring points. What matters is the impact.

[Jamaaliver]

Half of the league is capable of scoring points. What matters is the impact.

I mean, the dude also leads the league in total assists for a team sporting a top-10 offense.

But, whatever....

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