The Next Phase in Trae's Development

Zach Lowe wrote:There have been games in which Young has felt weirdly predictable. Help defenders encroach high enough to discourage Young's pull-up 3, but not so high as to double him hard. Young drives, the defender backpedals, Young flicks a floater. Some go in. Some result in shooting fouls when Young flails. Some end as putbacks for Clint Capela.

Young is attempting 6.3 triples, down from 9.5 last season. That's a huge drop. The corresponding increase has come in midrangers.

That's not bad on its face. Young has hit 44% of floaters -- a strong number. He leads the league in made free throws. Atlanta's offense for the season is elite with Young on the floor, and about equivalent to the Oklahoma City Thunder's league-worst outfit when he sits. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, and Lou Williams have stabilized Atlanta's offense in non-Young minutes, but Young remains a massively positive player on that end. Despite accusations of assist hunting, Young ranks third in hockey assists.

But variety would help. Young hitting his perimeter release-valves earlier triggers swing-swing sequences that invigorate teammates and produce good looks -- including for Young when the ball pings all the way around. Young will never be Stephen Curry off the ball, but he becomes a roving threat simply by giving it up.

Young has tapped into that more in some recent games. Some defenses unwittingly nudge him there by trapping hard. You have to mix up schemes against superstars, but I wonder if trapping Young -- unless you have the personnel to really smother him -- almost backfires. I'd rather approach him just below the screen, and invite him to drive into the midrange -- at least as my base defense.

I'm excited to see Young in the playoffs -- how his offense translates, and how he holds up on defense. He's about to be picked on more than ever.

jayu70 · Post #110 » by **jayu70** » Mon May 17, 2021 1:58 am

Read on Twitter

?s=20

jayu70 · Post #111 » by **jayu70** » Mon May 17, 2021 8:13 pm

Read on Twitter

?s=20

jayu70 · Post #112 » by **jayu70** » Mon May 17, 2021 9:45 pm

He's learning!

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Post #113 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue May 18, 2021 12:58 am

leo7 · Post #114 » by **leo7** » Thu May 20, 2021 2:03 am

Do you guys think Trae is going to make an All-NBA team this year?

shakes0 · Post #115 » by **shakes0** » Thu May 20, 2021 1:43 pm

leo7 wrote:Do you guys think Trae is going to make an All-NBA team this year?

not a chance. Maybe next year the media will start paying attention to the Hawks.

jayu70 · Post #116 » by **jayu70** » Sat May 22, 2021 5:11 pm

Read on Twitter

?s=20

tbhawksfan1 · Post #117 » by **tbhawksfan1** » Sun May 23, 2021 4:03 pm

Best player on young Hawk team about to start first PO game at MSG.

Post #118 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon May 24, 2021 1:45 am

Read on Twitter

D21 · Post #119 » by **D21** » Mon May 24, 2021 11:25 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:

Read on Twitter

Have been watching this action a hundred of times since yesterday, and just discovered that John had lost one shoe on the 3pts line :-)

Sactowndog · Post #120 » by **Sactowndog** » Tue May 25, 2021 7:13 am

I wonder if anyone can post Trae’s shot chart from the game. Trae had a great game. In looking at the shot chart I think he also has room to grow which is pretty amazing when you score 32 points.

The shot chart shows Trae has a cluster of shots around the free throw line which tend to be lower percentage shots and he shots them at a low percentage. He also has 1 shot for the entire game from the 3 point line. It would seem Trae is too good a shooter to take 1 non-logo 3 point shot.

Curious if people agree if Trae gave up the ball instead of taking foul line 2’s and reset Curry like off the ball, I could see Trae increasing his made 3’s significantly. He can make catch and shoot 3’s all day and shooting just 1 in the game isn’t enough. Teams will have to go into rotation to cover our 3 point shooters which should leave Trae wide open on the reset.