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Trae Young’s Lack of Help, A Thread:
Trae has long been criticized for his lack of winning, but people should understand the context of his situation before going all out on him. Whether it was dealing with injuries, or simply poor play from his teammates, Trae didn’t have the luxury of much help on the way to wins.
From an injury standpoint, almost every rotational player missed time for the Hawks. John Collins was suspended 25 games, Cam Reddish had a lingering rib issue that caused him to miss Summer League (had a concussion as well), and DeAndre Hunter dealt with ankle issues.
Kevin Huerter missed lots of time with a shoulder sprain as well. The Hawks played 67 games, and the only players to play above 60 were... Trae Young himself, a rookie DeAndre Hunter, and a 43 YO Vince Carter. There was a lot of players rotating in due to trade as well.
Simply put, the injuries to the Hawks rotational players caused clear chemistry issues that didn’t allow the team to gel very well in order to win games. In fact, Trae Young himself came out saying “Get me some help.” (Hawks got Clint Capela, but he didn’t play a game - injury).
Well, let’s start here. A graphic showing the discrepancy between the play of Trae and his teammates. The difference is visible. PIPM and RAPTOR both measure a players impact on the court, using some on/off the court data mixed in as well. It’s clear how poor they have played.
Trae impacts on court play at a higher level than his teammates, and it’s not even remotely close. The only guy who does come close is John Collins, but he was suspended 25 games. So how bad are the Hawks when Trae is off the floor? Simply put, their the worst in the league.
The Hawks offense is pretty average with Young on the court. Now that’s surprising, considering he’s one of the better offensive initiators in the game. With him off, the Hawks offensive production falls off a cliff, far worse than the Warriors (worst in league).
Points per possessions is just one stat that shows the difference in production when Trae is on and off the court. Offensive rating does the job as well, and it shown here, with the higher oRTG the better, and the lower oRTG the worse.
- 1st Pic: on court
- 2nd Pic: off court
- 1st Pic: on court
- 2nd Pic: off court
Oh, you wanted more on/off stats? Well, here you go. Take a look at the diffference in efficiency of the Hawks lineup when Trae is on the court, vs. when he takes a seat.
Even when Trae is on the court, his teammates dissapoint in terms of production. Let’s start with box creation, which measures open shots created for teammates by drawing defensive attention.
Some more playmaking stats, to get across the point of how good of a playmaker/passer Trae Young truly is. Look, there’s even one compared to some other young players in the league.
So, what are Trae’s teammates doing when they get his passes. Well, 
.... Let’s start with qCP, which calculates shots that should be made based off probability, and the eFG of Trae’s teammates on this specific shots. They’re missing the shots they should make at a high rate.
.... Let’s start with qCP, which calculates shots that should be made based off probability, and the eFG of Trae’s teammates on this specific shots. They’re missing the shots they should make at a high rate.
(*qSP)
Trae Young is putting up historic numbers, but they aren’t leading to wins. Many blame that on Trae as the leader of the team, but it’s not his fault at all. Injuries and poor performance from his teammates should get the blame here, not Trae Young himself.
Trae Young is putting up historic numbers, but they aren’t leading to wins. Many blame that on Trae as the leader of the team, but it’s not his fault at all. Injuries and poor performance from his teammates should get the blame here, not Trae Young himself.
On the bright side, the additions of Clint Capela, and getting a full season out of John Collins should help this team make a playoff push next season. Add a top 8 draft pick into the equation, and Trae Young may finally have some help. Last season, that wasn’t the case.
I rest my case. The blame of the 20-47 record of the Hawks this season shouldn’t fall on Trae Young. Understand context before diving into wins in arguments about how good Trae is as a player. Wins shouldn’t be the deciding factor, all things considered. Thanks for reading!
