Doesn't top 10 offensive player and bottom 10 defensive player average out to a middle of the road player....I'm joking but the overall point is valid. I hate that the league values offense so much higher than defense. Lillard is a better player than Holliday overall, but by how much. Offensively the difference is huge. Defensively it is huge the other way. Overall it is at least close, and Holliday came much cheaper both in assets and in salary.
I think there's a general belief that the two sides of the ball are not equally important. The best defensive players in the league tend to defensive outcome less than the best offensive players effect offensive output. But how exactly to weight each? That's debatable.
I agree. Trae should make it this year, and whatever you say about him largely also needs to be said about Prime IT.
I think KP has a really good case as the 2nd injury fill in. I just think he fits the profile of an all star more than White, right or wrong.
IMO the Raptors aren’t good enough for Scottie Barnes to make it based on Beal precedent. Anyone else is a real stretch.
Comparing Young to IT, I think the difference is winning.
IT got traded to a 20-32 Celtics team and immediately helped turn them around and almost got them to .500 while leading the them to the playoffs, then in his 2 full seasons with Boston (his All-Star years) the team finished 48-34 and 53-29. IT was doing his thing while leading a winning team.
Trae Young has mostly been around .500 or worse. The one solidly winning year, 41-31 in '21 (47 win pace) the team was only 13-18 when All Star reserves were announced. Then he lead the team to the ECF and looked like a star doing it, and was rewarded with an All-Star selection (by the fans) the next year. But then the team went back to 500ish ball (43-39) and he crapped the bed in the playoffs (15ppg losing 4-1 to the Heat), and his brief moment of being associated with winning basketball was over.
If his teams were closer to 50 wins, or he was leading them out of the 1st round every year, I think he'd get more respect and we'd see more All-Star appearances.
Don’t necessarily disagree, but also don’t really buy it.
IT made the playoffs 3 times here, and that’s it for his playoff experience. 2 of the 3 were 1st round exits where he shot under 40% fg and under 30% from 3.
He had his one magical run to the ECF, but that’s it. Trae had that too. IT had 2 better team regular seasons, while Trae has been a better player for a much longer period and made the playoffs more often.
Regular season winning % clearly supports a player like IT on a #1-4 seed making it over Trae in a .500 year, I just meant gripes about Trae as a player.
And while IT is a legend here for helping the team reach new heights, Trae did the same for a franchise with a pathetic history, not the literal best history in the sport. It’s equally/more significant.