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I’m having a blast watching Trae Young and John Collins blossom together in Atlanta. I don’t miss a game. I’ll record and watch off DVR if I have to.
No matter who your NBA team is, the Atlanta Hawks are must-see TV because of these phenoms. We are witnessing two future All-Stars and I believe they will be All-Stars together once the Hawks start winning around 50 games.
Here are 10 reasons why Young and Collins are Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire 2.0:
10. Amare’s listed height and weight are 6-foot-10, 245 pounds and Collins’ listed dimensions are 6-foot-10 and 235.
9. Nash was listed at 6-foot-3, 195 and Trae is listed at 6-foot-2, 180…with plenty of time to get to 190-195 pounds.
8. Neither Collins nor Stoudemire are shot-blockers. Amare averaged 1.2 blocks for his career, while Collins is at 0.8 blocks per game. It is imperative for Collins to get more aggressive and effective on the defensive end. And I speak for Hawks fans when I say we would gratefully take 1.2 blocks per game from him.
7. Both Nash and Young are elite playmakers with special court vision. Nash averaged 8.5 assists for his Hall of Fame career and Young is averaging 7.7 as a rookie. Nash led the NBA in assists five times and I project Trae to lead the league in assists at least twice.
6. Both Nash and Young are below-the-rim players who rely on skill, intelligence, and competitiveness.
5. Both Stoudemire and Collins are above-the-rim players who are a SportsCenter Top 10 highlights waiting to happen EVERY game.
4. Trae told reporters that Nash was his favorite player growing up and Trae is quoted as saying: “I try to be Steve Nash more than Steph Curry.” Nash is on record saying that he thinks Young could be in the same mold as himself and Chris Paul.
3. Collins and Stoudemire posted nearly identical point and rebound numbers in their second NBA seasons. Collins is averaging 19.1 points and 9.6 rebounds in Year 2, and Amare averaged 20.6 points and 9.0 rebounds in his second season.
2. Three-pointers are a staple for Young and Nash, who is 21st all-time with 1,685 threes and 10th all-time in 3-point percentage at 42.8. Young is shooting 32.9 on 3’s as a rookie, but that percentage will climb towards 40 percent as he matures. To wit, he shot 36 percent on threes at Oklahoma. Nash averaged 1.4 3’s per game over 18 seasons and Young is averaging 1.9 as a rookie, so there is a very good chance that Young ends up with more career 3’s than Nash.
1. Both Lloyd Pierce and Mike Budenholzer co-signed my comparison of John Collins to Amare Stoudemire live on 92-9 The Game. It is extremely rare for two different NBA coaches to publicly agree with a broadcaster on a comp like that, so that speaks volumes to me.
Hopefully, Young and Collins are able to lead the Hawks to even higher heights than Nash and Stoudemire, who topped out as teammates in the West finals. Regardless, it’s going to be highly entertaining to watch Young and Collins grow together over the next decade in Atlanta…