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Trae Young, John Collins Both Ranked 8th Best At Their Positions by B/R

By Dallin Duffy

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 22: John Collins #20 speaks with Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks during the first half of an NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks at State Farm Arena on February 22, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 22: John Collins #20 speaks with Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks during the first half of an NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks at State Farm Arena on February 22, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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Trae Young and John Collins rank 8th in their respective positions according to Bleacher Report.

Bleacher Report has been running a series ranking the top-15 players at each position for the past NBA season. Two Atlanta Hawks made the list: John Collins and Trae Young.

Both players came in at eighth in their respective positions, although you could certainly make the case they should have came in higher. Part of this reason is thanks to the writers’ decision to only exclude players who played less than 500 minutes this season.

That opened the door for players like Kyrie Irving (20 games played) and Zion Williamson (19) to rank above the Hawks’ duo. Also, Collins was ranked a spot lower than he probably should have, as Giannis Antetokounmpo – a truly positionless player – was described as a power forward by B/R.

What Other Metrics Say:

To avoid coming off biased, I decided to compare the rankings to other metrics instead of arguing they should be higher myself. Here’s what they say:

Player Efficiency Rating:

Trae Young: 3rd

John Collins: 3rd

Real Plus/Minus:

Trae Young: 15th

John Collins: 13th

Value Over Replacement (VORP):

Trae Young: 4th

John Collins: 10th

Win Shares per 48:

Trae Young: 9th

John Collins: 5th

RAPTOR:

Trae Young: 10th

John Collins: 33rd (RAPTOR takes into account minutes played)

Obviously the two Hawks are both known for their offense much more than their defense. They skew much lower on metrics that value both sides of the ball while ranking very high on offense-only ones.

As for my personal opinion, I think somewhere in the 4-10 range is fair for both players. Trae Young is a better player overall but also plays in a position with much more competition. If they can pull it together on the defensive side of things and manage more team success, they should be higher on the rankings next season.

Next. Trae Young's best lobs of the season. dark

Where would you rank Trae Young and John Collins this season?

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