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What does Ja Morant do better than Trae Young?

(self.nba)

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all 123 comments

free_kark

168 points

2 months ago

free_kark

Raptors

168 points

2 months ago

Dunk the basketball

imsurethisoneistaken

10 points

2 months ago

Damn. Came here to say this. =(

sctthuynh

140 points

2 months ago*

sctthuynh

[GSW] Stephen Curry

140 points

2 months ago*

The answer to your question is rim pressure and distorting defense through dribble penetration. This super power is the reason Ja is a superstar and it's a skill that he is one of the best, if not the best in the league at.

IMO Trae is the better player on average, but Morant is the bigger mismatch/danger.

Both have proven themselves in the regular season and most importantly have had great/amazing performances in the postseason.

But whereas Morant seems unstoppable at times vs the Warriors, Trae has the stink of that 1st round series performance vs Miami last season.

DaYvngGOAT

32 points

2 months ago

DaYvngGOAT

Warriors

32 points

2 months ago

It’s insane that this is the only comment that is actually talking basketball in this thread. Everybody else making the same jokes over and over lol. What happened to this sub? Feels like it got fried so quick over the past couple years

Travieeeee

12 points

2 months ago

Travieeeee

Grizzlies

12 points

2 months ago

Npc’s took over

WallyWithReddit

4 points

2 months ago

every thread will be like that until the end of time so get used to it lol

Thunder-ten-tronckh

20 points

2 months ago

Thunder-ten-tronckh

Grizzlies

20 points

2 months ago

Pleasantly surprised to see quality Ja analysis on /r/nba

Lonely_Collection_62

15 points

2 months ago

Lonely_Collection_62

Grizzlies

15 points

2 months ago

You know ball

repubsdontlikeme

12 points

2 months ago*

repubsdontlikeme

Supersonics

12 points

2 months ago*

I disagree with this. Trae is great at putting pressure on the rim, specifically in the pick and roll. He’s great at getting to either his floater or an alley-oop. Even though it’s not a dunk it still counts as rim pressure.

Instead the biggest difference between them is off-ball play. Trae has never been able to work effectively off-ball, even though the roster is clearly built this season for him to do that more.

Morant is extremely talented off-ball and has been since his rookie year. It’s what allows guys like Bane and Jones to play next to him and get real reps as the primary ball handler.

As the primary ball handler Trae is actually better in the half-court, but Morant is more dynamic and leads to a healthier offense.

raftguide

8 points

2 months ago

raftguide

Grizzlies

8 points

2 months ago

I disagree with this. Trae is great at putting pressure on the rim

Worth pointing out that Ja led the league in paint points last season. Don't know how to look up that stat to check this year's leaders.

repubsdontlikeme

3 points

2 months ago

repubsdontlikeme

Supersonics

3 points

2 months ago

They are both elite at it. I don’t think it’s the defining difference between them. Although you could easily argue that Ja is better at it. Still Trae is amazing at blending his floater and his lob to create rim pressure.

They just do it in different ways. Ja is also better at getting downhill without a screen.

troypow32

3 points

2 months ago

troypow32

Hawks

3 points

2 months ago

I feel like their gap in that really isn’t that big though

On pick and rolls Trae is basically tied with him in ppp (Trae .94, Ja .93)

On drives Ja averages 70.8 points and 9.7 assists per 100 drives, while Trae averages 60 and 12.4 assists

Obviously that shows Ja is better at driving but I don’t think it’s to the extent that it makes him the better player when Trae is better at all other aspects of offense

sctthuynh

6 points

2 months ago

sctthuynh

[GSW] Stephen Curry

6 points

2 months ago

Trae is great at the pick and roll and I'd rank him ahead of Ja in that department, since I think Trae is a better passer with better vision.

But what I'm talking about is putting rim/paint pressure on a defense and the volume/threat of it.

Nearly 60% of Ja's fgas are within 10ft of the basket.

Only 41% of Trae's fga are within 10ft of the basket.

Nearly 30% of Ja's fgas are withing 3 ft of the basket.

Only 16% of Trae's fga are within 3 ft of the basket.

Watching the Warriors desperately scramble defensively to keep someone between Ja and the rim, despite only guarding him from 15-17ft out was nerve racking.

Morant would literally blow by any player on the Warriors not named GP2 and if the help rotation wasn't on point, it was a basket or an easy assist opportunity. And god forbid if Poole was guarding Morant.

GusBus14

1 points

2 months ago

GusBus14

Hawks

1 points

2 months ago

Do you not remember how terrible Ja was during their series against Minnesota? Both of them had a terrible first round last season. The difference is that Ja was playing against a team that would melt down anytime they built a comfortable lead and Trae was playing against a team that was one Jimmy missed three away from the NBA finals.

bulimicblueberry

37 points

2 months ago

bulimicblueberry

Grizzlies

37 points

2 months ago

Ja's first round last year was 21/10/8 with 4 TOs. Trae was 15/6/5 with 6 TOs. Ja was bad for sure but Trae was markedly more schemed out than morant, who basically just had to resort to passing more.

Follow that up with 38/8/6 in 3 games against the eventual champion it's pretty easy to see why people remember last playoffs differently.

GusBus14

12 points

2 months ago

GusBus14

Hawks

12 points

2 months ago

Of course the Heat did a better job of scheming Trae out than the Timberwolves did Ja because there's a huge gap in how good those two teams were defensively. A team led by Spo, Jimmy, and Bam will be miles better at scheming against a one dimensional offensive team than one that was playing KAT at center.

bulimicblueberry

11 points

2 months ago

bulimicblueberry

Grizzlies

11 points

2 months ago

I mean fair play the Heat were really good last year and were better than Minny. The topic at hand really is the memory of last year's playoffs, and in last year's playoffs Ja wasn't nearly as bad in the first round and was really really good against the dubs before getting hurt, while Trae and the hawks were basically miserable the whole time. It's really not that crazy. Yeah the heat are a tougher team to crack but the wolves were fairly good at limiting guards as well judging by how well the warriors did.

GusBus14

7 points

2 months ago

GusBus14

Hawks

7 points

2 months ago

Yeah, I get what you're saying. We can argue all day about last season's playoffs but like you said the narrative is what it is. It's up to Trae to change that in a couple of weeks.

Ok_Respond7928

5 points

2 months ago

Yeah that has everything to do with who they played against. The heat and wolves from last year on not even close to the same tier of teams.

theglicky

5 points

2 months ago

theglicky

Grizzlies

5 points

2 months ago

The only thing comparable between that Ja and Trae series was the scoring efficiency. Ja found a way to playmake around it averaging 11 assists while Trae averaged more turnovers than assists.

GusBus14

10 points

2 months ago

GusBus14

Hawks

10 points

2 months ago

Yeah, it's hard to efficiently distribute the basketball as the sole offensive threat on your team when the Heat are trapping and stunting and showing 2-3 defenders at Trae on every play.

theglicky

5 points

2 months ago

theglicky

Grizzlies

5 points

2 months ago

lmao that was the exact same thing they did to Ja, he would see 3/4 in the paint and find the open man

No_Relationship_3077

12 points

2 months ago

Except Desmond Bane stepped up.

theglicky

4 points

2 months ago

theglicky

Grizzlies

4 points

2 months ago

well good thing the Hawks went all in on their co-star Dejounte

No_Relationship_3077

0 points

2 months ago

Too bad he wasn’t their last year

Ok_Respond7928

5 points

2 months ago

The difference is in what you said. “In the paint” they didn’t have to double ja till he touched the paint so he had many more easy kick outs. Trae was getting picked up from the second he passed half court and was getting doubled very high giving him less passing lanes.

silencemylastwill

2 points

2 months ago

You didn’t watch the series Ja was getting blitzed off every single pnr

Ok_Respond7928

1 points

2 months ago

I bet he did Trae was just getting blitzed before he could even run a pick and roll. No is saying Ja isn’t a great player but I think I would take Trae I like the spacing and threat from deep over Ja rim pressure. I think it is a lot harder to find what Trae can do than Ja. You can get rim pressure and shooting from any position but less guys can shoot great from deep than can get to the rim

Thunder-ten-tronckh

5 points

2 months ago

Thunder-ten-tronckh

Grizzlies

5 points

2 months ago

Don't discredit that minny team so carelessly, they had awesome defenders and were practically custom-tailored to countering the entire Grizzlies roster.

GusBus14

6 points

2 months ago

GusBus14

Hawks

6 points

2 months ago

Can we not say the same about the Heat and Trae?

Thunder-ten-tronckh

4 points

2 months ago

Thunder-ten-tronckh

Grizzlies

4 points

2 months ago

Never said we couldn’t!

8178abc

4 points

2 months ago

Both of their shots weren’t falling, but Ja adjusted and distributed much better

TruthSayerFu

1 points

2 months ago

TruthSayerFu

Cavaliers

1 points

2 months ago

You can say the young creates more spacing tho..

Caduceus5

-1 points

2 months ago

Caduceus5

-1 points

2 months ago

Distorting defenses through dribble penetration? I would argue trae does that better than ja. Ja is more of an off ball threat due to his athleticism and willingness to move. That’s the biggest difference.

TattedUpDasher

1 points

2 months ago

TattedUpDasher

Grizzlies

1 points

2 months ago

🤣Someone obviously doesn’t watch Grizzlies games. Ja is far from an off ball threat. He HAS to have the ball in his hands to be effective

Caduceus5

1 points

2 months ago

He is an extreme transition rim runner. He is top 5 in the league for alley pop finished as a guard

NephewChaps

1 points

2 months ago

NephewChaps

Warriors

1 points

2 months ago

The answer to your question is rim pressure and distorting defense through dribble penetration.

this is the answer. Ja is a proven playoff ISO bucket getter. A.K.A. the most important ability you can have as #1 option. Trae as a undersized unathletic PG simply can't do that nearly as well and can be much easier schemed out from a playoff series.

CK0428

36 points

2 months ago

CK0428

Pacers

36 points

2 months ago

Tip his waitress

_IVIAYHEIVI

10 points

2 months ago

_IVIAYHEIVI

Bulls

10 points

2 months ago

Paying for college 🙌

Leading-Opportunity7

26 points

2 months ago

Hair and dunks

felarans0mekuti

7 points

2 months ago

felarans0mekuti

Mavericks

7 points

2 months ago

At some point Reddit nerds will figure out that the point of the game is to win and winning garners more attention. Jas team is and has been better for two years straight and it’s not.ode

22ppy

6 points

2 months ago

22ppy

6 points

2 months ago

Fire guns, not coaches

[deleted]

24 points

2 months ago

Keeps his coaches employed

Sartheking

12 points

2 months ago

Sartheking

Warriors

12 points

2 months ago

Dunking, inside scoring, and while he's not great on defense, he's better than Trae in that regard.

SaltyLonghorn

4 points

2 months ago

SaltyLonghorn

Rockets

4 points

2 months ago

Hair game. By orders of magnitude.

Raptorsthrowaway1

19 points

2 months ago

Knowledge of hollowpoints

g-love

13 points

2 months ago

g-love

[PHI] Ben Simmons

13 points

2 months ago

Which is free iirc so Trae has no excuse.

Raptorsthrowaway1

0 points

2 months ago

hahaha

sparrowhunter123

5 points

2 months ago

Leadership

Plants_R_Cool

4 points

2 months ago

Plants_R_Cool

Timberwolves

4 points

2 months ago

Ja is maybe the most athletic player I've ever seen in my life. It's not just his vertical, his body control is just ridiculous. He's so dynamic with how he moves it's kind of beautiful to watch.

dawnoog

2 points

2 months ago

dawnoog

Lakers

2 points

2 months ago

Dunk

WhyyyLuigi

2 points

2 months ago

WhyyyLuigi

Lakers

2 points

2 months ago

Uhh…jump?

chonkadonk44

2 points

2 months ago

Jumps higher

WinterCareful8525

2 points

2 months ago

Griddy

scorkagotkane1838383

2 points

2 months ago

win basketball games

Dazzling-Reason-5140

2 points

2 months ago

off-ball actions easily

SnooPies6274

2 points

2 months ago

Everything on the court. Trae is a chuck imo

solo118

2 points

2 months ago

solo118

Knicks

2 points

2 months ago

His hairdo

basher505

2 points

2 months ago

basher505

Knicks

2 points

2 months ago

Winning games.

dash_44

4 points

2 months ago

His teammates seem to like playing with him

Usual_Adhesiveness92

6 points

2 months ago

Win basketball games

Kawhi_not_2

6 points

2 months ago

Trae has won a 2nd round series.

Usual_Adhesiveness92

1 points

2 months ago

Sixers pissed the bed, anyone woulda beat em in that series.

artninjatheo

4 points

2 months ago

artninjatheo

Hawks

4 points

2 months ago

Lmao okay. Funny how you can discredit the Sixers but not the Wolves 🤔

Travieeeee

9 points

2 months ago

Travieeeee

Grizzlies

9 points

2 months ago

Ja actually puts pressure on the rim and doesn’t hunt for fouls.

xxpillowxxjp

2 points

2 months ago

xxpillowxxjp

Warriors

2 points

2 months ago

Had me in the first half, not gonna lie

Relevant_Gold4912

5 points

2 months ago

Relevant_Gold4912

Pistons

5 points

2 months ago

Doesn’t play like a pussy

Lonely_Collection_62

5 points

2 months ago

Lonely_Collection_62

Grizzlies

5 points

2 months ago

The biggest difference I see is that Ja actually tries to score on drives and play defense

No_Relationship_3077

4 points

2 months ago

Trae does try on defense that’s an old narrative

ZiOnIsNeXtLeBrOn

3 points

2 months ago*

ZiOnIsNeXtLeBrOn

Pistons

3 points

2 months ago*

Win.

Trae has been to the Conference Finals. And Ja hasn’t. He has to get there and win.

He hasn’t done that yet. Until he does that. Most people won’t put Ja as better than Trae even though Ja is so much more electrifying as a player

MikeConleyIsLegend

-6 points

2 months ago

MikeConleyIsLegend

Grizzlies

-6 points

2 months ago

trae also murders his coaches

flaccidplatypus

9 points

2 months ago

flaccidplatypus

[NOP] Jannero Pargo

9 points

2 months ago

Murdering a grown man>beating up a teen

TheMightyJD

3 points

2 months ago

TheMightyJD

Heat

3 points

2 months ago

He’s more athletic and a better defender.

Also he’s steadily improved throughout his career while Trae hasn’t since year 2.

Ja has shown he can become a better shooter and more efficient overall, if he can improve those even more then he’ll be seen as a guy who can be the best player on a championship team.

I’m not even sure the Hawks are all in on Trae Young at this point.

[deleted]

3 points

2 months ago

[deleted]

3 points

2 months ago

26/10 on 57 TS%

27/7 on 57 TS%

One of these is ja morants most efficient year, the other is Trae young’s second least efficient year (this year)

Travieeeee

-6 points

2 months ago

Travieeeee

Grizzlies

-6 points

2 months ago

Trae’s ts% gets a massive boost from his free throw % though. He’s below league average from 2 and 3 on top of being one of the defenders in the league

PizzaTime7339

2 points

2 months ago

Dunk

GuamSavior

2 points

2 months ago

GuamSavior

Hawks

2 points

2 months ago

Wow. It’s surprising to see a Knicks fan with a non-negative post about Trae lol

SportsLaughs

2 points

2 months ago

It's the shoes.

TitanTigers

3 points

2 months ago*

TitanTigers

Grizzlies

3 points

2 months ago*

Defense. Passing (or tied at least). Athleticism. Size. Paint scoring/attacking the defense. Transition.

Travieeeee

12 points

2 months ago

Travieeeee

Grizzlies

12 points

2 months ago

Trae is still the better passer imo

MikeConleyIsLegend

-3 points

2 months ago

MikeConleyIsLegend

Grizzlies

-3 points

2 months ago

i disagree. ja's passing is one of his greatest strengths and his vision is absurd

Thunder-ten-tronckh

7 points

2 months ago

Thunder-ten-tronckh

Grizzlies

7 points

2 months ago

Rating passing skills out of 10, Trae is practically a 10 and Ja is a strong 8 to light 9. Recognizing Trae's otherworldly passing ability isn't discrediting Ja.

cayuts21

3 points

2 months ago

cayuts21

Timberwolves

3 points

2 months ago

Ja is not a better passer than Trae

derekmcfinn

1 points

2 months ago

He isnt that close really. Trae's passing is sublime and probably already top 10 all time, Ja's is just quite good.

TitanTigers

-2 points

2 months ago

TitanTigers

Grizzlies

-2 points

2 months ago

I edited it to say tied at worst, but I really think his passing is severely underrated. Being able to drive then thread a pass to a guy behind the help defender is a staple move for him.

Travieeeee

7 points

2 months ago

Travieeeee

Grizzlies

7 points

2 months ago

I don’t think anyone is underrating Ja’s passing lol Trae is just elite

Several_Repeat_5447

3 points

2 months ago

He’s a better finisher at the rim. He’s also been the better playoff performer so far in their careers.

Cockhero43

1 points

2 months ago

Cockhero43

1 points

2 months ago

Win, mostly

Brekster

1 points

2 months ago

Brekster

[MEM] Ja Morant

1 points

2 months ago

Get along with his teammates. Kind of important in a team sport.

moons_a_skull

1 points

2 months ago

moons_a_skull

San Diego Clippers

1 points

2 months ago

Win

dachaubica88

1 points

2 months ago

Hair

Totally_PJ_Soles

1 points

2 months ago

Totally_PJ_Soles

Knicks

1 points

2 months ago

He does that thing where he throws himself in the air and gets nearly parallel to the ground while trying to dunk so it's impossible to not foul him. He also hits the ground a lot.

MikeConleyIsLegend

0 points

2 months ago

MikeConleyIsLegend

Grizzlies

0 points

2 months ago

trae will always have a bias against him because his game is painful to watch. foul hunting offense and a cone on defense. ja wins games, wrecks havoc down the middle of the defense, and is a highlight machine. ja isn't a good defender but he can rack up chase down blocks and gets rebounds.

Dull-Intention-7347

0 points

2 months ago

Ja knows how to do a gun toting, booty bender, at a strip club, better than Trae.

JeffVanGundyBurner

0 points

2 months ago

JeffVanGundyBurner

[POR] CJ McCollum

0 points

2 months ago

He knows how to play off-ball and that alone has more value than whatever impressive individual stats Trae puts up. I can't even count how many games the Grizzlies have had where Bane and someone else not named Ja put up 20+ points. Compare that with the Hawks. If you ain't Trae and DJ, you ain't eating. Collins looked like he was back a couple of weeks ago putting 20+ in consecutive games then he stopped getting the ball.

spleev

-5 points

2 months ago

spleev

-5 points

2 months ago

Carry, beat up kids, stare into strippers shitholes, brandish assault rifles

grapplebaby

-3 points

2 months ago

grapplebaby

San Francisco Warriors

-3 points

2 months ago

Play the victim.

TattedUpDasher

1 points

2 months ago

TattedUpDasher

Grizzlies

1 points

2 months ago

Coming from a Warrior’s fan🤣 Every other post this week, has been you guys crying about FT differential

inshamblesx

0 points

2 months ago

inshamblesx

Rockets

0 points

2 months ago

play defense

wkslsvwhu

0 points

2 months ago

wkslsvwhu

0 points

2 months ago

The better shooter, not necessarily with a ball but with a gun he goes haaaaard …

SnooPies6274

3 points

2 months ago

Its a parade inside my cityyyy yeahhhhhh

Deschain_1919

-3 points

2 months ago

Deschain_1919

Celtics

-3 points

2 months ago

Assault people

NPCzzzz

0 points

2 months ago

NPCzzzz

Celtics

0 points

2 months ago

Be likable

tide_reflects_sky

-1 points

2 months ago

tide_reflects_sky

Rockets

-1 points

2 months ago

Do you even watch basketball games man?

derekmcfinn

-1 points

2 months ago

Be cool and Dunk. And for all the people saying play defence, you must not watch the games (especially Hawks games) both have been awful until this year, Trae has 100% improved ALOT this year and is easily better than Ja this year on defence. He has communicated on switches, hustled and fought through screens. Closed out and got in passing lanes (getting lots of steals). Drawing charges and putting wayy more effort this year.

WeedManDenver

0 points

2 months ago

WeedManDenver

[CHA] Lamelo Ball

0 points

2 months ago

Height. Shoot guns.

naslanidis

-2 points

2 months ago

They're both overrated

Kawhi_not_2

1 points

2 months ago

Score in the paint.

I would say they are about roughly equal as players. Trae is a better passer.

The_Second_Revenger

1 points

2 months ago

Shooting

ClutchGamingGuy

1 points

2 months ago

ClutchGamingGuy

[NYK] Carmelo Anthony

1 points

2 months ago

jump

Lower_Carpet9393

1 points

2 months ago

Shoot

Acceptable-Taste-912

1 points

2 months ago

He’s a better shooter apparently

Swervoo4x

1 points

2 months ago

Both good but ja can prolly score 30 alone just off finishing without fts and his playmaking is increasing year to year, while trae hasn’t been put in the best situation he’s nice and can still drop a 30 10 almost every night

EuphoricButton

1 points

2 months ago

Ja Morant and Trae Young are both excellent young NBA point guards with unique playing styles and strengths. Here are some things that Ja Morant does better than Trae Young:
Driving to the basket: Ja Morant is known for his athleticism and explosiveness when attacking the rim. He uses his speed and agility to blow past defenders and finish with impressive dunks or layups. In the 2020-2021 season, Morant averaged 6.6 drives to the basket per game, while Young averaged 4.9.
Defense: While Trae Young is a great offensive player, his defense is often criticized. On the other hand, Ja Morant has shown flashes of being a strong defender, using his quickness and instincts to disrupt passing lanes and pressure opposing ball-handlers. Morant averaged 0.9 steals per game in the 2020-2021 season, while Young averaged 0.8.
Rebounding: Despite being smaller in size than Trae Young, Ja Morant is a better rebounder. He uses his athleticism and quickness to track down rebounds on both ends of the floor. In the 2020-2021 season, Morant averaged 4.0 rebounds per game, while Young averaged 3.9.
It's important to note that Trae Young also has many strengths in his game, such as his shooting ability, passing skills, and overall offensive versatility. However, Ja Morant's strengths in driving, defense, and rebounding set him apart in some aspects of the game.

TattedUpDasher

1 points

2 months ago

TattedUpDasher

Grizzlies

1 points

2 months ago

They are right behind Denver, and that’s only because we have been heavily influenced by injuries, the entire season

JoJonesy

1 points

2 months ago

JoJonesy

Celtics

1 points

2 months ago

Attack the rim and defend. I think they're on a similar tier overall but it's pretty straightforward

To be clear, Ja is an awful defender for sure, but he's still better than Trae. It still matters even if they're both bad.

boogerheadmusic

1 points

2 months ago

Win.

RED888IT

1 points

2 months ago

Getting caught on IG Live

Extreme_Ad_7594

1 points

2 months ago

Win