National Basketball Association

Hawking Curry

Published Feb. 21, 2020 1:02 p.m. ET

Ice Trae melted the Heat last night.

Come on. That is straight foolery.

Actually, it reminds us of someone.

Here are a few highlights, just in case you forgot about this person.

Steph Curry is arguably the greatest three-point assassin in NBA history, so naturally, every time a small guard enters the league, one who can also shoot threes with precision, he will be compared to Curry.

Trae Young is one of those guys.

And on Thursday night, he put on a Curry-like performance.

Unfair. Unruly. Unbelievable.

In fact, Young's performance surpassed Curry-like and approached legendary.

But, there is a silver lining for the NBA.

While Young – similar to Curry – might be ready to wreck the league on the offense...

...he has a long, long way to go before he is Chef Curry.

Right now, one could say he's a sous chef.

Skip has a point. Curry had help. A lot of it. Atlanta's path will be different.

And despite his lack of superstar teammates, Trae has a few areas he needs to tighten up as well.

The Atlanta Hawks currently have the third worst record in the league (16-41). Only the Cleveland Cavaliers (14-40) and, ironically, the Golden State Warriors (12-44) have worse records.

In the case of the Warriors however, they are without Curry and Klay Thompson. If those two were playing, the Hawks would be battling Cleveland for last place.

It's true. Young is a bit loose with the ball.

4.9

Trae Young's average turnovers per game, which leads the NBA this season

And while he's a great shooter, he can't be considered a dead-eye shooter to the level of Curry.

Young converts on 3.5 threes per game, tied for fourth most in the NBA, and he has hit 181 threes on the season, sixth most in the NBA.

37.4

Trae Young's three-point percentage during the 2019-20 NBA season

Great numbers. But not Curry numbers.

During the 2018-19 season, Curry connected on 5.1 threes per game at a clip of 43.7 percent.

That's a big gap.

Now, Shannon also has a point. Young is 21 and in his second season. Curry was 21 during his rookie season.

And if you compare them at age 21, Young has the edge.

Young is second in the NBA in points per game (30.1) – trailing only James Harden – and second in the NBA in assists per game (9.2) – trailing only LeBron James.

At 21, Curry averaged 17.5 points and 5.9 assists.

Young is certainly making his dreams come true. And one day, his dream of winning an NBA championship may come to fruition.

But for now, entering the conversation with Curry will remain a fantasy.