NBA stages H.O.R.S.E. Tournament: Trae Young,Chris Paul favoured to win

The 2019-2020 NBA season has been suspended since March 11, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league has been exploring avenues to test the waters and see how they can continue without risking the health of the players and the general public. After having an NBA 2K tournament last week, they have decided to do a remote H.O.R.S.E competition this weekend featuring players, legends, and WNBA stars.

Atlanta Hawks rookie All-Star Trae Young and Oklahoma City Thunder veteran superstar Chris Paul are favoured to win the game. According to Sports Illustrated, Chicago Bulls player and two-time slam dunk contest winner Zach LaVine is not far behind them in terms of odds. The other competitors are veteran Mike Conley Jr. of the Utah Jazz, former NBA All-Stars Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups. Lastly, former WNBA all-stars Allie Quigley and Tamika Catchings will also be joining.

The first round of the competition will be played on April 12 at 7PM EST and will be aired on ESPN.

In terms of physical conditioning, it makes sense that active NBA players are favoured to win over retired players. However, H.O.R.S.E. is not a physical game, it is a shooting competition. To those not familiar with the game, players shoot from a designated spot in the court. If a player misses a shot, but their opponent makes it, they get a letter towards the word HORSE. The first player to complete HORSE loses the game.

Rookie Trae Young is a 43.7% FG shooter, 36.1% in the three-point line, and 86% in the free-throw line. That's fairly decent numbers. Veteran Chris Paul is a 48.9% shooter, 36.2% beyond the arc, and an incredible 90% shooter on the stripe. Side by side, it looks like Chris Paul is a better shooter than the rookie. LaVine, on the other hand, holds 45-38-80 statistics, slightly better than the two, but a lot worse in the free-throw line when nobody is guarding them just like the HORSE game.

Paul Pierce holds 44.5-36.8-80.6 as a career player. In his last year in the NBA, he shot 48-35-77. If his skills haven't depreciated much, he should also be a contender.

The least favoured to win is 10-time WNBA all-star Tamika Catchings. In her last year as a player, she shot 46.8-35-86.2. Those are pretty good numbers and may end up as a dark horse in the tournament.