Nick Young's game changed last year
by Mike Prada on Aug 31, 2010 2:18 PM EDT
in Player Analysis
Email
PrintIf you turn the clock back to the summer of 2009 for a second, you might remember that Flip Saunders was doing everything he can to tell Nick Young to play more like Rip Hamilton. Saunders was begging of Young to become more "efficient," or, in his words, become the kind of player who "scores 22, 23 points and you wouldn't notice." So drastic was Saunders' reconstruction of Young's game that Young uttered these lines a year ago.
(Via Michael Lee).
"I didn't feel like Nick. I felt like somebody else. I don't know, I felt like I was just a shooter, just strictly shooting."
"Eventually [the freelancing] is gonna come back, but I'm doing so good with this, I'm gonna stay with this for right now. "This is what they want me to do, I shouldn't change it. I've been working all summer on this."
Ultimately, Young's 2009/10 season can only be classified as a disappointment. After averaging 17.5/2.9/1.2 per 36 minutes, with a 13.1 PER and a 53-percent true shooting percentage in 2008/09, Young's production dipped to 16.2/2.6/1.2 with a 10.7 PER and a 51.9 true shooting percentage last season. That probably wasn't the breakout Saunders and company had in mind.
But if you subscribe to the belief that Young was only going to be a useful NBA player if he cut out all the freelancing, fixed his shot selection and dedicated himself more to defense, then there might actually be reason to be encouraged by Young's 2009/10 season. Not blown away, mind you, because his production did take a pretty substantial nosedive, but encouraged.
Why? Because Young's style of play did indeed change a lot last year.
The common image of Young is of a player that breaks the offense to dribble needlessly and shoot contested mid-range fadeaway jump shots. Saunders had that image of him too before taking over last year, and his priority was trying to fix it. He wanted Young to be more of a catch-and-shoot player, which would thereby increase his efficiency.
So was Young more of a catch-and-shoot player last year? The answer is a resounding yes. These shooting stats from HoopData tell the whole story. There was a significant leap last year in the number of baskets Young scored that were assisted.
(Note: the blue bar is 2007/08, the red bar is 2008/09, and the green bar is 2009/10).
Clearly, Young went from being the kind of guy who would always freelance into one who was more willing to play off others. The dribble pounding that we would often see in his first two years lessened considerably last year. It may not have resulted in significant production right away, but a lot of that has to do with Young's horrendous start to the year. In the second half of the year, he grasped the concept of playing off others a lot better.
Saunders was clearly successful in remodeling the way Nick Young played last season. This year will ultimately determine whether Young is capable of playing the way Saunders wants him to play in a consistent manner. But if you subscribe to the belief that players need to be torn apart before they can be built back up, then you have to be encouraged by the changing nature of Young's game.
34 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I still think the Rip Hamilton experiment
Is horrible for NY’s chances to stick in the league. I get Flip’s thinking that NY checks out unless he’s firing shots so you try and get him to stay locked in on D by having the whole team work to get him shot. The problem is there are so few players worthy of basing the whole offense around and he hasn’t proven he is worth that special attention. He should have been modeling his game after Posey or Ariza with the Lakers. He needed to mentally condition himself to stay locked in even if he goes minutes without a shot. He needs to learn to consistently defend, rebound, run the break, move the ball, and hit open 3’s when he is only having 2-3 plays run for him a game. He already has the ability to do these things and can carve out a nice long career playing for good teams. Instead he has been conditioning himself mentally to be the Man and have everyone work just to get him a shot. While he’s figuring all that out he’ll end up in Europe.
Here's hoping
that Nick flourishes while playing with Wall. I think a lot of problems came from not having a true point guard to get players open looks. Nick and the rest will get some easy buckets this year. Also, I think Nick’s game could become like Paul Pierce’s. They both are great getting off a mid range jumper, but Nick needs to stop sulking and get back on D when he misses a few.
Agreed
Hopefully playing with a true point guard will increase Young’s productivity and possibly make him more attractive as trade bait (hey if David Kahn’s out there, hope will survive). Maybe I’m being naive but I think a good point guard can make everyone else look like superstars (see: Diaw, Boris; Boozer, Carlos; Chandler, Tyson). We’ve seen that Wall can make Wookie look good in the summer leagues, hopefully that can translate to the other guys as well. Young has some obvious flaws but he’s young (pardon the pun), durable, athletic and can run for days. If this team is to be an open court threat I think his skills are magnified and his faults are minimized
Hey I can hope. It’s still August.
by ChrisWhitneyFanClub on Aug 31, 2010 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions
And done with zero irony.
Loved Whitney. Bench guy forced into the starting role and did his best and a great talker.
by ChrisWhitneyFanClub on Aug 31, 2010 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I love Whitney too. One of my favorite players.
All the more so because he was such a 180 degrees different from the ultra-selfish chemistry killer Strickland.
I still think Nick Young is going to end up as trade bait...
They have tried to fit him in anyway they could and it just never seems to work. Maybe its just time to move on.
Nick is fundamentally inconsistent
Mike right. Nick is asked just to shoot, and his true shooting percentage falls. I believe this is because Nick’s shot is inconsistent to start with – both in makes/misses and in mechanics.
Sometimes his elbow flails out, sometimes it doesn’t. When he makes shots with the variations in his form, it gives him a false positive.
I normally don’t like when people say things like “that player is a scorer, not a shooter” because sometimes players who aren’t all that great at either scoring or shooting, by default get the scorer label affixed to them because, well, obviously they aren’t shooters. But the reality is, they aren’t really scorers either. And this might be where Nick Young has found himself. Nick is not a shooter – as in someone who has the muscle memory to reproduce motions at different distances from the basket to reproduce consistent results. Of course all shooters go through cold lapses, but Nick’s game, is fundamentally inconsistent. And when asked not to freelance (“be a scorer”) and just take jump shots (“be a shooter”) Nick saw his production decrease. To take the next step in the painfully slow evolution of Nick Young, and fit the mold Flip envisions for him, he will need to make his mechanics much more consistent. Here’s hoping he can do that, or we get good value for him in a trade.
That best describes it
He just isn’t a “fundamentals” kind of player. He isn’t a bad player. But he is going to kind of do his thing even if it probably isnt the right thing to do with the ball. With that said, I really think he’s talented enough to make an impact on a good NBA team. Probably being the type of guy who comes off the with the entire second team or with a defensive unit so he can pour in points over a short span. Because I feel like when hes feeling it, he can keep a team afloat offensively for stretches. And actually, watching his individual defense last year, I think he’s capable of playing good D. And you said it, it’s the fact that when he plays good, hits a shot, it is a false confidence, because its hard to replicate because hes just freelancing it. And thats what I don’t like about him, he is not consistent and his confidence comes and goes, affecting his whole game.
by returnofswagger on Aug 31, 2010 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Ha.
In high school, I had similar thoughts, annually, but I still never got laid. I did get smarter and wiser, though, and it all worked out. Can NY get smarter and wiser?
by Tbonebullets on Aug 31, 2010 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Catch & shoot is Nick's best chance to do one thing well
Or at least, one thing that’s valuable to the team. These stats are interesting, I hope it really is the beginning of a trend.
ehhh
He has all the tools now to be a great defender if he wants to. I’d say thats his best chance right now.
by BayAreaBullet on Aug 31, 2010 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Hinrich
Maybe Hinrich was brought in to mentor Nick, and not John Wall like everyone assumes. If we can get some of Hinrich’s attitude into Nick, we’ll have a pretty good player.
NICK
THE only way nick can become the player he should be and can be is to leave the wizards, everybody becomes good or great except [KB] when they leave the wizards, don’t think for one minute nick wouldn’t mine playing some where else. AT least 5 teams tried to trade for nick, and was told the same BS, we need equal value[ KOBE,LEBRON, MELO WADE] GET MY DRIFT. IT’S only about 10 of SOB in DC that’s never going to say anything good about nick no matter how good he plays. SEE YOU IN THE SEASON[LATER].
straight talk
by Mae.jude@yahoo.com on Aug 31, 2010 9:57 PM EDT reply actions
You're consistently entertaining Mae.jude, I'll give you that
If you’re arguing that the Wizards should ease up on their demands and trade Nick Young for someone like Brandan Roy, I agree.
Nick played well last year
When he was paired with either Arenas or Livingston. He played poorly with Foye and badly with Boykins. Maybe the new Nick is as good as the point guard he’s paired with.
One interesting thing about him is that he's cut his turnovers dramatically since his rookie year
Get rid of the first few months of the season, let him get consistent minutes every night (a part of me hopes Gil sits out for a while just so that we can play a conventional shooting guard next to Wall), and get the coaching staff to continue working with him and I could see him putting up Michael Finley-light numbers while playing solid enough defense.
Follow me on twitter - http://twitter.com/TheRealTPruitt
I think a large part of that is because of Flip's new role for him
It’s hard to commit lots of turnovers when you’re mostly catching and shooting. It’s one thing that makes Rip more valuable.
And makes a middling ts% more acceptable
Although rip manages to rack up a decent number of assists, too
Follow me on twitter - http://twitter.com/TheRealTPruitt
by pantslessyoda1 on Sep 1, 2010 8:59 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Young's Impact
I posted this on RealGM a month ago:
Young led the team in counterpart PER in 08-09 and was second only to Caron Butler last year in counterpart PER. Young led the team in on/off differential in 08-09 and was third in on/off differential this year (behind Haywood and Butler). The team defense improved by 1.3 points per 100 possessions with Young on the floor this year. It improved by 6.9 points per 100 possessions with Young on the floor in 08-09.
Heck, the team went 8-5 (.615 pace) this year in games when Young started and played over 30 minutes. They were 18-51 (.260 pace) the rest of the time. For some reason, the team plays better with Young on the floor.
There is no denying that Young is a terrible rebounder and a black hole on offense. But he is a very good 3-point shooter and a very effective defender. Young needs to make the transition into being more of a role player – a designated defensive stopper and a 3-point shooter. If he can do this, he’ll have a long NBA career.
Nick is an excellent on-ball defender
He may give us our best match up against the Kobes/Wades/Roys of the league. That’s the plus side of his excellent counterpart PER numbers.
But he struggles to provide useful help defense when his match up is not a big scoring threat, like Sefolosha or Delonte West. He holds those guys below their regular numbers, but it would have been better if he could have contributed more to the team D on Durant and LeBron. That’s the negative side of his counterpart PER numbers.
He has also struggled against players who do their damage with movement off the ball, like Ray Allen or Rip Hamilton.
Nick’s defense is still a work in progress, but he keeps getting better and better. He could be our best defensive wing player by the end of this season.
Best wing defender on the team. Best three point shooter on the team. Moves well without the ball. Scores without needing the ball in his hands for long. In a pinch, able to create his own shot. Nick is awfully close to becoming a very, very valuable piece for a championship team.
The stats appear to refute those assertions
If Young was such a bad team defender, one would expect it to show up in the on/off differentials. It doesn’t. Last year, Young was third on the team in defensive on/off differential (just barely behind Butler for 2nd place). The year before, he led the team in defensive on/off differential.
Maybe Young isn’t so great at blocking shots from the weakside, and he’s certainly bad on the defensive boards. But one thing Young does better than everyone else is to rotate and challenge 3-pointers. He’s also the best on the team at preventing dribble penetration from the man that he is guarding.
As long as Young continues to embrace his role as a defensive stopper and spot-up shooter, I think he can be a very important fit on this team. I actually think we’re better off with Young as our 3rd guard in the 3-guard rotation rather than Hinrich. I like Hinrich a lot, but his 3-point shot has become a little suspect, and he lacks the size to guard the bigger 2-guards in the league. He also can’t fill a lane and finish on the fast break – something we’re going to need when Arenas and Wall push the tempo.
Lots of moving parts in those stats
For starters, over the last couple of years, when Nick was in, that almost always meant that DeShawn was sitting. That will go a very, very long way towards making your on/off +/- numbers look good.
Nick also usually came off the bench, so he was usually matched up against a bench player. Holding Ray Allen to a mediocre PER is impressive. Holding Tony Allen to a mediocre PER, not so much.
Those caveats aside, though, I agree that Nick is getting very close to being an excellent NBA player. He has come a very long way on both sides of the ball.
I don't think he will ever be efficient enough
Nick has very low rebound and assist numbers, and those aren’t going to improve anytime soon. Even if he did shoot efficiently, he probably wouldn’t be helping at all (purely because his contributions are so negative in every other category). Throw in the fact that he’s not an efficient scorer (48% efg), and all you get is a very below average nba player. Statiscally, there is no category Nick excels in. In fact, he’s mostly below average.
He's a pretty solid shooter
Both on threes and from the line. There’s always a place for a solid floor spacer if they can play passable defense
Follow me on twitter - http://twitter.com/TheRealTPruitt
by pantslessyoda1 on Sep 1, 2010 9:02 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Value doesn't show up in stats
Players like Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen are more valuable than their stats show. The entire defense has to be aware of those guys at all times. By drawing attention to themselves, they open up opportunities for their teammates. The ability to have such a big impact on the game without having to have the ball in your hands is a tremendous asset. (One big caveat, is the need for a good PG to deliver the ball. Rondo qualifies. Stuckey, not really. Boykins, god no.)
Nick has shown incredible improvement. He started out as a player who was only a threat when he had the ball in his hands, and not a big threat, either, because he couldn’t pass the ball, so the defense could just collapse on him. Any time he didn’t have the ball, he was completely useless— couldn’t defend, rebound, or move without the ball. Today, he is developing into a useful player who is an asset at all times on the court. He plays defense and is an offensive threat, even without the ball.
Have you ever had to fix an ingrained part of your game? In any sport? Ever tried to overhaul your shooting stroke? Or change your tennis grip? Or your golf swing? It’s painful, and you get a lot worse before you start getting better. In essence, Nick has completely overhauled his game over the last few years. He could be poised for a breakout year.
Has Nick got a fair shot at playing time?
I still think we’ve not had a chance to see Nick play enough on a regular basis to determine his effectiveness. I watched Stephen Curry play a lot last year and he made a lot of mistakes, but he played almost 30-40 minutes a game and got through his mistakes. Even after all the trades Nick still didn’t get that shot until late in the season and I think he did well. Let him play this year and we’ll know for sure if he can be an effective player for the Wizards.
why micromanage Nick?
Flip needs to loosen the reigns some when it comes to NY. He (Nick) proved last year that the Wizards were better with him on the floor for extended minutes. He must be accounted for offensively as opposing 2s can’t sag off a 40% 3-point shooter. He’s arguably the teams best finisher on the break (McGee is closing fast though) and he gets to the FT line at a better clip than Mason, Stevenson or Jarvis Hayes ever did. He is more scorer than shooter IMO.
Now defensively his focus needs to sharpen but playing with capable defenders like Hinrich and Wall might be just what he needs to figure things out.
There’s been so much drama over the past 2 and a half seasons I think he needs at least the first 3 months to be judged fairly.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bullets Forever
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
