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Young:”I am ready to do whatever the team needs from me”
Young’s hard work in the off-season paid off right away at the start of the season. Despite signing Elton Brand, Philly started the season very slowly and worked hard to make up for their poor early record. But Thaddeus Young had a great start, shooting out of the starting gates like a Triple Crown thoroughbred winner. Ten games into the season, he was averaging a team-best 16.3 points. And thanks to his new shooting technique, he was shooting nearly 40 percent from beyond the three-point stripe. “Thad is just doing what he can,” said Mo Cheeks, who patrolled the sidelines early on in the City of Brotherly Love. “He’s not trying to do too much. We are not running any plays for him. He is just rebounding on offense, taking his open shots and always running on the break. He is not doing anything different than what he did the second half of last season. He is just doing it better and is getting more opportunities.” When asked by a reporter if they could finally run some plays for Young, the coach laughed and responded: “Why should I mess it all up? Thad may not know that he’s our best scorer. But if I start running a system for him, he may start thinking about that. And I want him to continue playing how he is. He should not start thinking that he has to score more.”
Young meanwhile understood the rest of the season would not be as easy as the first couple of weeks. “A lot of people didn’t really know what I could do. And I like that a lot,” said Young early in the season. “Opposing teams are worrying more about Andre Igoudala and Elton Brand. Those are the guys who our system is built around. But that will probably change soon. Opponents are realizing that they can’t leave me alone any more. Right now, I’m getting easy shots because my defenders are helping out on Andre and Elton. I was recently talking to somebody about that and said: Everybody in this league should be able to hit wide open shots.” And Young’s words hit the nail right on the head. There are no secrets in the NBA. Every team employs a number of scouts. And those watching Thaddeus Young knock down everything open got the word out quickly. And teams started covering the Sixers’ new scoring threat. Young was being covered tighter and more intensively. So it was no surprise that his averages started dropping.
(ZÜ) Position switch
By now, Young has been able to adapt his game. He is, after all, a brilliant student of the game. “I try to hold my own more and more, both offensively and defensively. I am trying to get my hands on loose balls and score some easy baskets in transition,” said Young. But things are not as simple as the former Slam Magazine dairy writer states. Young may be an excellent fast break player who gets a lot of “easy baskets”. But they don’t add up to 20 or more points every night like they did in March. More important for coach DiLeo is that Young is a good all-arounder. And that showed at the earlier mentioned contest in Portland. Young went right and left to complete drives and also scored on mid-range jumpers, three-pointers, tip-ins, free throws (4 of 4) and slam dunks on the break. How can you defend that kind of versatility? After the game, which the 76ers won 114-108 in overtime, the box score read 25 points and seven rebounds for Young. And that proved to be a typical day at the office for the lefty.
What makes Young so much more fascinating is the fact that he is a combo-forward – more small forward than power forward. Usually players who move between two positions have a negative label. Not big or strong enough for the four, not quick and versatile enough for the three – is the usual calling. And Tweeners usually eventually lose their value and their importance. But Ratliff called Young “a postive Tweener”. “Regardless if he plays the three or the four, he always has an advantage,” said the experienced center. “He is bigger than most small forwards and as the ability and athleticism to keep up with them. And on offense he can post them up. He has really worked a lot on his low post game and become a very good post player. He is even our most dangerous scorer on the boards. He can even use his athleticism and quickness to beat fours and fives. He is a player who can switch between two positions. But that makes him better.”
Young has proven that he can become comfortable and be successful anywhere on the court. After becoming a starter for 22 of the last 38 games of his rookie season, he took over the power forward spot and scored 10.6 points in 29.2 minutes. Young started all six of Philadelphia’s playoff games, which eventually ended in a series loss to Detroit, and averaged 10.2 points a contest. After the off-season acquisition of Brand, Young made room and moved to the small forward position and as mentioned had excellent success. But Brand dislocated his shoulder in December and missed the rest of the season. The Sixers returned to their small-ball style and put Young back at the power forward position. And the tireless worker made life for his defenders a living hell.
All the position changes beg the obvious question. Which position does he enjoy playing the most? “I am ready to do whatever the team needs from me,” said Young diplomatically. “I have no problem playing power forward. I like it actually because I’m quicker than most fours in the league and can run the court better than them.” So, he would rather play PF? “No, no,” Young counters laughing. “If I had to decide then I would pick my original position small forward. But it’s an advantage if I play power forward. That just makes us a quicker team.” Once again, there are many forms of quickness – and the multi-talent Thaddeus Young seems to have them all.
