Thaddeus Young should not be leading the Pacers in minutes

HurricaneDij25 · Post #1 » by **HurricaneDij25** » Mon Nov 6, 2017 5:23 am

McMillan you trying to screw this thing up? :banghead:

Post #2 » by **boomershadow** » Mon Nov 6, 2017 10:22 am

I don't see the problem. He has been playing well, and his backup is a rookie who has been good in his minutes but is still very definitely learning the NBA game and NBA defense.

pacers70 · Post #3 » by **pacers70** » Mon Nov 6, 2017 4:03 pm

The reason Thad is leading the team in minutes seems pretty obvious to me. Victor O has had some games where he was in foul trouble and we had to take him out of the game. Myles missed 7 games due to a concussion.

By the end of the season, I look for Thad to be 3rd on the team in minutes per game. I think Victor O and Myles will both be inthe 32-34 mpg range and Thad will be around 30-32.

Jstock12 · Post #4 » by **Jstock12** » Mon Nov 6, 2017 7:12 pm

I don't get it, what's wrong with him leading the Pacers in minutes? He does everything at a good level, great guy to have on the court at all times.

Vorda · Post #5 » by **Vorda** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 7:31 am

Jstock12 wrote:I don't get it, what's wrong with him leading the Pacers in minutes? He does everything at a good level, great guy to have on the court at all times.

And his substitution is a Leaf who doesn't look like NBA player... he can't score, can't drive, can't play defense... I dont know why he isn't in Mad Ants... currently he is the biggest hole in team...

Jstock12 · Post #6 » by **Jstock12** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 9:15 am

Vorda wrote:
Jstock12 wrote:I don't get it, what's wrong with him leading the Pacers in minutes? He does everything at a good level, great guy to have on the court at all times.

And his substitution is a Leaf who doesn't look like NBA player... he can't score, can't drive, can't play defense... I dont know why he isn't in Mad Ants... currently he is the biggest hole in team...

He's 20, and he's a rookie. But he still has an NBA skill which is his shooting. Meanwhile, the Pacers aren't a contender, so why not give TJ some valuable playing time against top competition? 15 minutes a game isn't nothing, and it's much more beneficial for him to learn our system and practice with guys like Jefferson/Turner/Sabonis than averaging 30-35mpg in the G-League, in my opinion. It would be a completely different thing if he was getting constant DNPs here, but he isn't.

Post #7 » by **boomershadow** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 10:52 am

Leaf can definitely score some points. Give him time on the other parts of his game. It takes some time to adapt to the NBA game, but it's something that can't really be done in Ft Wayne. He needs to play against real NBA players to do that. This year is more about forming an identity after PG's departure and putting young talent in a position to develop than it is about getting every win possible. The team is already doing way better than most of us thought we would be at this point in the season.

Those last two losses were tough, no doubt, but they don't change anything. Still gotta just give things time to come together.

8305 · Post #8 » by **8305** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 11:12 am

Why Thad leads the team in minutes is pretty easily explained.

Turner's injury
Oladipo's foul problems in a few games.
Also Pacers may be concerned that given Dipo's style of play (peddle to the mettle all the time) it may not be reasonable to having him playing 36 min/game and think he will still have gas in the tank at the end of the season.

My bigger issue with Thad is seeing how functional he can be playing with Turner and Sabonis. Right now those minutes are filled by Lance and Bogdonavich. Overall that's the weakest link on the team.

Vorda · Post #9 » by **Vorda** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 11:39 am

Jstock12 wrote:
Vorda wrote:
Jstock12 wrote:I don't get it, what's wrong with him leading the Pacers in minutes? He does everything at a good level, great guy to have on the court at all times.

And his substitution is a Leaf who doesn't look like NBA player... he can't score, can't drive, can't play defense... I dont know why he isn't in Mad Ants... currently he is the biggest hole in team...

He's 20, and he's a rookie. But he still has an NBA skill which is his shooting. Meanwhile, the Pacers aren't a contender, so why not give TJ some valuable playing time against top competition? 15 minutes a game isn't nothing, and it's much more beneficial for him to learn our system and practice with guys like Jefferson/Turner/Sabonis than averaging 30-35mpg in the G-League, in my opinion. It would be a completely different thing if he was getting constant DNPs here, but he isn't.

Ok, but that's the reason why Thad leads team in minutes... we have Leaf who is something like prospect, but on the otherside we could have had Kuzma on that positon...

Jstock12 · Post #10 » by **Jstock12** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 12:15 pm

Vorda wrote:
Jstock12 wrote:
Vorda wrote:
And his substitution is a Leaf who doesn't look like NBA player... he can't score, can't drive, can't play defense... I dont know why he isn't in Mad Ants... currently he is the biggest hole in team...

He's 20, and he's a rookie. But he still has an NBA skill which is his shooting. Meanwhile, the Pacers aren't a contender, so why not give TJ some valuable playing time against top competition? 15 minutes a game isn't nothing, and it's much more beneficial for him to learn our system and practice with guys like Jefferson/Turner/Sabonis than averaging 30-35mpg in the G-League, in my opinion. It would be a completely different thing if he was getting constant DNPs here, but he isn't.

Ok, but that's the reason why Thad leads team in minutes... we have Leaf who is something like prospect, but on the otherside we could have had Kuzma on that positon...

Kuzma surprised a lot of people. I don't think it's fair to judge the front office for selecting Leaf over Kuzma. Also, there's no guarantee that Kuzma will remain the better player. Leaf is two years younger than him.

Major Cold · Post #11 » by **Major Cold** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 2:17 pm

Defense. That is why he has the most minutes. He is guarding top scorers in the 3/4/5 position. We don't have many guys on the roster who can do that as effective as Thad. Couple that with Myles being injured and Sabonis' foul issues and that is the reason why this vet is on the floor more than any other Pacer.

Post #12 » by **Nuntius** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 9:07 pm

Vorda wrote:
Jstock12 wrote:I don't get it, what's wrong with him leading the Pacers in minutes? He does everything at a good level, great guy to have on the court at all times.

And his substitution is a Leaf who doesn't look like NBA player... he can't score, can't drive, can't play defense... I dont know why he isn't in Mad Ants... currently he is the biggest hole in team...

TJ Leaf can certainly drive. He just cannot finish his drives successfully yet. But he can certainly attack a closeout and get to the rim.

I think that TJ Leaf has played well offensively so far. I expected him to be behind the curve but he really isn't.

xBulletproof · Post #13 » by **xBulletproof** » Tue Nov 7, 2017 11:08 pm

Vorda wrote:Ok, but that's the reason why Thad leads team in minutes... we have Leaf who is something like prospect, but on the otherside we could have had Kuzma on that positon...

Ugh. Hate the hindsight "could have had's". Almost everyone could have had Kuzma. Even the best GM's in history "could have had" dozens of guys who were drafted late 1st or 2nd round.

Vorda · Post #14 » by **Vorda** » Wed Nov 8, 2017 7:02 am

Nuntius wrote:
Vorda wrote:
Jstock12 wrote:I don't get it, what's wrong with him leading the Pacers in minutes? He does everything at a good level, great guy to have on the court at all times.

And his substitution is a Leaf who doesn't look like NBA player... he can't score, can't drive, can't play defense... I dont know why he isn't in Mad Ants... currently he is the biggest hole in team...

TJ Leaf can certainly drive. He just cannot finish his drives successfully yet. But he can certainly attack a closeout and get to the rim.

I think that TJ Leaf has played well offensively so far. I expected him to be behind the curve but he really isn't.

I can do that, probably you to...

Pacers_Freak · Post #15 » by **Pacers_Freak** » Wed Nov 8, 2017 2:32 pm

xBulletproof wrote:
Vorda wrote:Ok, but that's the reason why Thad leads team in minutes... we have Leaf who is something like prospect, but on the otherside we could have had Kuzma on that positon...

Ugh. Hate the hindsight "could have had's". Almost everyone could have had Kuzma. Even the best GM's in history "could have had" dozens of guys who were drafted late 1st or 2nd round.

Have never agreed with a post more.

Post #16 » by **Nuntius** » Wed Nov 8, 2017 5:24 pm

Vorda wrote:
Nuntius wrote:
Vorda wrote:
And his substitution is a Leaf who doesn't look like NBA player... he can't score, can't drive, can't play defense... I dont know why he isn't in Mad Ants... currently he is the biggest hole in team...

TJ Leaf can certainly drive. He just cannot finish his drives successfully yet. But he can certainly attack a closeout and get to the rim.

I think that TJ Leaf has played well offensively so far. I expected him to be behind the curve but he really isn't.

I can do that, probably you to...

Can either of us drive like that against an NBA player, though? :wink:

Pacersike · Post #17 » by **Pacersike** » Thu Nov 9, 2017 6:37 am

Thad is doing a good job IMO but when Myles Turner is trying to protect the rim and attracting the opponents defense towards him,
averaging 6 rebounds simply isn't good enough to keep playing him at the 4 next to Turner.

Turner is no talent that has it all like Towns or Porzingod. In order for him to succeed you need to put guys next to him who make it easier for him on the court. Sabonis is such a guy. He can rebound the ball, he can set better screens. Not to mention Bogdanovic is a very weak link in the Pacers defensive chain. When our opponent finds the opening there, it is beyond fixable for Turner.

At least try a Young Sabonis Turner frontcourt, Nate or I personally write you a letter with the words "we have several players now who can play multiple positions" on it and I will force you to eat it!

HurricaneDij25 · Post #18 » by **HurricaneDij25** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:49 am

I suppose I'll look on the bright side here - The more minutes Thad gets the more likely he'll opt out of his contract next summer.

He'll have 14 million reasons not to, though.