Should Thad Young go to the bench?

[walker9]

and have Sabonis start instead?

[Cresy06]

I think it's a bad idea, considering how much Thad brings to the Team.
That being said, I still want them to try it out for a 10 game stretch. I just want to see the Sabonis-Turner combo work out

[Tom White]

I think it's a bad idea, considering how much Thad brings to the Team.

This is something I'm curious about. It can be said that Thad brings locker room leadership and that sort of thing, but what about ON THE COURT?

His defense gets talked about, and he has done a good job guarding various positions. But what else? He isn't really a shooter unless he is at the rim. He doesn't handle the ball all that well, be it dribbling, passing, whatever. He is generally not considered when we talk about the team's rebounders.

So, what do you guys see as his main ON COURT contributions?

By the way, I'm not knocking the guy, I'm just curious as to other's viewpoints.

[Pacers_Freak]

I don't care about starting. However, I would like to see Domas take some of Thad's burn.

[boomershadow]

His defense gets talked about, and he has done a good job guarding various positions. But what else? He isn't really a shooter unless he is at the rim. He doesn't handle the ball all that well, be it dribbling, passing, whatever. He is generally not considered when we talk about the team's rebounders.

So, what do you guys see as his main ON COURT contributions?

He's basically a glue guy. He doesn't do anything at a particularly amazing level, but there's really nothing he's horrible at. The defensive versatility you mentioned isn't something to brush off too quickly imo. We're currently at sixth in the league in defensive rating, and not all that is on Turner. His shooting has been bad this year, but he's generally been up and down with that part of his game over the years. He's mostly good for when things turn ugly. Miss a shot? If he gets the rebound, it's probably going back in. Play didn't go anywhere? Throw it down into Thad while the shot clock is winding down and let him go to work. Mostly little things that, combined with the good defense, add up over the course of a game.

[pacers33granger]

So, what do you guys see as his main ON COURT contributions?

- Ability to effectively switch on defense and/our double team
- Post play (he's not Sabonis or even great there, but we routinely get points out of him going at mismatches down low)
- Talking on defense. He and CoJo seem to be the most vocal.

Ultimately he's one of those guys that is decent at a lot of things and not really great at one though. His shot being off since that wrist injury and seemingly never returning is a disappointment though.

[Tom White]

- Talking on defense. He and CoJo seem to be the most vocal.

I'm literally never at the games, so this is something I've missed catching. Thanks.

[pacers33granger]

- Talking on defense. He and CoJo seem to be the most vocal.

I'm literally never at the games, so this is something I've missed catching. Thanks.

Im not either unfortunately as i live in new England but from what I can tell and what i have read he's one of the more vocal guys.

[winter_mute_13]

It's the classic good problem to have.

Pacers are rolling right now, so I doubt they make changes in the short term. But yeah, Sabonis deserves to start, or at least to get more playing time. He's arguably been the Pacers' best player for this season so far.

CoJo is another guy who has played well and probably deserves a starting spot. But his game and role makes him a better fit filling holes off the bench, I think. Thad is similar in that respect. Ideally (and eventually) I think Thad will play off the bench too.

So yes, I'm in favor, and I think it will happen eventually.

[Pacers_Freak]

- Talking on defense. He and CoJo seem to be the most vocal.

I'm literally never at the games, so this is something I've missed catching. Thanks.

Slacker!

[Wizop]

So yes, I'm in favor, and I think it will happen eventually.

I'm not so sure. I don't think it'll happen this season although there may be exceptions when we play someone who starts two bigs. Utah did that and Boston sometimes starts Horford at the 4. there are probably other examples.

It could certainly happen next year but if by July that is a proven lineup, then Pritchard will have to decide what to offer Thad if he isn't going to be a starter. he could get higher offers elsewhere.

[Tom White]

- Talking on defense. He and CoJo seem to be the most vocal.

I'm literally never at the games, so this is something I've missed catching. Thanks.

Slacker!

I'm so ashamed! HA!

No, really it is about a 120 miles round-trip drive for me. Something I just don't want to do. Well, that plus the beer and pizza is much cheaper at home.

[Nuntius]

I think so, yeah. He should see the lion's share of the minutes against certain match-ups (LeBron, Giannis etc.) but other than that I think that he is at the point of his career where he's better served off the bench.

[Wizop]

I think so, yeah. He should see the lion's share of the minutes against certain match-ups (LeBron, Giannis etc.) but other than that I think that he is at the point of his career where he's better served off the bench.

we can go bigger with Damos or smaller with Bogie, but we don't have anyone else who can defend both inside and outside.

Sent from my phone.

[Nuntius]

I think so, yeah. He should see the lion's share of the minutes against certain match-ups (LeBron, Giannis etc.) but other than that I think that he is at the point of his career where he's better served off the bench.

we can go bigger with Damos or smaller with Bogie, but we don't have anyone else who can defend both inside and outside.

Sent from my phone.

I don't think that Thad can defend "outside", to be honest. He has a very bad habit of gambling too much and leaving shooters open. I do get why we're encouraging him to gamble too much (turning the opponents over is something that we want because it helps both our offense and our defense and Thad can definitely do that) but he's one of the main reasons why we can't defend the 3.

[Wizop]

I don't think that Thad can defend "outside", to be honest.

okay, I'll walk that back to Thad can defend inside and outside better than anyone else on the roster. anyone we started ahead of him would get punished more.

[Nuntius]

I don't think that Thad can defend "outside", to be honest.

okay, I'll walk that back to Thad can defend inside and outside better than anyone else on the roster. anyone we started ahead of him would get punished more.

It depends on the type of outside then. If by outside we're talking about players like LeBron and Giannis then absolutely. Thad is a better man-to-man defender against those players than anyone else we have available. But if we're talking about shooting PFs, I believe that Domas will stick with them better than Thad does. And he'll do that because he won't gamble for steals. Subbing in Domas for Thad in such a scenario will make our defense less aggressive and worse at turning the opponent over but better at defending the 3-point line and then securing the defensive rebound.

In my opinion, this is a good trade-off.

[Wizop]

It depends on the type of outside then.

players that move without the ball and who drive.

frankly though, I'm not a fan of subbing by the clock. I'd be more flexible night to night depending upon the matchups. but if we are going to sub by the clock, I'd be okay with some Vogel-style stubborness where we just go big and dare the opponent to deal with it. and I still think we should try some twin towers with a zone defense.

[Nuntius]

It depends on the type of outside then.

players that move without the ball and who drive.

In that case then it would depend on their speed and how they move without the ball. Take TJ Warren as an example. TJ Warren is a quite fast wing (I don't see him as a big, I see him as a 6'8 wing) that can move without the ball, likes to drive to the basket and has an improved 3-point shot. In that match-up, yeah, throw Thad at him. I'm not sure if Domas can keep up with him in particular (he can punish him on the other end, though).

But players who aren't that speedy and mainly move off the ball to shoot like Nemanja Bjelica (mentioning him because we faced him in the last game), I'm very, very comfortable with playing Domas at PF there.

frankly though, I'm not a fan of subbing by the clock. I'd be more flexible night to night depending upon the matchups. but if we are going to sub by the clock, I'd be okay with some Vogel-style stubborness where we just go big and dare the opponent to deal with it. and I still think we should try some twin towers with a zone defense.

I'd also like it if we were able to start different players depending on the match-ups (like the Raptors do) but I don't think that Nate is like that. So, if we're gonna play like that then I'd err towards starting big and then adjusting depending on the match-up and whether going big would hurt or help us.

[Wizop]

But players who aren't that speedy and mainly move off the ball to shoot like Nemanja Bjelica (mentioning him because we faced him in the last game), I'm very, very comfortable with playing Domas at PF there.

absolutely. I questioned why we weren't doing that during the game. perfect matchup to go big against.