Bean Burrito / Nick Young Appreciation Thread.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm not ready to jump on Nick's bandwagon as of yet. He's had a stretch of good shooting & decent performances before. I need to see a prolonged stretch of solid play before I'm willing to come around on him. Time will tell.

Dat, I say KUDOS TO GILBERT FOR FAKING THE INJURY which allowed Nick to play and get off in preaseason.

Gilbert had faith in Nick.

I have been watching on/off and 5-man unit data from 82 games on Nick for a while. For a guy who doesn't rebound, rarely passes, fades away on his shots for no reason, and who's hot and cold offensively; for whatever reasons Nick Young seems to play well with everyone on the floor. Nick's numbers might look bad but the team's better with him at SG. Particularly so with D Steve out there.

Dat, I'm sure Nick's a legit 18-20 point scorer. An efficient scorer with a three point shot thats money. Nick can also take it to the hole, too. Great foul shooter for as rarely as he goes to the line.

Nick physically matured. He's confident in his strength, too.

Greatest thing about Nick is that the way he defended Wade that game was something very few NBA players can do. Nick's a good SG.

EG was right about Javale and Nick.

[hands11]

http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?id=301123027

Nick finally get back to filling the stats a little.

3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1 block, 19 pts 4-8 from 3, 7-15 shooting, only 1-1 Fts

We know Nick can score. Its those other things he did that I'm sure Flip will give him the most compliments about.

Well, that is nailing the game winning in OT.

Amazing if we can actually get a productive McGee and a productive Nick.

Starting to look like we might have some players

Wall, Gil, Nick, Howard, Dray, McGee
Plus our bruisers in Booker, Seraphin and Armstrong once they all develop.

I liked this team coming into the season and I like it even more now with Gee added over Hudson.

[pancakes3]

Nick Young is impressing me in a way i never imagined. He's scrapping for loose balls, fighting for rebounds, and being discretionary with his shots. I think it's the shift into SF that's really helped with his change of heart. He realizes - "hey. i'm freakin BIG. i SHOULD be getting rebounds. Plus i'm fast and athletic enough to get the board, get it to wall, AND still run the break and get rewarded at the other end."

Plus his defense has been pretty darn good. There still are a few instances where he shades too closely from his man standing in the corner, but he's recovering much faster than before. And his man defense, as always, is solid. EVEN THROUGH SCREENS!

plus his consistency is getting better to the point that i'm allowing myself hope. in the last 5 games, 4 have been studly with only one being a dud. Our 2nd unit when Howard comes back is going to be pretty freakin good - Hinrich Young Thornton Booker Armstrong.

to build on: i wish nick would drive more. his shot is slick but his athleticism > his shot. his crossover is RIDICULOUSLY fast, but he uses it to get an open shot instead of getting to the basket. if he starts crossing his man up with intent to throw down a highlight dunk, look out world. he'd be an OJ-Mayo-esque talent.

[pineappleheadindc]

I can't believe - given what I've said about NIck the last few YEARS - that I'm here in praise of him.

But he's stepped it up. He's diving for loose balls, challenging jump shots, running back on D hard.

Good on you, Nick. I'm happy you hit the game winner last night.

[Kanyewest]

Remember when posters were saying that Dominic McGuire was a better pick for overall talent than Nick Young? Interestingly enough, McGuire probably does everything well that Nick Young doesn't excel at; (rebounding, passing the ball, blocking shots, knowing where to be defensively). But McGuire's skill set means nothing since he didn't have an offensive game and wasn't a shutdown defender by any stretch.

Yes, Young's rebounding and assist numbers leave a lot to be desired. But what he has done this season has eliminated his turnovers; averaging .3 turnovers per game which makes him a very efficient offensive player.

I would lean away from calling Young a one dimensional player given that he can score in a multitude of ways; I would call someone like Kyle Korver to fit that argument. And he's starting to put it together on the defensive end; maybe he's average but with legit size makes it harder for defenders to score over him.

It will be interesting to see if any teams would be willing to throw significant money at Young this offseason. Personally, I hope the Wizards can lock in Young for an affordable contract at $3-4 million a year; although if he keeps playing like this and Wizards win a significant number of games, he could make $5-6 million.

[REDardWIZskin]

I think Nick's best improvement has been picking his spots on the floor. I can tell that he's finally starting to learn how to get open with the use of those screens. The last few games he's been able to catch his defender overplaying and cut to the middle of the lane off of screens. He's also starting to make use of the pump fake and draw fouls, he's a good FT shooter we could use more attempts from him per game. Ive been saying that if used correctly he reminds me of JR smith, just a little taller. Took both player's a couple of yrs to "Get It"... this could be it for Nick. I want him to continue to come off the bench as well. He's the spark we need off the bench

[dlts20]

Gil & Dray

Dray has to start playing with more intensity & hustling more. I still cut him a break due to the injury because everyone is just going to be faster than you at the start but he can still hustle alot more then he does. I think he would really benefit from a Wall-Gil backcourt and us running more.

Gil has to do something about those layups. Again, for him to jump so high on defensive rebounds but be so timid at finishing has to be somewhat mental. Also, sometimes he's nearly wide open. You can be a 14yo who cant jump at all and make a wide open layup. He still is doing that stuff that he did last year in that he's trying to draw the foul 1st & make the layup 2nd. That worked in his prime but he's not athletic enough for that now. Just try to make the layup. I think he probably doesnt even practice it. Most pros dont practice that kinda stuff but he should start just running full speed from the FT line & raising up high for layups. Then get someone to slightly defend the rim while he does it. Thats the only way to simulate it. Regular layup drills or shooting jumpers isnt going to do it. He has to get that confidence back because its so deflating when he does that

[dobrojim]

yet another solid outing from the 'inconsistent' one

maybe the kid has grown up and no one noticed

[Illuminaire]

With his shooting and defensive abilities, he's going to be a 6th or 7th man in the league for a long time.

Heck, I like him as our starting SG if we had a stronger supporting cast at other positions.

[dobrojim]

I know the numbers Kev dug up say N1 is like Tucker but
I don't see it in terms of the style of play. I don't remember
TT being able to get his own shot anywhere near the way
N1 can. If our O is dragging, N1 can revive it all by his lonesome.
He is a tough cover to say the least.

Notch yet another game in the N1 can play streak.

[jimij]

As many other former Nick bashers, I too am here to repent. N1 is playing great and I'd much rather have him on the floor than Kirk at this point. It's hard to believe I'm saying this, but Young has easily been our most consistent player this year. Still boggles the mind that I'm saying that.

I definitely like him off the bench since he can absolutely carry the second unit but he also needs to be on the floor in crunch time.

He sort of reminds me of Dell Curry - all offense super sub who just seems to get lightning hot off the bench even if he doesn't do too much else to fill the box score.

[dlts20]

The Evolution Of Nick Young




18 or more points in 6 of the last 7 games, are you kidding me? Thats awesome to do off the bench. Even in the 2 games before that he played well with 9 & 11 points respectively on great shooting percentages. If we were good, he would look like a leading 6th man canidate right now.

He just looks totally different. He seems way more poised now. He gets hyped but never has that silly expression. His expression is now one of confidence and that no one can stop him. On D he isnt a dummy anymore. He's our best perimiter defender right now. He stay's glued to his man and hardly ever goes for pump fakes anymore.

His game is still fast but he's now under control at all times. Its like the game has slowed down for him. He use to look like a one trick pony chucker who was dumb. Now he's playing both ends, never looks lost on either side, and knows where he's going at all times. He's playing guys right now.

I remember seeing JJ Reddick kill NY in the past. I remember it clear as day. He was doing it the last few times weve played but he was also doing it before he even became a solid player. Even when JJ was a scrub, he was running NY off of screens, pump faking, and just torching him. On the other end NY would do all one on one moves, lose the ball, and just look stupid. Now he's playing JJ like a kid. This is the elite version of JJ and they look like they are 3 classes apart. Its like dinner when NY has the ball now. No one is stopping him. Even elite cats and he's owning guys like Reddick.

Watch his D though. He was all on Reddick & Pietrus while also playing great D against the Hawks & other teams. Even when guys score on him, its off of tough shots now. Thats really impressive. You can also tell that he has no fear of getting pulled right now. He's coming in and he's the go to guy when he's on the floor. He use to look like a poor man's JR Smith. Now I would take him over Smith any day of the week. He's looking like one of the best 6th men in the leauge.

Now the problem is will he continue to get minutes from Flip when we get healthy or will he be outed by guys like Hinrich. NY may not look the same if he starts coming into games way late or getting minimum scattered minutes here & there. He's earned his role and deserves to keep it until he plays like crap

[507Mack]

I'm ecstatic that Nick's been playing so well, since we've been waiting for this consistent scoring outburst for 4 years. However, there's one thing that I've noticed that somewhat bothers me. There have been several times this year where he has fouled someone intentionally where they took a hard fall afterwards or may have taken offense because it was a hard foul. Nick will then go out of his way to check if the guy is okay and things are cool between them. On one hand, it's great that Nick is a nice guy and isn't out there to hurt people, but something about it bothers me, like all the pleasantries prevent him from getting a psychological edge on the opponent. I dunno, maybe I'm just a dick.

[DCZards]

He's looking like one of the best 6th men in the leauge.

I found myself thinking the same thing last night after watching another great scoring performance by young Nick. Is it possible that Nick could be a contender for "6th Man of the Year" award if he keeps playing like this? That's a scary thought given how most of us had given up on Nick every being anything in the NBA.

There's never been any question about Nick's athleticism and his ability to use his quickness to get his shot off. What we're seeing now is the instinctive scorer that Nick displayed at USC. I'm thrilled, especially for him, that Nick seems to have gotten on a genuine roll, and has earned the confidence of the Zard coaches.

Nick, like most NBA players, will still have some off nights, but I think we're seeing a development and evolution that's' very, very real--and not short term. I love Nick as "instant offense" off the bench but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the starting lineup before long.

[Wizards2Lottery]

I wouldn't want him in the starting lineup if Gilbert plays as well as he did against Orlando. Having a guy like Nick come in when our scorers are on the bench is a huge luxury for this team.

I don't know if Gee will be here long term but I loved what he did last game. He seems like a guy who can work really well with the starting unit. Much better than Al Thornton.

[Illuminaire]

I had completely forgotten how athletic Alonzo was. The way he leaped for rebounds and steals was astounding, and a perfect fit for an up-tempo John Wall led team.

I'm imagining him, Booker and McGee in the fast break with Wall and it's just silly. =p

[Mr. Grundle]

Nick's found something with that little mid-range pull-up jumper off the dribble....mainly that it's unstoppable and he rarely misses it. Don't start him, he's the perfect spark off the bench right now...like our Ben Gordon except he can play D. I gotta admit I didn't think he'd figure it out, but I think he's carved out his niche.

[Jay81]

Nick's found something with that little mid-range pull-up jumper off the dribble....mainly that it's unstoppable and he rarely misses it. Don't start him, he's the perfect spark off the bench right now...like our Ben Gordon except he can play D. I gotta admit I didn't think he'd figure it out, but I think he's carved out his niche.

right now...there is no answer for nick young. our best shooter, dribbler,defender and shot creator. What is his contract right now?

[verbal8]

Nick's found something with that little mid-range pull-up jumper off the dribble....mainly that it's unstoppable and he rarely misses it. Don't start him, he's the perfect spark off the bench right now...like our Ben Gordon except he can play D. I gotta admit I didn't think he'd figure it out, but I think he's carved out his niche.

right now...there is no answer for nick young. our best shooter, dribbler,defender and shot creator. What is his contract right now?

He is on the last year of his rookie deal. He is making 2.6 million this season. His qualifying offer will be $3.7 million.

[Kanyewest]

I wonder where Young would be taken if there was a redo of the 2008 draft. Certainly guys like Marc Gasol, Brooks, and Landry come to mind as guys who have more value after they were taken. But then there are guys like Yi, Acie Law, Spencer Hawes, and Brandan Wright who have flopped in the NBA.