Bean Burrito / Nick Young Appreciation Thread.

[verbal8]

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.

He was drafted in 2007. I think Nick Young would slip one spot. I agree with those who would move behind him. I would add Splitter to the list of guys in front of him(I agree with all of them). I also would but Rudy Fendandez, Big Baby, Sessions and possibly Belinelli as pretty much dead even in terms of value.

[nate33]

BulletsForever has a good analysis of Nick's play so far. The conclusion seems plausible, but not so encouraging: Young is playing more efficiently mostly because he is taking and making more 16-23 foot jumpers.

He hasn't really done much different with his shot selection. He's not going to the hole more. He's not drawing more fouls. The only positive thing he is doing with his shot selection is that he is shooting slightly more threes. But frankly, the main change in his shot selection is a poor one: he is shooting many more shots from 16-23 feet - the worst shot in the NBA. One wonders if he can keep up this efficiency for the entire season based on his shot selection.

One other positive note is that his turnover rate is absurdly low - just 4%, which would rank him 2nd in the league if he had enough possessions.

[REDardWIZskin]

I don't buy the argument that the 16-23 ft shot is the worst in NBA at all if that's where a player is comfortable shooting. He seems to be showing me variety off the screens from what I've seen. His confidence is noticeably getting better as well. I hope he can keep it up. Lets go Young Nick!

[Ruzious]

I don't buy the argument that the 16-23 ft shot is the worst in NBA at all if that's where a player is comfortable shooting. He seems to be showing me variety off the screens from what I've seen. His confidence is noticeably getting better as well. I hope he can keep it up. Lets go Young Nick!

Jeff Malone would agree with that - the consumate 20-22 foot jump shooter who would not shoot 3's. But Young has shown he has 3 point range, and I'd love to see him take more in catch and shoot situations. I've busted on NY a lot, but there's no doubt he's picked up his game recently - taking his shots more in the flow of the offense and occasionally even making good passes. In the last 8 games, he's averaged 17 points in roughly 29 minutes shooting 48.6% from the field. Optimistically, he can be a 6th man in the Jamal Crawford mold if he keeps developing his game.

Nick likes to take his man off the dribble for the mid-range J, but he's shown he can catch and shoot the 3 effectively. I'd like to see him do the catch and shoot a little more and the dribbling a bit less.

[pancakes3]

hahaha, JUST the opposite for me. i like that he's shooting, but would rather see him take it to the rim more. he's also doing a fair bit of catch-and-shoot right now. plus, correct me if i'm wrong, but it seems like the only time he really dribbles is when gil isn't in the game, and he's really the only offensive playmaker.

[dandridge 10]

I like how Nick has played recently, but we've seen this before. I recall last year he went through a stretch of 4-5 games when he was lighting it up, only to go through an extended slump. Let's see if he can keep it up before we get too excited. At least the good news is that he continues to improve on the defensive end.

[Kanyewest]

What we haven't seen before is the absurdly low turnover rate throughout the season. I guess I'll take Young taking a bad shot than him creating off the dribblle (see Kirk Hinrich).

[go'stags]

BulletsForever has a good analysis of Nick's play so far. The conclusion seems plausible, but not so encouraging: Young is playing more efficiently mostly because he is taking and making more 16-23 foot jumpers.

He hasn't really done much different with his shot selection. He's not going to the hole more. He's not drawing more fouls. The only positive thing he is doing with his shot selection is that he is shooting slightly more threes. But frankly, the main change in his shot selection is a poor one: he is shooting many more shots from 16-23 feet - the worst shot in the NBA. One wonders if he can keep up this efficiency for the entire season based on his shot selection.

One other positive note is that his turnover rate is absurdly low - just 4%, which would rank him 2nd in the league if he had enough possessions.

I think this is case where stats don't tell the whole story. Yes, he still shoots his shots from the same places, but what is different is how he is getting these shots. they are in the flow of the offense, off of screens, and in a comfortable, controlled, manner. Hence the low turnovers. Before, including the hot streaks that Dandridge alluded to, he was dribbling all over the place to shoot an 18 footer. N1-on-5 was an apt nickname. Not so much anymore. We shall see if he can continue to hit these shots like he has. The more he scores and succeeds the more calls he will get as he goes to the hole.

Another thing is that his defense has been superb. So even if his shooting falters for a bit, his energy and effectiveness on defense will help him contribute.

[nate33]

I hope you are right go'stags. I hope nobody thinks I'm bashing Nick Young here. I've been one of his biggest supporters. I just think the numbers are cause for concern. It's statistically pretty rare for a player to radically increase his shooting percentage in one offseason. There is a real good chance that this is a hot streak rather than a sustainable change in his scoring efficiency.

I agree with you that he is scoring more within the offensive flow, which can only be a good thing.

[phil21]

I agree with you that he is scoring more within the offensive flow, which can only be a good thing.

+1

He looks much more involved than in the past. Partially because we make more of a constant effort to curl him off screens - so he doesn't have to worry about anything else besides actually shooting. I hope he can maintain his stroke. Still the next step for Nick should be getting more often to the rim (given his athleticism) and at least sometimes making the proper pass to the open guy (which he NEVER does). Nevertheless I am really encouraged by his play over the last weeks.

btw: Is it just me or is Gilbert constantly calling plays for Nick as soon as they share the court. Gil's really lookin for his buddy.

[hands11]

So what happened to Nick tonight ?

I must have missed the play were he went down Heard Phil say something about it and then didnt see him in the game forever but then he was in later.

The last two games, Nick is falling off again.

[go'stags]

I thought he played well against Miami.

[hands11]

Wow, we just can't seem to get everyone on the court at once.

POR game nick doesn't play because of a thigh bruise.

So Nick only played 12 minutes against the RAPs and then missed the Portland game.

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

[MF23]

Nick is playing the best basketball of his career. He's giving real effort on the boards, defense and offense. I've never seen him do that before. I hope he keeps his focus because this is the type of effort that will earn him a contract.

[MF23]

Scalabrine is the best player from college period.

[Halcyon]

At this rate, he's going to be in contention for the 6th man of the year award. Who else would be up there with him in the league?

[ErikChowbay023]

Crawford , Odom, Terry, J.R Smith.

[Halcyon]

Odom won't qualify as a 6th man, pretty sure. I don't see how they bench him in favor of Bynum at this point, with the way Odom is playing and Bynum's health.

JR Smith is playing really inefficiently, as is Crawford. But I guess Terry would win this one if he keeps playing like he is. Still...mighty far from where I thought Young would be this year.

Edit: I don't know if he'll get enough minutes once J-Ho comes back...hopefully he does, rotating in at both the 2 and the 3.

[ErikChowbay023]

Nick is funy as hell ---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5qaNOz_VsA