James Young - better defender than I thought

[SHAQATTACK]

He is a couple years behind some of the other young potential elites .  Injuries have slowed his development. More than anything .

I still say Smart s ankle was worse than a break , and is still not 100 percent.

Want him to become more than a Nick Young chucker , or Marshon Brooks

He is in a better system , with guys like Crowder, Bass , and Smart to learn about team play , team first.

Smart's ankle was worse than a break? He's played all but 13 games so far--that's about three weeks missed.

It's common knowledge , many sprains are actually worse than a fracture .  I had one that took well over a year to fully strengthen .

Smart has done well to play on that ankle .  I not complaining at all.....I'm saying he was amazing how fast he recovered .  But it still maybe not quite right is all.   Guessing from his game before and after around the rim.

[Asher77]

Young is not forcing shots and I kinda wish he would. I watched his D league games and he would shoot contested shots and make them.

I think Young is doing the right thing in learning the offense by being patient and seeing where the easy shots are.

His defense is fine. I think we are over analyzing this. He gets beat one on one sometimes but all players do, 19 year old rookies more than most.

[Tr1boy]

Young already rebounds better than Green. lol

I think we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. His game is going to expand.

Definitely better rebounder.
Green shys away from the physical stuff

[LooseCannon]

Young is not forcing shots and I kinda wish he would. I watched his D league games and he would shoot contested shots and make them.

I don't want to see that at all.

[Evantime34]

He has shown glimpses of eventually being a decent defender, but I think he has been bad on defense so far this year.

He needs to be more aggressive on offense, if he isn't scoring much he isn't providing that much value to the team because of his average at best defense.

That isn't to say that Young should just start jacking up shots, but he shouldn't be standing in the corner waiting for his man to help so he can get open. With a second unit that has struggled to score recently he needs to get the ball on  a higher percentage of offensive possessions.

[clover]

He is a couple years behind some of the other young potential elites .  Injuries have slowed his development. More than anything .

I still say Smart s ankle was worse than a break , and is still not 100 percent.

Want him to become more than a Nick Young chucker , or Marshon Brooks

He is in a better system , with guys like Crowder, Bass , and Smart to learn about team play , team first.

Smart's ankle was worse than a break? He's played all but 13 games so far--that's about three weeks missed.

It's common knowledge , many sprains are actually worse than a fracture .  I had one that took well over a year to fully strengthen .

Smart has done well to play on that ankle .  I not complaining at all.....I'm saying he was amazing how fast he recovered .  But it still maybe not quite right is all.   Guessing from his game before and after around the rim.

I think his game around the rim has been missing since the start of training camp.

I've had some mild and nasty ankle sprains too, including one when the orthopedist sent me in for a second set of x-rays after the first ones came up empty because the whole thing was so purple and swollen.

And yeah, it can take a long time for an ankle to be fully right. But NBA players play with aches and pains all the time, and Smart lost his game going to the basket at the transition to facing bigger, faster players--not after his sprain.

[Asher77]

Young is not forcing shots and I kinda wish he would. I watched his D league games and he would shoot contested shots and make them.

I don't want to see that at all.

The best players take contested shots. One of the most popular plays in past history is isolation. Give me the ball, clear the side and let me go to work.

You run plays and move the ball to get open looks but sometimes the defense wins and things break down. That's when someone needs to force things. At this time you need a player like PP who can create his own shot with a percentage that maintains respectability.

I did not state that Young should be this guy at the age of 19 but I do feel he has potential greater than any other offensive weapon on the C's currently. I have seen in D league games ( and NBA ) he can finish contested shots so I just want him to maintain some aggression at this level.

I don't think I have ever compared a rookie player to a HOF ( well I do remember saying Smart reminded me of Derek Harper/ Rod Strikland hybrid ) but I will say this crazy thing...

Young has comparisons to Kobe in my mind. They both came in young to the NBA and Kobe took a couple years to develop. Where Young falls short so far is the mindset Kobe had to attack. He may have it in him but that will be the difference. ( many players have potential and almost all fail )

This is why he needs to shoot some contested shots. He needs to develop a mindset that he can not be stopped. PP did as a rookie and he turned out alright.

[D.o.s.]

I didn't realize Byron Scott posted on Celtics Blog.

[hwangjini_1]

He is a couple years behind some of the other young potential elites .

He's not a "potential elite". He's a potential NBA player.

lol man you know everything.

What lotto numbers should I get next time?

You should probably not be playing the lotto, unless you like throwing money down the drain. But I thought everyone knew that.

but koz, don't you know that the essence of most people's lives, indeed, the essential element of many lives is hope? delusional as they often are, such fantasies of luck help folks keep their sanity and continue to live out each day.

the draft lottery hopes here are one fine example.

Poor people. They should read Schopenhauer.

criminey! life is already depressing enough without going down that road. 

[Celtics4ever]

He has shown glimpses of eventually being a decent defender, but I think he has been bad on defense so far this year.

I call rookie and he has improved some, he just has a ways to go on D and some ways to go on O.

[Asher77]

I didn't realize Byron Scott posted on Celtics Blog.

Was this in reference to my comments? If so then just wow, one of the worst things I remember someone saying about me.

[LooseCannon]

The best players take contested shots. One of the most popular plays in past history is isolation. Give me the ball, clear the side and let me go to work.

Isolation is the most inefficient play.  The people who love isolations are Charles Barkley-level troglodytes who dismiss analytics.

[Asher77]

I mostly agree but that's not a full picture of reality. ( not many seemed to mind Larry Bird posting up for a 15 foot fall away )

Ball movement is often done for an isolation play, you try to move the defense into a mismatch situation that your player can exploit individually. This may then pull a double team where you hope your player can pass out of and into a better ( less contested shot ).

Why would a team bring a double team if the isolation was the worst shot?

Each players strengths, defensive match up, and court position dictate the potential degree of success in these instances.

You can run screens and picks, move the ball in out and around ect.. but often in games where we have a 24 second clock a play will break down and we are forced to take a shot. These are all isolation plays to a degree.

Didn't we just get IT in a trade because he was a guy who could create his own shot. What happened last night in the 4th quarter ?

He drained a 3 ball on an individual take and then soon after he took it to the rim and scored.

That's a player who has an attack mindset, can score in isolation, and can do so at a percentage that is respectable.

IT is 5'9, Jame Young is 6'7. Go watch some tape of James taking the ball to the rim. The dunk against U Conn in the tourney is a popular one. James has the capability not many players have.

[Evantime34]

The best players take contested shots. One of the most popular plays in past history is isolation. Give me the ball, clear the side and let me go to work.

Isolation is the most inefficient play.  The people who love isolations are Charles Barkley-level troglodytes who dismiss analytics.

There is a middle ground between taking more shots and giving him the ball to let him ISO. Too often Young sits in the corner waiting to be made open when his man helps.

He absolutely needs to shoot more and be more aggressive. The answer is not for him to be set up for an ISO but for him to move around the perimeter and run off screens more, whether the lack of him doing this is him or the coaching staff wanting him to draw a defender it needs to be remedied for him to grow the way he needs to.

I suspect you will see him be more agressive as the season goes on and even get more plays run for him.

[Asher77]

My use of the term isolation plays is not just in reference to Doc calling a timeout to draw up an awesome play where PP will get the ball above the 3 point line, dribble down the clock and then hope to do something magical all by himself.

I am referencing all plays where a player will receive the ball before they have gained separation from a defender and they will create space to shoot with there own individual ability. All players attempt this but most succeed at a pace below optimal.

Back door cuts, fast breaks, swinging the ball for an open 3, drive and dish ect.. are all optimal plays where the player has gained separation to shoot before receiving the ball.

Young has a 7'0 wing span, same size as Lebron and larger than Kobe. He knows how to separate on a drive and has a soft finish. He has a quick shot and can go over guys from 3 or on mid range pull ups.

The game of basketball has a ton of guys with ability and whats separates them is all mental. I just want to see James be a bit more attack minded for his own development.