It is no small bit of hyperbole to tout Sixers reserve forward Thaddeus Young for the NBAs All-Defensive Team, as coach Doug Collins did (see post) after Young supplemented his 12-point, eight-rebound effort by drawing four charges and blocking a shot in Mondays 96-86 victory over Indiana.
At the same time it shows how far Young has come on D. The memory remains of a playoff game against Orlando in the spring of 2009Game 4 of a first-round series, to be exact. The Magic had the ball out on the side with just a few seconds left. The game was tied at 81.
Young began the sequence on Rashard Lewis, while Andre Iguodala was on Hedo Turkoglu. But when the ball was inbounded to Turkoglu, Lewis screened for him. The Sixers switched, so that Young was guarding Turkoglu.
Everybody in the Magic camp later said that whomever Young was checking was going to take the last shot. Turkoglu did, burying a three-pointer from the right wing with 1.1 seconds left to give Orlando an 84-81 victory. Orlando went on to win the series in six games.
Something like that, Young said, definitely sticks in your head a little bit, and makes you want to work harder.
Im not a guy thats going to shy away from anything, he said. Im going to take on challenges, each and every day, to the best of my ability. With time you get better doing some things. This is one of the things I get better at, each and every day.
He has improved not only because of experience but also because he has put in the time, studying video and learning from assistant coach Michael Curry, the teams de facto defensive coordinator.
NBA
Back then, Young said, referring once more to the Orlando loss, the game was still moving a little bit too fast for me. Now everythings slowing down. I know what to expect and Im prepared for any situation. Back then everybody was like, Yeah, yeah, go at Thad, go at Thad. Now its like, Go away from him. Thats how it should be. Thats how I want it to be. And thats how its going to continue to be.
Gordie Jones is an award-winning journalist who has worked in the Philadelphia market for 29 years. He also co-authored a book about the 76ers' 1982-83 championship team with former Sixers general manager Pat Williams.