Guard makes his way into starting lineup
It’s not that being back in the starting lineup is entirely new for Nick Young. He made 23 starts last season, the bulk of which came after the Wizards had been dismantled at the trade deadline. He also started a handful of times during his second year in the NBA along with two more in spot duty as a rookie out of USC.
But with John Wall injured and Gilbert Arenas gone, in the last two games — Young’s first starts of the season — he’s found himself in a place where he hasn’t been since he was a member of the Trojans — in the honored spot of being the final player announced during Verizon Center pregame introductions.
| Up Next |
| Bulls at Wizards |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| TV/Radio » Comcast SportsNet/106.7 FM |
Young hasn’t used the position to unveil a signature dance, a la Wall’s version of the Dougie. Instead, he’s seamlessly transitioned from offering a scoring spark off the bench to becoming one of the Wizards’ go-to offensive options from the opening tip.
“It felt good because you always want that, but there’s pressure,” Young said. “Sometimes I don’t know what to do. Do I come out early, or do I wait ’til my name be called? From watching Gil and them, you just gotta take it and be professional, try to be as professional as I can.”
Wizards coach Flip Saunders may not say it directly, but that’s part of what he’s been working on instilling in Young since taking over the team 18 months ago. During the summer before last season, Saunders’ workout sessions with Young were about more than simply being able to knock down shots curling off a screen.
“I think he was hard on me,” said Young, who uses his 6-foot-6 frame and natural fadeaway motion to create offensive mismatches. “I think he was tough love, trying to make me get more hungry, more focused. He has his ways of dealing with certain players.”
With a renewed focus has come better and quicker decision-making for Young — which complements his scorer’s mentality. He’s led the Wizards (7-19) in scoring in each of the past two games and is averaging 20.5 points over the last eight contests, only some of which have come from off-balance leaners.
“Now what’s he doing is he’s taking open shots and making open shots,” Saunders said. “He’s a bad shot maker. He can make bad shots, contested shots. But we’re trying to get him in a situation where he can just make open shots and just move without the ball.”
