3 ways Raptors can still win without Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet
By Mike Luciano
2. Reintegrate Thad Young
The Raptors made a significant commitment to Young in the offseason, signing him to a multi-year contract after a very impressive stint with the team last year. Rather than sustain that momentum, Young has found himself on the outside looking in with regards to the rotation.
Young’s minutes per game have fallen to just 7.3 per contest, with his 2.3 points per game totally unbecoming of a player with such a high pedigree in the league. This needs to be corrected at some point, and the absence of Siakam might prompt Nurse to turn back to old reliable.
Thad Young will need to step up for the Toronto Raptors.
Young’s best assets at this point in his career are his versatility on defense, solid passing, and finishing at the rim. All three of those traits are hallmarks of Siakam’s style of play, so the Raptors might be able to piece together a convincing facsimile if Nurse kicks Young into overdrive.
Without Siakam, and potentially VanVleet, on the floor, a young team is going to be lacking leadership. This is the perfect opportunity for Young to get back on the floor and show Nurse that the current alignment needs to be reworked in order to give No. 21 some juice and tamp down rumors of him being trade bait.