Panic or Patience on 4 early season Toronto Raptors trends
By Mike Luciano
3. Thad Young’s lack of use
The way the Raptors have used Young has been very confusing. After effectively removing him from the rotation following a sluggish start, Young had a tremendous game in a win against the Bulls. In the second half of their back-to-back, Young was barely given the time of day.
Young recorded eight rebounds (four offensive) in just a handful of minutes while clocking in at an astounding +25 in the Chicago win. He didn’t shoot the ball at all in 10 minutes during the loss, and that loss was the 10th time in 11 games this year in which he either didn’t play or played fewer than 11 minutes. What is going on?
The Toronto Raptors must figure out the Thad Young issue.
Young is likely going to will his way back into the rotation. With Christian Koloko still a limited player at this juncture and the need to move the ball on offense always at a premium, Toronto will find some way to get Young on the court. We’ve already seen that he can defend and distribute at a high level.
Using players like Juancho Hernangomez against Chicago shows how desperate Nick Nurse was to find some consistency on the bench. After trying out a few different options, Nurse will likely realize the error of his ways and go back to that.
Verdict: Patience