It isn’t surprising, but the Indiana Pacers defense hasn’t played as well since Thaddeus Young’s injury against the Brooklyn Nets.
Things haven’t been going the Indiana Pacers way since Thaddeus Young went down with an ankle injury against his old team, the Brooklyn Nets. They’ve dropped four games in frustrating fashion.
It doesn’t help that the schedule got much tougher, but since Young sprained his wrist, Indiana is 2-4. You knew Indiana losing their starting power forward would make things difficult, but the effect it had on Indiana’s defense is more pronounced that expected.
Since taking Monta Ellis out of the starting rotation up until Young’s injury, Indiana’s defense was the NBA’s fifth best. But after Thad’s injury, they’ve dropped 25th in defensive rating. Indiana’s offense it about the same, but the defense is more than seven points worse per 100 possessions.
- December 12th to February 6th: 107.1 ORtg, 104.8 DRtg, +2.3 Net Rating
- Last 6 games: 108.8 ORtg,112.0 DRtg, -3.2 Net Rating
It hasn’t been easy for the Pacers to make up for his absence.
Putting Other Pacers Into a Thaddeus Young Shaped Hole
Other than the simple reason of taking a starter out of the lineup usually hurts a team, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that Thaddeus’ replacements lack either the athleticism or just the ability of cover the floor in the same way.
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Even though Thaddeus Young isn’t the strongest rebounder, Indiana’s rebounding percentage dropped almost 3% as well. While Lavoy Allen is a great rebounder, he doesn’t matchup as well on defenders and allows better a higher shooting percentage. Thaddeus is a better defender on stretch fours compared to his replacements. The same issues apply to Kevin Seraphin, but Seraphin brings more offense to the floor than Allen. Both have done will in Young’s absence, but not enough to fully cover for it.
Put those weaknesses together with a tougher slate of teams, and you’ve got trouble for the Pacers on both ends of the floor.
Thaddeus Young’s greatest value comes from fitting in — as in not needing to be catered to — with the rest of the starters. Young defends well on his own and within the team’s defense. He is the low-man on the hierarchy of the starters, but that’s by design as well. He can be counted on for a 3-pointer once a game and rounds out the starting lineup very well.
The Pacers winning streak was going to come to an end before the All-Star break thanks to the tough schedule, but the current losing streak could extend past that if Indiana can’t pick up a win tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers or on Thursday against the Washington Wizards.
Next: Paul George Isn’t Happy With the Pacers Right Now
With Young expected to be out until after All-Star Weekend, the Pacers must find a way to play better defense without him.