Thaddeus Young’s Detours on His Road to Recovery

Thaddeus Young injured his wrist over a month ago, and while he isn’t back to being the same player he was before, he is still making an impact.

Thaddeus Young sprained his wrist before the All-Star Break, depriving the Indiana Pacers of a very solid starting power forward. In his absence, the Pacers struggled to find a consistent rhythm with their starting five and it showed in the stats and in a six game losing streak.

The losing streak was broken in Young’s return after the All-Star break, but he has played differently since. Earlier this month, learned from Nate Taylor that coach Nate McMillan said Young’s wrist isn’t getting better anytime soon, either.

He is on the road to recovery, but his game is taking a few detours along the way.

Reduced individual production for Thaddeus Young

Young played in the first 49 games of the season — not missing a single one ‚— before spraining his wrist against the Brooklyn Nets in early January. In those games, he took 111 3-point attempts, knocking down 44 of them for a 39.6% clip from range.

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It took 10 games back in action before he felt comfortable taking another 3-pointer, and didn’t make one until his 12th game back when the Pacers loss to the Toronto Raptors. In total, he is only 1 of 3 from beyond the arc since his return.

There were times early on where it was obvious Young was playing with a decent amount of pain and needed to protect himself. It is less obvious now, but some of his shooting numbers still show his recovery isn’t complete.

There is enough evidence of this in his 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds a game since the All-Star break, both of which are down from his season averages of 10.8 and 5.6, respectively.

Despite that, he is still a net positive while playing at less than 100% healthy.

Thaddeus Young is the most underrated Indiana Pacers starter

As mentioned above, his wrist is keeping him from averaging the roughly one made 3-pointer on two attempts he had before his injury, but he is shooting better overall. His field goal percentage is a half-percent higher than his season average, as he’s shooting 52.7% from the floor since he came back.

Another thing that he is still doing well is passing the ball. He won’t be mistaken for a point guard, but he is smart about when to give the ball up to teammates for easy points.

But most importantly, he simply makes the Pacers better when he is on the floor.

Since his return, the Pacers starting five has been solid and one of the better groups in the NBA. Young offers a mix of offense and defense that his replacements lacked. Unlike Al Jefferson, he can get out and defend the arc, and unlike Rakeem Christmas and Lavoy Allen, he is a steady offensive threat that spreads the floor.

He takes pressure off Myles Turner in the frontcourt and provides another big body for pick and rolls for the backcourt. He isn’t doing everything he used to, but he still is an underrated part that makes the starting five cohesive as a group.

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Thaddeus Young may not be 100% healthy, but he is back on the court where the Indiana Pacers need him. His absence and Indiana’s struggles during that time are proof enough of the impact Young makes on this team.