Joe Young entered his third season with the Indiana Pacers with little in the way of expectations. After not showing much his first two years, Young is showing signs of life — and of an NBA player.
As many of us had guessed and or hoped, the Indiana Pacers are giving Joe Young his shot this year. After playing in just 74 games combined his first two years in the league, Young has played in 40 of the Pacers 57 games so far this season.
Many of them have been spot duty — he’s played 10 or more minutes only 18 times. However, Joey Buckets is making the most of his opportunities this year.
In those 18 games, Young has averaged just under 17 minutes per game. His per game averages have been modest: 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 turnovers. While those would represent a big step in his career, they’re certainly not going to blow your mind. That part is still coming.
It bears reminding, the only criteria here is games where Young has played 10 minutes or more. In those games, Joseph Michael Young is a proud member of the hallowed 50-40-90 club.
When he’s played 10 or more minutes this season, Young’s shooting is wild. He’s 50.5% from the field (91 attempts), 41.7% from deep (36 attempts), and 91.6% from the stripe (on only 12 attempts). The free throws are a small sample size, but the shooting overall and from deep represent a decent chunk.
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For reference, he totaled only 72 field goal attempts, 23 treys, and 15 free throws last year. He’s easily surpassed 2 of those in these 18 games, and will soon approach his total numbers from the 15-16 season as well.
After putting up identical shooting splits from 3 and eFG his first two years (and nearly identical overall shooting), Buckets is looking up across the board. He’s shooting 47% from the field (+11% from his career high), 36% from deep (+15%), and his eFG is 54% (+14%).
The overall totals are certainly small enough that this could be a red herring; a hot streak that no one saw coming, but that will fade out when Young’s minutes get squeezed by the return of Darren Collison and Glenn Robinson III.
However, he’s earned a chance to battle for minutes. He’s looked good playing off the ball, both with another point guard and with Victor Oladipo. His versatility there will play in his favor.
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All Joe Young has ever asked for was a chance. From famously sleeping on the practice floor to putting up 100s of shots in solitude, he’s shown he doesn’t lack the work ethic. Work hard, and opportunities will follow. Young has his now. He just has to continue to deliver.