Joe Young finally put together some good runs of play in 2017-18. Let’s look back on his season and what it could mean for his future.
Joe Young was a member of the Indiana Pacers his first two NBA seasons, but beyond coming in during garbage time he wasn’t used much. He played a total of 519 minutes across his rookie and sophomore seasons and never really got much of a chance to show what he could do.
This past season, Young finally got a chance to show what he can do, acquiring playing time to the tune of 558 minutes, more than his first two seasons combined. He also started his first ever NBA game back in January when the Pacers smacked the Suns at home.
But Young only played in just under two-thirds of all the Pacers games. He is extremely limited defensively and it was hard for him to carve out a role in a crowded backcourt. His flashes of success running the offense made it a bummer that he didn’t see more playing time, but with the Pacers rolling and every game being important, it was hard to find extra development time for Young outside of garbage time.
So what is next for the youngster? He turns 26 soon and his future is potentially up in the air. Let’s look back at Young’s season and figure out what it could mean going forward.
The Good
Joe Young did, finally, show quite a bit of good this season. Most of these promising signs came on offense.
For example, it was always clear that Joe Young would be a guy who could create off the dribble early in his career, but the three ball wasn’t falling for him. In his first two seasons, Young shot a paltry 21.7 percent from the outside. But this past season, Young found his groove from past the arc, nailing 37.9 percent of his three-point attempts.
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This spike in shooting helped Joe Young be useful tremendously. In an era where efficiency has become an obsession (perhaps too much), Young raised his true shooting percentage from 42.9 percent across his first two seasons to a solid 52.1 percent this past year. That figure is still a hair below league average, but 42.9 percent would have put Young as the 483rd most efficient player in the league. Improving from that point to about average is a huge jump.
Young also showed that even with more minutes and opportunities that he can still take care of the ball. He had a turnover percentage of 11.6 percent, a solid number for a third-year point guard. Even though Young was never really the primary ball handler, his low turnover figure is encouraging and shows he made a fair number of positive plays with the ball in his hand.
Along with recording his first career start, Young also recorded his first career block. He got his hand on a Bobby Portis layup and got the ball back into the Pacers hands. Given that Young is 6’2 and just 180 lbs, getting a block at all is very impressive. He might never get another one in his career, but he can finally say he got one.
The Bad
The most obvious bad for Joe Young is one entire end of the floor: defense. His 107.4 defensive rating was not good, and even though that is a team stat, Young is the point guard a the helm of all that.
He has trouble shutting down the man across from him. In isolations, he was abysmal. TJ Leaf gave up 1.31 points per possession in isolation, which put him in the 5.5 percentile league-wide. Young didn’t defend enough isos to qualify for the league rankings, but he gave up 1.38 PPP in isolation, .7 points worse than the 5.5 percentile.
That is bad. That is REALLY bad.
Young’s biggest weakness ever since becoming a pro has been his D, and it has hardly gotten better in his time in the league. His team defense isn’t good. His on ball D isn’t any better. This is problematic, and there aren’t many signs that suggest it will get better any time soon.
Also, remember how Young had a pretty nice three-point percentage but a below average true shooting percentage? Well, that is because of another one of Young’s huge weaknesses: finishing at the rim.
Young shot 54.8 percent from 0-3 feet this season, which is somehow above his career average. Simply put: Young has no touch around the basket.
One could quickly dismiss this stat as a consequence of Joe Young’s small size; he is just 6’2 after all. But that excuse won’t fly in Pacers land. Darren Collison, who is two inches shorter, shot 10 percent better from this distance. Young just doesn’t have the finishing ability.
If he can shore up his finishing, his offense will be nearly as good as his defense is bad. Until then, Young will struggle to get consistent playing time.
A gif for Joe Young
Joe Young made some improvements this season but still had a -5.5 net rating.
He is so much closer to being an effective player in this league. He isn’t quite there yet, but Young is almost there.
What’s next for Joe Young?
Joe Young has a team option for next season, meaning the front office gets the final say on whether or not Young is a member of the team next season. That decision is due by July 1st.
That date is important. It is right at the start of free agency. Kevin Pritchard and co. have to decide: is it worth keeping Joe Young for $1.6 million? Or would the team rather have that much more cap room in free agency?
That is a tough decision. Young and the depth he offers is worth close to that much. But the Pacers could look to replace Young with another cheap player if they want to go another direction. Young is going to turn 26 soon, so the days of him being considered a youthful player are over. How much more can he really improve?
Next: 2017-18 Pacers Player Reviews: T.J. Leaf
Who really knows the answer to that question. It’s going to be impossible to say. Young finally showed signs this season that he can be a serviceable player at times. But can he get better and be a positive rotation player? Time will tell. Unfortunately, it isn’t clear if Young will have any more time.