‘True pro’ Young helps Raptors endure injuries
Veteran carrying a bigger load
Pascal Siakam has now missed the past nine Toronto Raptors games and it will likely be a few more before he’s back.
Of those nine, Fred Vanvleet was out for three and also the three games before that, including the Dallas game where Siakam went down with that adductor strain.
Scottie Barnes went down with a knee sprain and sat out the loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday while Gary Trent Jr. sat out three before returning Wednesday.
The only Raptors starter — and no, this is not a jinx — to remain healthy is O.G. Anunoby.
Undeniably he has been carrying a load bigger than he ever has before.
But if Anunoby hasn’t been the best Raptor over this stretch the next best answer is 16-year vet Thaddeus Young, who earlier this season was having issues even getting minutes.
Young was a pivotal locker-room presence a year ago for the Raptors after coming over at the trade deadline from San Antonio. He established a presence to the point that management offered him a two-year extension at the age of 34, valued at US$16 million, although the second year is only partially guaranteed.
You can make the case that Young is the No. 1 or No. 2 reason the Raptors haven’t gone into free fall with all the injuries and illness they’ve been experiencing these past three weeks or so.
Young isn’t just that wise sage in the locker-room anymore or even that old head taking care of the reserves. He’s out there nightly holding down the fort for 30 or 35 minutes while continuing to provide a steadying influence when everything seems off the rails.
“He’s been good,” Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse said of Young. “I think that (he) just kind of continues to do the same thing, you know, eight or 10, 12 shots a night, shoots a pretty high percentage, gets a solid number of rebounds, is doing a good job leadership-wise too. He’s good in the huddles and he’s trying to keep those guys going. Things like that. So, he’s been a true pro.”
Like many in the locker-room, Nurse sounds like a man dealing with some illness and like many in that room is playing through it.
The hacking and coughing going on has even media personnel keeping their distance these days.
Young though has been a rock through it all. At 34 and in his 16th season, 30-minute -plus nights are not supposed to be the norm, but he’s started the past five games logging between 27 and 35 minutes a night.
As for the current predicament around the Raptors, Young again is the voice of reason, the calming influence.
“This is a very unfortunate time for us,” Young said. “The good thing is we can continue to try to get better and get the young guys better and we still can put ourselves in position to win basketball games.
“It’s not the end of the world, like we’re still in the early part of the season and we still have a chance to do really well,” he said. “The good thing for us is these injuries are happening right now. When these guys come back, we’re going to have guys who hadn’t played that have played now, they’re groomed. They understand how to play an NBA basketball game, they understand how to come in and contribute the way we need them to contribute, and it’ll be easier for them stepping in to fulfil the role.”
Spoken like a true pro.