Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni admits he still isn't quite sure of what to make of newcomer Nick Young. He just knows the more he sees the more he seems to like.
InsideSoCal.com is reporting that in a span of two months D'Antoni has gone from branding the emotional forward as simply a streaky shooter and inconsistent defender to a viable candidate for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award.
"He should. If we can get our record good," D'Antoni told the website. "That's going to be the product of the team. He's playing well enough. But if we surprise people, get in the playoffs and do really well, yeah, he'll have a really good chance at it."
Almost from the day Young arrived in L.A., D'Antoni knew the 28-year-old, California-native had talent, inserting him in the starting lineup as the team's starting small forward. After being moved to the bench, Young jokingly began to tout himself as a sixth man of the year candidate and now his play is potentially meriting such distinction.
Through 11 games as a reserve, the seven-year veteran is averaging 16.5 points on 47.4 percent shooting in just 27.1 minutes. Young has also overseen a second unit that ranks first in the NBA in scoring (47 points per game), while vastly improving his individual defense.
"I'm loving it with his concentration and ability not to take a play off," D'Antoni told InsideSoCal. "We have a few guys who have home run trots and were not engaged. But for the most part, most guys have gotten that out of their game. They're engaged. A lot of that is due to the chemistry of the team and how they feel about themselves. We can keep getting better. He's playing both ends of the floor. He's playing phenomenally."
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