Brown makes case for Young as an all-star
One of the biggest questions surrounding the 76ers these days pertains to power forward Thaddeus Young. Should coaches consider him for one of the remaining spots for the NBA All-Star Game?
One of the biggest questions surrounding the 76ers these days pertains to power forward Thaddeus Young.
Should coaches consider him for one of the remaining spots for the NBA All-Star Game?
"I think that you'd have to," coach Brett Brown said.
Brown pointed to Young's performance against New York Knicks all-star Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday. He mentioned the 6-foot-8, 230-pounder's three-point range.
"And what about what he did on that West Coast road trip?" Brown said of the stretch when his team won four straight. "And how he's strung some really good stretches together and he's carrying, along with Evan [Turner] and Spencer [Hawes], the youngest team in the history of the NBA, they tell me.
"Really. So, I say, how can you not" select Young?
Young is averaging career highs in scoring (17.2 points), steals (2.1) and assists (1.8) in addition to 6.5 rebounds this season.
He had a career-high eight steals in Saturday's 103-91 setback to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Wells Fargo Center. Young also recorded his eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
He scored 17 or more points over an eight-game stretch from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6. Young even made 10 consecutive three-point shots over a 21/2-game stretch against the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns.
So surely he's politicking to get on the Eastern Conference all-star team, right?
"If I'm an all-star, then great," Young said. "If I'm not, then, hey, it's not the end of the world.
"I'm not basing my whole career on that. People can have very successful careers without being an all-star.
"I don't worry about that type of stuff," he said.
The game will be played Feb. 16 in New Orleans.
The complete all-star game rosters will be announced Thursday. Anthony, Paul George (Indiana), LeBron James (Miami), Dwyane Wade (Miami) and Kyrie Irving (Cleveland) were named Eastern Conference starters last week.
The Western Conference starters are Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Stephen Curry (Golden State), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers) and Kevin Love (Minnesota).
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