The Lakers benched Nick Young a month ago because he simply wasn’t getting it done as a starter.
Fast forward a month, and Young has confidently adjusted to his role as sixth man, and added some confidence to the Lakers as a team as well.
Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni believes Youngs play off the bench could warrant Sixth Man of the Year considerations if the team continues to be successful according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
“He should. If we can get our record [good],” D’Antoni said. “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.” …
“I’m loving it with his concentration and ability not to take a play off,” D’Antoni said. “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.”
Young is averaging 14 points a game, while shooting 43.6 percent in 25.2 minutes per game so far this season.