THE FLATS – In season 17, Thaddeus Young keeps finding ways to help Raptors … Jose Alvarado still making impact despite diminished role … Josh Okogie demonstrates value in niche stat … Moses Wright becomes key piece for Olympiacos … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
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YOUNG FOREVER FINDS WAYS TO HELP RAPTORS
There were times this season — there were times last season — when Thaddeus Young looked like he was done playing productive basketball at this level.
There is little shame in that. Young is 35, and in his 17th season in the league. He has outlasted all but four of his draft classmates, and those guys were picked second, third, fourth and fifth overall. When he came in for the Toronto Raptors over the last two years, though, he was a step slow in his defensive rotations, turning potential charges into blocking fouls. His jumper, which rarely stretched out to the 3-point line, had all but abandoned him. He was excised from the rotation permanently last year. Frankly, if not for his $8 million salary being potentially useful in trades, he might have been waived before free agency last summer, when he only would have been guaranteed $1 million.
Circumstances are what they are, and Young is still around. And all that makes his latest run sweeter. The Raptors have no depth up front, and starting centre Jakob Poeltl has been out of the lineup for 11 games with a sprained ankle. Young’s latest game, a 16-point, six-rebound, six-assist effort against the Chicago Bulls in which he spent most of his 32 minutes battling either Nikola Vučević or Andre Drummond, both legitimate centres with ample strength, was a masterclass in positioning on both ends of the floor. Young was giving up 35 and 54 pounds to the Bulls big men, respectively. He showed off his experience, able to float into a passing lane at just the right moment. The Raptors, missing three starters, won.
YEAHHH @yungsmoove21 💪 pic.twitter.com/bRXgXjKMzc
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 27, 2024
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ALVARADO STILL MAKING HUGE IMPACTS
New Orleans guard Jose Alvarado is a sparkplug off the Pelicans bench. How the Pels have used that energy has varied greatly recently. Alvarado has been in and out of the rotation lately but has remained ready to play when his number is called. Take the Pelicans’ victory against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday for example. Alvarado did not play the entire first half and the first few minutes of the second half.
Coach Willie Green inserted Jose into the lineup about midway through the third quarter, with the Pels down by double-digits. Alvarado’s impact was so immediate that he played every second for the remainder of the game. Jose finished with eight points, three assists, two steals, and two rebounds. Coach Green praised Alvarado for his stay-ready approach to games.
“He (Alvarado) was extremely impactful. A ton of credit goes to Jose and Coach Brandon Demas,” Green told reporters after the Spurs victory. “They continue to work, whether he’s playing five minutes, ten minutes, 20 minutes. It’s evident in his play. He came out tonight, put him in for the second half, and he really turned things around. We’re grateful.”
Alvarado’s minutes over the last few weeks have tapered off with the emergence of rookie Jordan Hawkins and various lineup tweaks the Pelicans have implemented. Over the last 12 games, Jose has been a healthy scratch three times from the lineup. In three other games, he played less than 15 minutes combined. Still, Alvarado is finding ways to impact the game when he’s on the floor.
Jose Alvarado went ‘Grand Theft Alvarado’ on the Toronto Raptors while up 41 😂😳 pic.twitter.com/JqSdTmsArB
— NBA Buzz (@OfficialNBABuzz) February 6, 2024
Jose Alvarado trying to do the GTA to Pop, hiding behind Wembanyama as they call a play.
— Scott Kushner (@ScottDKushner) February 3, 2024
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NICHE STAT DEMONSTRATES OKOGIE’S VALUE TO SUNS
That doesn’t mean we can’t stop and marvel at an unexpected statistical area where two Suns sit atop the standings, and how it has positively impacted this team.
Those two players would be Josh Okogie and Jordan Goodwin, who on the surface don’t really have a lot in common. Okogie at this stage is one of the longest-tenured Suns players, and his job is to defend at a high level and knock down a 3-pointer every so often. This team’s version of Torrey Craig or Jae Crowder before him.
Goodwin on the other hand is the backup point guard, and also the only true floor general on the roster. About the only comparison here is the fact head coach Frank Vogel doesn’t really use Goodwin in this way all that much off the bench, preferring instead to see him also act as a disruptor on the court in much the same way Okogie is.
So far this season that has worked, as Okogie (1.8) and Goodwin (1.7) are the one-two combo when it comes to loose balls recovered per 36 minutes. Is this a niche stat? Absolutely. Can you make the argument that it is also a little bit pointless? Sure, if you want to. But to do that would be to not realize how and why these two players lead the entire league in this category.
“Tell Grayson he need to stay out a little bit longer. Nah, I’m just playing.”
Josh Okogie joking about Grayson Allen missing Wednesday’s win at Brooklyn with a right ankle sprain suffered at Miami.
Okogie has posted back-to-back 11-point games against Heat and Nets. #Suns pic.twitter.com/hYfp1xSY8P
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 1, 2024
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MOSES WRIGHT GIVING A LIFT TO OLYMPIACOS
Carrying a safe lead most of the way, Olympiacos drew a lopsided win, 81-57, versus Promitheas in Patras, on Sunday.
Recent addition Moses Wright tallied a game-high 16 points with 7/10 makes in Dimitris Tofalos Arena. More double-digit scoring contributions in Round 17 of Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League Regular Season, Alec Peters chipped in 12 points, Filip Petrusev had 11 points, and Isaiah Canaan added ten points. Running the point, Thomas Walkup registered seven points, seven assists, two rebounds, and one steal.
#bwinMVP, Moses Wright! 🥇⚡#OlympiacosBC #TogetherWeFight #WeAreOlympiacos pic.twitter.com/R42hyiN2dL
— Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) February 4, 2024
Moses Wright exploding! #OlympiacosBC pic.twitter.com/CVHVghbemn
— Manolo77 (@ManoloAthan77) January 30, 2024
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