2012 Player Preview: Nick Young

It was a beautiful November evening in Washington DC. The nation's capital was beaming with excitement over the number one draft pick in John Wall. The first home game of the new-ish era in Washington basketball was set to begin against the patriotic Philadelphia 76ers. Wall hit the dougie (not Collins, I feel like that'd be a bigger story) after coach/model Sam Cassell gave him encouragement. The Wizards ended up winning Wall's first home game in which he was just one steal away from a triple double (and not of the pathetic variety). What took a back seat to Wall's domination was a sneaky 7-11 show put on by Nick Young. The rest of the year was no different for Young, as he hit 11 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc as he average 19 points against the Sixers in 4 games. No longer will we as Sixer fans have to worry about Young standing in the corner, unguarded, hitting open jumper after open jumper for Swaggy P is one of us now.

For the past couple of years, Louis Williams was the guy who could "score points in bunches" (cliche terms are a-okay in my book, guys) for the Sixers. In a time when they didn't have the go-to scorer at the end of games, it was Lou who'd get the iso call from Coach Collins. When he turned down a rather lucrative offer from the Sixers this offesason (seriously, thanks for turning that down Lou). they shifted gears towards another guy who can be instant offense, just add water. That someone was Nick Young.

At this point in his career, Swaggy P isn't going to bring anything new to the table. Is he going to have games where he virtually cannot miss a jumper, open or not? Absolutely. Is he going to take some head-scratching shots that will eventually make Mike lose some sort of appendage? i'd say yes, but I think Lou is already responsible for Mike not having any left. Both of those things we've seen in Lou in the past but what Nick brings that Lou never did (but I've always maintained should have able to) is competence on the defensive end.

A guy who will most certainly come off the bench but still garner quality minutes, Swaggy P should be able to provide more positives on the court than negatives if he stays within himself. The addition of Andrew Bynum will certainly help this as he won't be incorrectly thrust into the role vacated by Lou as the "play-maker" (more cliches, weeeee!). Young can be absolutely lethal curling off screens for catch-and-shoots and corner three-balls off drives. Now that Bynum is in town, I'd expect to see more good than bad from Young.

And if you know me, you know that the most important quality Swaggy brings to the Sixers is his incredible shoe game. I talked about it earlier this summer (Nick even liked it enough to retweet the article link - we're besties) and since then I think I've become more attached to him. No longer does this team have two (yes, two) players that wear Converse on the court, but a guy who was a part of the best tandem of shoe wearers in recent memory when he was with Gilbert Arenas. Am I most excited about this over any part of his actual basketball skillset? Obvi.

So while we wait for the season to begin, get yourselves ready for some three-pointers, a glowing smile, anger in shot selection, some hilarious YouTube videos, and an abundance of retro Jordan's. Nick Young's in town, and he won't let you forget it.

And just for fun, this is what I always think of when I hear "Swaggy".