With the departure of the Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston, both 6’7″ and long-armed, the Nets lost the defensive versatility that made their ‘longball’ lineup of last year such a terror. The Nets have tried various combinations of Bojan Bogdanovic, Sergey Karasev, Plumlee, Garnett, and Lopez in their stead, but none can switch assignments as freely as Pierce and Livingston.
In the 6’8″ Young, the Nets have gained a player who can switch two through four on defense. Not surprisingly, the Nets have improved on defense since acquiring Young: their defensive rating is down to 101.9 from 104.6.
The next step may be for Hollins to slot him into the starting lineup. The lineup featuring Young, Brown, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and starter-in-all-but-name Brook Lopez has a lot of potential, and Young has performed well individually when given starter’s minutes.
