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Thaddeus Young had a typical game on Saturday night: With Brook Lopez out, he scored 24 points on 12-of-17 shooting, with nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. As per normal, he brought the same kind of energy he brought in Game 1.
Steve Aschburner of NBA.com spoke to him recently about (once again) being the professional on a losing team. As Aschburner notes...
The (teams) for which Young has played -- Philadephia, Minnesota, Brooklyn -- are a combined 141 games under .500 in his time with them. The 76ers were just mediocre enough to get Young to 30 playoff games by the time he was 23, but he has played in only six since then.
Saturday's night's marked yet another 50-loss season, his second in the last three years. Still, he continues to do what he's paid to do.
Said Young: "Each and every time we lose, I take it personal. I take it hard. It's tough. But you can't let it kill you."
And what about the possibility of being traded?
"You just put it in the back of your mind because you want to continue doing the things you've been doing," Young said. "I'm a player who might not be great at any one thing but I can do a lot of things well. And I'm an intangible guy -- play defense, get steals, hustle, get rebounds -- and just happen to be able to score a little bit."
If he goes this summer, Young will go with the good feelings of a lot of fans.