There were two series against the Miami Heat on Tuesday night that typified the type of up and down season it has been for Washington Wizards’ second year guard Nick Young.

During one series, Young found himself going head-to-head with All-Star guard Dwyane Wade.  Young went between his legs with the ball, froze Wade with a cross-over dribble and then drove hard to the basket.  Just as Wade caught up with him, Young put the ball through his legs again, stepped back, and hit a jumper over Wade’s outstretched arms.  As he ran back down the court a slight grin crept across Young’s face.

Later on in the fourth quarter, Young was put in the position of playing point guard since Gilbert Arenas and Antonio Daniels were out and Juan Dixon and Dee Brown were ineffective.  The Heat were up 92-87 with 33 seconds left in the game and the Wizards had a chance to pull within a basket.  Young dribbled across half court, got caught in the air and then made an errant pass that was stolen by Wade. DeShawn Stevenson was forced to intentionally foul Wade, who hit both free throws and put the game out of reach.

When asked whether he knew that was a bad pass when he made it, a slightly downtrodden Young answered the question directly.

“Yeah, I knew that [it was a bad pass]. I saw D-Steve (Stevenson) for a slight second and I thought I was going to get it to him. But once I passed it, I was like you shouldn’t have done that…I’m just learning really, being out there, playing that many minutes. It’s different from last year; the Wizards are depending on me, and it’s a lot more pressure”

Luckily for Young, he has a coach in Eddie Jordan who understands the plight young players in the NBA quite well.

“There are a lot of breakdowns because guys are trying to do things they aren’t capable of doing– that’s not their role,” Jordan said after the game. “You’re playing with young guys who miss assignments, so through all the frustration, you play hard, you keep your poise.”

Despite his occasional struggles this season Young has put up some impressive numbers.  Last year he appeared in 75 of the 82 games and he averaged 7.5 points while shooting 43% from the field in just over 15 minutes a game.  This year through eight games his minutes have increased to 28, his scoring average has nearly doubled to 14 points a game and he’s shooting 47%  from the field.

As much as Coach Jordan has harped on Young’s struggles, he’s also seen the improvement.

“Nick certainly has grown, and as complicated… people talk about how our offense and how it’s difficult to learn, but he has learned how to run the offense and execute,” Coach Jordan said after Nick played well against the Utah Jazz last Wednesday. “[A] good ballplayer can run any offense if their unselfish enough no matter what it is, and he’s a good ballplayer.  He’s got a great instinct to score, and he’s getting better defensively.  Right now he’s one of our smartest players.”

Young and rookie JaVale McGee are the first two players off the bench on most nights and the energy they bring to not only the games, but the practices as well, has been key to the Wizards this season.

“We’re here to push the veterans and keep them going,” Young said. “I’m just trying to push Caron (Butler) and Antawn (Jamison) and get them going a little bit.  When we’re out there, we have to bring energy because we know that we can come out at any minute.”

Injuries to Arenas and Daniels, the slow start of Stevenson who is battling a nerve problem in his hamstring, and the loss of Roger Mason via free agency to the San Antonio Spurs have thrust many backup players into much more prominent roles.

Young and Juan Dixon, who was signed just before the start of preseason, have been on the floor together a lot more as a result.  During this increased time on the floor, Dixon has seen the flashes of greatness as well.

“As much as possible, I try to get him in a spot where he can be aggressive and score for us,” Dixon observed. “He’s probably one of our best scorers on the team. I’m fortunate enough to play with him on the floor, and [it] makes the game a lot easier.”

Young had no problem returning the favor to Dixon

“Juan came in and kind of got me going early.  He’s been a great vet; he’s been telling me where I need to be out there on the court. He’s been helping me play out there, so I think that[Dixon] was a big pick-up for us.”

The atmosphere in the Wizards locker room was somber after their loss to the Heat.  Their record dropped to 1-7, the injuries continue to mount and the return of Arenas is still a month away. Despite this Young was encouraged by the fact that there was another game the next night against the Atlanta Hawks.

“You don’t have to dwell on it [the loss]. You can just go out tomorrow and have one of your best games.”

With enthusiasm like that it’s easy to see why this kid with so much promise is so well-liked.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media