The Indiana Pacers think they have a solid roster after making a lot of key changes to the team including moving on from their starting frontcourt of the past few years of Roy Hibbert and David West. A couple of the holdovers from the roster they have had the past few years are Paul George, who is expected to start at power forward this year and George Hill who is the only true point guard expected to make the roster. With the lack of a true backup point guard Frank Vogel thinks that he will use Joseph Young in that spot, according to Pay Boylan of Fox Sports Indiana.
There was talk earlier this preseason that starting shooting guard Monta Ellis may take on the backup point guard duties or even backup shooting guard Rodney Stuckey but Vogel seems to want Young there. Vogel likely wanted to find Young minutes anyway and there is a clear opening at the point guard spot behind Hill so it makes some sense to put him there.
The problem the Pacers might face when Hill is on the bench is the fact that no matter who Vogel uses as the backup point guard that player will be a score first guy who isn't much of a distributor. Young only averaged 2.7 assists per game in his four year college career that he split between Houston and Oregon.
Young is the size of a point guard at 6 foot-2 but his game is that of a shooting guard as he can fill it up with his scoring ability. Most people viewed him as an undersized shooting guard entering the league but it seems like he will have a chance to show he is more than just a scorer as a rookie. The Pacers do currently have Toney Douglas on their roster who has experience playing point guard in the NBA but he is unlikely to make the team so it seems like it will certainly be Young's spot.
In his senior season at Oregon Young averaged 20.7 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from three. The former Duck should have no issues scoring when he enters the league but it will be worth watching how he handles running the show for the second unit and if he can bring more to the table than just his scoring ability.
