Nobody had a banner year for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, as the team lost more games than at any other time in franchise history. But if someone might have been expected to swim as the Lakers sank, it would have been swingman Swaggy P, also known as Nick Young. The confident Lakers shooting guard entered his 10th season on the high of a new 4-year, $21.5 million contract. Things looked bright. Then Kobe Bryant went down. That was bad for the Lakers — Bryant being the engine that gives them playoff hopes.
But Bryant’s season-ending injury might have been an opening for Nick Young. Like Bryant, Young is a 6′ 6″ scorer who likes to shoot the ball. Bryant’s unfortunate absence, while dooming the Lakers, also meant a lot of shots for other Lakers who would normally defer to Bryant. But Young also got injured, playing in just 42 games. And in those 42 games he shot the lowest shooting percentage of his career — just under 37%.
