Mike Mazzeo, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Thaddeus Young in best supporting role

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Thaddeus Young has already been through a lot this season.

In November, his mother, Lulu Hall, died at age 57 following an 18-month battle with breast cancer.

“It was probably the toughest thing I’ve ever had to deal with,” Young said Saturday. “She was a great woman. She did everything she could to sacrifice for me and my brother and my sisters. I know she wants me to continue to play and continue to be strong. I just keep trying to go out there and just play. She’ll always be close to my heart and I just want to play for her each and every game.”

On the court, Young was part of a rebuilding situation in Minnesota. The losses came in waves.

“It’s definitely been probably one of the toughest, if not the toughest year of my career,” Young said. “The situation [with the Timberwolves] just wasn’t working out. They were going in a completely different direction than what we had initially discussed when I came there.”

A trade to Brooklyn changed everything. The Nets were 21-31 when they acquired Young at the Feb. 19 deadline in exchange for Kevin Garnett. But they went 17-12 the rest of the way to qualify for the eighth and final East playoff spot.

In 28 games with Brooklyn, Young averaged 13.8 points and 5.9 rebounds. He shot 49.5 percent from the field and made 38 percent of his 3-point attempts.

The Nets desperately missed Shaun Livingston and Paul Pierce. They needed better role players.

Young fit in seamlessly from the start, bringing much-needed youth, athleticism and floor spacing.

“I think it’s because I’m a player that doesn’t really need the ball in his hands to be effective,” Young said. “I find other ways to get involved in the game, whether it’s playing defense or rebounding or just hustling and being active and making my presence felt on the court.

“I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Nets coach Lionel Hollins inserted Young into the starting lineup after initially bringing the 26-year-old combo forward off the bench.

During the regular season, Brooklyn’s starting lineup of Young, Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, Markel Brown and Deron Williams outscored opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions in 256 minutes together. Lopez has especially thrived since Young’s arrival, averaging 19.7 points and 9.2 rebounds on 52.5 percent shooting since the deadline.

“I kind of let Brook do what he do,” Young said. “If Brook wants to be on the free throw line, I’ll play under the basket. And if he wants to be under the basket, then I’ll play at the free throw line. I just try to stay out of guys’ way and be a complementary piece to the team and the assets that we have.”

Hollins appreciates what Young brings to the table.

“I knew he was a good basketball player, he’s just an instinctive player, kind of a garbage man, he just plays and he scores over the course of the game without us having to run plays for him,” Hollins said. “He just knows how to get that loose change around the basket [offensive rebounds], and I think the seamlessness of it was because we kind of changed how we played when we got him. We started out with Joe at the 4, and then we moved Thaddeus into the starting lineup ultimately and moved Joe back to the 3, but we started playing a little bit quicker of a style, too.”

Young doesn’t mind his role as a supporting cast member. He has been ever since he got into the NBA after being drafted in the first round by Philadelphia.

“I just figured it out [my rookie year]. I’m not gonna be the man on this team, so I just try to be the complementary piece -- the guy who can do everything and just help his team win at all costs,” Young said. “I’m not a player that can do a lot of things overly great, but I can be good at a lot of different things.”

Young was part of the eighth-seeded 76ers squad that upset the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round three years ago. The Bulls did lose Derrick Rose in Game 1, but the Sixers still had to close out the series, and they did. Young said the key to winning as an underdog is playing with a chip on your shoulder and believing that you can win.

No. 1 seed Atlanta is going to be a tough challenge for No. 8 seed Brooklyn.

If not for Thaddeus Young, the Nets probably wouldn’t be in the postseason.

“I just think he fits what we’re doing,” Williams said. “I think he’s the right complement to Brook. I think he’s opened up a lot of things for Brook [in the pick-and-roll] with him being able to space the floor and drive and he knows where to be in the right spots, he’s a smart basketball player and I think that shows on the offensive end, but defensively he’s been great for us as well.

Notes: Backup point guard Darius Morris (flu) returned to practice Saturday. The Nets were loose. It was definitely a lighter, more fun atmosphere than at Friday’s practice.

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