KD: "Might be a Nick Young 20 field goal attempt night" pic.twitter.com/nh5Og06u6j
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 29, 2017
Kevin Durant maintains there will be a game this season in which Nick Young leads the Warriors in field goal attempts.
That game could take place on Wednesday night.
Young and the Warriors are in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers, the team that Young spent his previous four seasons with before signing a free agent contract with Golden State this summer. The always-entertaining Young has begun the process of trash-talking his old teammates, joking with Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group that he can’t wait to “kill them.”
During his time with the Lakers, and throughout his NBA career, Young has developed a reputation as a streaky shooter and a player who is never afraid to become the focal point of an offense. Though Young’s field goal attempts from last season have been cut in half since joining the Warriors, Durant knows his new teammates is eager to show the crowd at Staples Center what they’re missing.
“Nick, you don’t have to try to get Nick going, he’ll try to do that himself,” Durant told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s going to figure that out himself so hopefully he has a great night tonight against his former team, you know they’re going to be talking a little trash so it should be fun.”
After averaging more than 10 field goal attempts per game last season, Young has yet to take more than 12 shots in a game for the Warriors this year. His best performance this season came during a 23-point Opening Night outburst against the Rockets when he made 8-of-9 shots, but in Golden State’s last nine games, he’s only reached double-digit shot attempts once.
For a player like Young, though, that doesn’t matter. It’s a revenge game, and Durant knows his teammate is out to get it.
“Check for it tonight, keep that attendance up, it’ll probably be a Nick Young 20-field goal attempt night tonight,” Durant said.