Six games ago, he was removed from the starting lineup for the first time this season, and after starting 71 of 75 games a year ago. Some kind of shakeup was clearly needed as, at the time, the Sixers were 13-28.

After consecutive 22-point games in his first two bench stints, he has shot only 14-for-38 (36.8 percent) and averaged just over nine points a game in the last four. His scoring has come almost solely on drives, follow-ups and fastbreaks. His outside shot has been as invisible as Tiger Woods.

"I think he's been up and down," Jordan said. "I thought he was terrific the first couple games [off the bench], but since then he's been pretty much up and down."

What has been consistent is Young's inability to knock down the jumper. He is starting to look as uncomfortable launching it as it is to watch the result.

"I'm just trying to get back to where I was last season," said Young, whose outside shot was a threat then. "Before the season, [assistant coach] Randy [Ayers] worked with me all the time. I thought I was fine the way I was shooting. I'm just going out there everyday trying to get the feeling back."

He is doing that. He is a fixture after practice, putting up shot after shot. There's concentration on the footwork, the release, the hands. It's not as if he's lost the ability to stroke it, just maybe some of the muscle memory that made it more successful.

For the season, Young is shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and averaging 14 points. Last season, he averaged 15.3 points, and in his first 2 years combined shot an admirable 51 percent.

Perhaps it's the fact that he's relying more on his outside shot this season. Now, he's also dealing with his new role as a sub. Young, however, will offer no excuses, though he did allude to the difficulties of coming off the bench.

"It's kind of tough going out there and saying, 'OK, I don't know what's going to happen.' So you just go out there and play as hard as you can,'' he said. "That's what I try to do, play as hard as I can on defense and try to do all the necessary things for my team to win.

"I'm always looking to improve my game, I'm always looking at different things - challenges, trials and tribulations. Just trying to go out there and do what I know how to do."

What he's having to learn how to do is get himself ready to play whenever the coach calls his name.

"Every time I come into the game, the first two or three plays somebody is scoring on me because I'm not warmed up," Young said. "It takes me like two or three plays to get warmed up and ready to play."

The 'R' word

In Sunday's 83-79 win over the New Jersey Nets, Jordan stayed with a group of subs for most of the second quarter, as a 10-point deficit was whittled to two. In the second half, Jordan stayed primarily with his starters - with the exception of Lou Williams for Jrue Holiday.

Most noticeably missing in the second half was Rodney Carney, who was a bundle of activity in the first half.

"In the second quarter I played pretty good," said Carney, who scored all of his nine points in the first half. "In the second half, I thought he'd stick with the starters a little more because we got back in the game. So he went with it. You've got to trust what he says and what he does. We got a victory, so it worked out for the best.

"Coming off the bench, you have to be professional, play defense and go out there and give the best of your ability. You go out there and play, you just can't worry about it.

"Our roles were defined in print in training camp. Now it's just a matter of what matchups are out there and what coach feels. If it's a big matchup, he'll go big, a small matchup, he'll go small. You've just got to keep your mind focused on the task at hand whether you're playing or not. Keep professional. Some days I may play, some days I may not. I'm going to go out there and give my best effort no matter what happens - if I play 30 seconds or 10 minutes, 15 minutes. I'm going to go out there and give my best effort."

Said Jordan: "It's their job to rotate in, it's nothing that is set in stone. For the most part, they just have to do it. It's part of their job."

Six shots