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INDIANAPOLIS – The majority of James Young’s career minutes have come during garbage time – late in a game when the Celtics are either leading big or trailing big.
Saturday night, however, Brad Stevens inserted Young during the second quarter of a tight matchup against the Indiana Pacers, and the young guard delivered with the best all-around game of his career.
Young posted 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist during Boston’s 105-99 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. He shot 5-of-6 from the field, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and provided a much-needed active, physical presence on the defensive end of the floor.
“It felt really good just to go out there and play the game right,” said Young with a grin of pleasure and fulfillment after finishing one point shy of his career high. “Coach said for me to stay ready, and I was. I’ve just been working hard ever since the summer, trying to stay consistent with the little things, and really just try to help the team out.”
Young did more than just help the team out. He was the spark that got Boston going Saturday night, and as Kelly Olynyk put it, “Without him, we wouldn’t have won this game.”
Prior to Boston’s win over New York Friday night, Stevens told Young that his playing time and impact would likely see bumps in the near future.
“I told him, 'One of the next two games, you'll probably be really impactful,'” the coach recollected following Saturday’s win.
Stevens has seen first-hand the work that Young has put in over the last few seasons, and says the 21-year-old guard is playing at a different level right now than he ever has.
“He’s shot it at such a different level than he did two years ago when he got here, as far as accuracy and workouts in practice,” said Stevens. “He’s certainly been always a capable shooter with a beautiful stroke, but he has really, really worked hard on becoming accurate.”
Young’s teammates have also taken note of his progress over the last few seasons and were overjoyed to see it pay off Saturday night.
“He comes in every single day and works hard,” said Avery Bradley. “Some games he doesn’t play, some games he does. But he’s just being a professional and every opportunity he gets he’s making the most of it, so I’m very happy for him tonight.”
Olynyk was also jubilant after the game, noting how great it’s been to witness Young emerge despite having had so many doubters say that he wouldn’t make it with the C’s.
“He’s had a real tough road, but he’s proven that he belongs here,” said Olynyk. “And for him to be up and down with Maine (in the D-League) the last couple of years, it really shows his persistence, his hard work, his character and just how strong of a player he is.”
Young says the main difference that is contributing to his heightened level of play is his surging confidence. That was an issue during his first two seasons as he saw sporadic playing time and traveled 48 times between the NBA and the D-League.
Now, he hopes his confidence will drive him to a successful campaign and allow him to remain at the NBA level where he believes he belongs.
“I’ve never felt like this,” said Young of his confidence. “It feels great to just able to go out there and play basketball and not think about anything; not worry about anything and just go out there and contribute to the team. It took a few years for me to do that, but we’ll see if we can keep rolling with it.”
The Celtics sure hope he does, because they could use more of these boosts off the bench. And after all the work Young has put in over the last few seasons with Boston, he deserves the opportunity to show that he can shine.