Monday, December 7 - Celtics at Pelicans
Pregame - Young May Finally Get His Chance in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS – Tonight could be the night – the night you finally see extended minutes from James Young.
Young was a topic of interest ahead of tonight’s Celtics game in New Orleans due to issues that have shortened Boston’s roster.
David Lee (bruised right heel) and R.J. Hunter (left hip flexor strain) are both out due to injuries. Avery Bradley, meanwhile, is active but battling through an illness.
Stevens divulged that Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk will likely see an increase in minutes due to Lee’s absence. Stevens would not commit to a name to fill in for Hunter at shooting guard, saying “in the backcourt we’ll see,” but he did hint that Young could be the guy.
“He could play tonight because he’s done everything we’ve asked and he’s done really well in practice,” said Stevens. “He had a great shootaround this morning, did well (in practice) yesterday.”
Young’s development has largely been behind closed doors. He has played a total of only nine minutes this season and spent much of his time with the Maine Red Clawes, where he has flourished. But Celtics fans have yet to see how he has progressed in terms of taking on NBA talent.
Stevens says that the 20-year-old is on the right track.
“James is in a good place with his improvement,” Stevens said, “and I know that it’s easy to gauge somebody’s contributions by minutes played. It’s a lot harder to do it when they’re not playing as much.”
Tonight, Young’s contributions may be brought to the forefront. He may finally get an opportunity to give the Celtics quality minutes when they need them.
- Marc D'Amico