Boston Celtics: Is James Young Boston’s Next Star?
By Wally Hughes
Boston Celtics rookie James Young‘s breakout performance Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets showed why he deserves more playing time — and displayed star potential.
Eighteen minutes.
Entering Monday night’s contest against Charlotte, that’s the number of minutes James Young had logged as a Boston Celtic — not exactly the impact you would expect from a lottery talent.
Young’s lack of playing time is a disappointment for those who proclaimed him as Boston’s shooting guard of the future when the Celtics took him with the No. 17 pick in last year’s draft. He and Boston’s other first-round draft pick, Marcus Smart, were expected to be key parts of the rebuilding plan.
But so far this season, that’s not been the case.
The highly-acclaimed guard has been used sparingly by head coach Brad Stevens, splitting time between the Maine Red Claws (Boston’s D-League affiliate) and buried on the Celtics bench.
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To make an analogy, Young is like the new car parked in the garage because the owner is afraid to drive it. But at some point, shouldn’t the owner get to enjoy his new toy?
Boston, it’s time to grab the keys and take your new sports car for a drive.
It’s true injuries set Young back early on, but the Celtics are still being cautious with their usage of the guard, even now that he is fully healthy. While that’s a smart approach, at some point Boston must give Young a chance to prove himself against real competition.
For a team that is a few games behind Miami for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, a player like Young could be the difference between the team making the playoffs or being a lottery team.
At the very least, receiving meaningful minutes in games would help speed up his development — something that is crucial if he is going to be Boston’s long-term shooting guard for years to come.
Boston fans have been clamoring for Young to play for a while, and on Monday night they got a taste of how good he could be. If there was one bright spot in the team’s 104-95 loss to the Hornets, it was Young. The rookie’s breakout performance brought an energy to the crowd at TD Garden that hasn’t been there this season.
In his first game back from his latest stint in the D-League, Young came off the bench to score 13 points in 18 minutes on 5-of-7 shooting. Boston lost the game, but fans had plenty to be excited about.
Young is like the new car parked in the garage because the owner is afraid to drive it. But at some point, shouldn’t the owner get to enjoy his new toy?
But to those following Young’s journey, the performance shouldn’t have came as a surprise.
After a stellar freshman season at Kentucky, most scouts viewed Young as a lottery pick. He was second on the team in scoring, and showed he could score a variety of ways. When he slipped into Boston’s lap at the No. 17 pick in the draft, the Celtics organization (and everybody else) thought they got a steal.
With Young’s scoring abilities, he would be the ideal candidate to eventually take over the reins as Boston’s starting shooting guard. Maybe not this year — because parts of his game were still raw and needed improvement, such as defense — but hopefully within the next couple of seasons.
At least that was the plan. And while there’s no reason to believe the Celtics have deviated from that plan, Young’s impact this season has been limited.
Injuries forced Young to miss the summer league, most of training camp and part of the season. Because of these setbacks, Young spent much of the early season driving back and forth between Boston and Maine, playing for the Red Claws in order to receive consistent playing time.
Playing in the D-League was something Young was originally against, but grew to love in time. In fact, Young’s latest stint with the Red Claws was at his urging.
Young’s time in the D-League gave him the opportunity to regain confidence and get back in game shape following his setbacks. In eight games, he dominated the competition, averaging 22.4 points per game and shooting 47.9 percent from deep.
The next step was to show his improvement against NBA competition, a goal he accomplished with his play against Charlotte. Now, it’s time for the Celtics to reward Young’s progress with a spot in the rotation.
Here’s why it makes sense.
The Celtics currently have a logjam of players vying for playing time on the wing — Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, Evan Turner, Phil Pressey and Jae Crowder. However, not all of these are part of Boston’s future. In fact, most — if not all — of them won’t there in a couple of years.
Trade rumors suggest Green will soon be gone, and other than Bradley, it’s questionable whether or not the others will be around long-term. While Turner, Pressey and Crowder all have showed the ability to contribute this season, all three are role players and easily replaceable. For a team attempting to rebuild, they are trading chips that can be used to obtain more assets.
That leaves Bradley, who just signed a multiyear contract this past offseason and is the longest-tenured Celtic. Although he is a top notch defender, even he doesn’t have the star power that Young could potentially possess.
That’s because Young’s offensive game is far more advanced than Bradley’s already, and his size is more ideal for a shooting guard in the NBA. If Young’s defense ever catches up, he will far surpass Bradley’s abilities.
So, are you starting to see the trend?
Out of all of the options at shooting guard for the Celtics, Young has the highest upside. But for him to reach his full potential, he must receive the chance to develop sooner rather than later. This can only be accomplished through additional minutes, and not during garbage time.
The main area of concern in Young’s game right now is he defense, but he will only improve in that area by playing meaningful minutes against NBA competition.
Luckily, the Celtics play in the Eastern Conference, so instead of matching up against stars like Kobe Bryant, James Harden and Klay Thompson, Young will be guarding players who aren’t on the same level as those in the Western Conference.
This will make the learning curve easier for Young, allowing him to improve defensively at his own pace without the pressures of facing elite talent on a nightly basis.
Meanwhile, Young will bring a different dynamic to the Celtics’ offense as an offensive playmaker who can create his own shot. Outside of Jeff Green, the Celtics have struggled to find a shot-creater this season, and Young can provide help in that area.
Fans in Boston are looking for any reason to be excited about the team this season, but unfortunately it’s been hard to find anything worth talking about. However, Young revitalized the fanbase Monday night, and can continue to do so if given the opportunity.
Should the Celtics give Young a larger role on the team? Hopefully by now the answer to that question is clear.
Will they?
That’s the big question everyone wants answered. Either way, Young will be patiently sitting on the bench, waiting for his time to shine.