James Young getting it done for Maine

Dwight Powell, James Young, Marcus Smart, 

James Young had another big night for the Maine Red Claws. Young put in 31 points as part of Maine’s 110-106 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants tonight in Portland. Marcus Smart, who was also assigned to the Celt’s D-League squad earlier today, struggled with his shooting tonight. Smart went 1 of 12 from the floor (0 of 8 from downtown) and finished with 6 points. Smart’s shooting numbers however aren’t really important. The trip to Maine was more so a chance for him to get some minutes as he continues to work his way back from last month’s ankle injury. Dwight Powell put in 21 points for the Claws.

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BUT THEY CONTINUE TO GAIN SPLINTERS SITTING AT THE END OF THE BENCH...............WAY TO GO  BRAD!

112288

So whose minutes do they get?

Plus Smart needs to get some semblance of game back too.

beat

Look around.....plenty of minutes to cut from plenty of players who you know what you have and probably will not be around by February or warrants less time to evaluate other players.

Thornton & Turner to begin with, squeeze minutes away from Bass, KO and Green and Sully...........unless of course you have sugar plums dancing in your head of making the playoffs and want to go with the current regular playing staff that have produced  a 5-11 record.

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I have no problem with the current minutes and as for the sugarplums.........I'm done.

I watched a clip on the game and Young's stroke was unreal.

But I do not see where he will get minutes on this team. I gues I do not see the rush unless the team goes into the tank.

Right now they are trying to win every game...Lossed several they should have won. I think if someone gets injured Young could get some minutes but other than that he can continue to work on that smooth stroke in the D league.

It is nice to know we have a Young asset waiting in the wings. He will get his opportunity. I think Young is young enough at 19 to wait his turn.

dboss

I can hardly wait to see him with the C's, but it seems he is thriving where he is, for now, getting ready for the next step. Hawk

I have serious doubts about the D-League as a whole. This isn't so much about Young because I think he actually has a future in the NBA, but how many players actually thrive in the D-League and eventually have meaningful careers as pros?


KJ

KJ

THE KID IS ONLY 19 YEARS OLD!

He will be one of the best shots - a la Ray Allen in the NBA.  You cannot teach having height...........as well as you cannot teach God Given hand/eye/depth perception to a shooter....it's just there.....and the kid has the stroke!

Enough said.    

112288

112288,

I'm sorry if I didn't clarify well enough. My comment wasn't really about James Young. I think he's a future star, in my opinion. I was mainly asking about the D-League itself.


KJ

KJ

I thought that myself because you are an astute basketball fan and you know your talent.  The DLeague is good because it keeps guys talent like Young fresh while improving their skill level.  I kind of got from watching Mike and Tommy last night towards the end of the game was that the only problem with Young at this stage is his defense, so the DLeague is a good place to make mistakes.

112288

My primary concern with the D-League is simulating the proper atmosphere for a player to develop. Sure, a guy may get big minutes, but it's against inferior talent and inferior coaches. Nothing can truly prepare you for the real NBA level game. But if nothing else, it gives one a chance to polish their skills in anticipation of a larger role.



KJ

I think that the D-League is absolutely great for young guys like Young and Powell, and also great for guys like Smart when rehabbing an injury (like the other night).

The D is certainly better than just sitting on the end of the bench as far as getting some game time even if at a lesser level. And, with Portland being such a short drive these guys can be back in their own beds by midnight when the Red Claws play at home which makes them available for practice or games the next day.

If a guy is really unready to contribute in Boston he would be much more permanently assigned to Maine or somewhere else. The Celtics think that these two rookies have a chance in the NBA so using the Red Claws to get them game time work is excellent.

In fact, with the advent of the 15 man NBA rosters I am pretty much surprised that every NBA team does not have its own individual D league affiliate and have them close by (like Maine) as well.

the nba.com site says that 117 of 446 players on the opening day rosters had D-league experience. How many of those are guys who went down for a day or two versus guys who actually played and developed their game there, I don't know.

The d league provides a good opportunity for those one and done college players to play in a pro style system.

Dboss

KJ,

To answer your question about eventual success of D-League "graduates," Wikipedia lists 25 former D-Leaguers who have gone on to win NBA championships. But I didn't note one who was a real impact player.

They list another few who have had "successful NBA careers," and these names are more familiar. However there are only a handful: José Juan Barea, Brandon Bass, Andray Blatche, Avery Bradley, Aaron Brooks, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Marcin Gortat, Ramon Sessions, Jeremy Lin, Danny Green and Martell Webster.

I guess the most typical story is "flotsam in, jetsam out." Let's hope the Celts' current D League entries buck that trend.

Sam

I think we need to look at this a discussion a little differently regarding players.  There are 3 kinds of players who participate in the DLeague:

1) Players who have not been drafted and are looking to improve their skills at an professional level and showcase their  talent to either an NBA team or European league team for nice dollars;
2) Second round picks that did not make their club because of the number of bodies at training camp and either the NBA team liked what they saw and wanted to hide the player in the DLeague so as to get more experience, or a player wanting to continue his basketball grow through experience at a more professional level and showcase their  talent to either an NBA team or European league team for nice dollars;
3) First round drafted players with a signed NBA contract or free agent Euro League players signed to an NBA contract who are sent down for more polishing and experience because they have not broken the starting or second rotation due to age (too young) or needed improvement on certain aspects of their game (offense or defense, or just need to keep their playing skills fresh in case of an injury on their NBA club.

I think people are getting the wrong message and thinking a player being sent to the DLeague by their parent club .......sucks and will never achieve greatness on the NBA level.   I would agree if the player came from the label of either #1 or #2 but players from #3 have a great shot.  
There is a big difference between #1 - #2 - #3 with #3.

The problem with some #3 players are ............they are so young as it relates to their basketball experience in advanced play....i.e. college. Kid are coming out of high school and playing 1 or 2 years of college and then they are going into the NBA draft with YES FANTASTIC RAW TALENT.......... but very little understanding or experience of basketball fundamentals.

So to see Powell or Young go down for games in no big deal and has nothings to do with sucking as a player at this point in time. They are very young and inexperienced in terms of high level organized basketball and the Celtics want them to garner and reinforce good skill habits while keeping fresh in case of an injury so as to make them a polished player.

112288
112288

112288,

I certainly agree with your categorization of players in the D league. Although some guys develop later than others, the guys in your first two areas will rarely make it, and no one probably needs to delve too deeply into any stats to guess that.

With the advent of the 15 man NBA roster (they used to have only 12) makes the D league a great place for the first round draft picks who might not be immediately ready to jump into their team's rotation.

I will bet that we will see Young and Powell hop from Boston to Maine (and back) on a very regular basis this season.