James Young Stays Silent On Injured Leg

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2014/10/james_young_stays_silent_on_injured_leg



James Young stays silent on injured leg


October 9, 2014
By:  Steve Bulpett



HARTFORD — Not all rookie mistakes happen during games, as James Young can now attest.

The first round pick from Kentucky tweaked his left hamstring before the Celtics’ preseason opener on Monday, and then he did something very rookie-like.

He didn’t tell anybody.

So an injury that may have been headed off at the pass was exacerbated when he played 20 minutes against the 76ers. Young did well, going for 10 points in the win. He continued to keep things to himself, a stance that changed when the pain was significant Tuesday morning.

Young now may need a while to get past this.

“He’s probably more week-to-week than day-to-day,” coach Brad Stevens said before the Celts took on the Knicks here last night.

The situation caught the club by surprise when it gathered for Tuesday’s practice.

“We had no idea,” said Stevens. “In fact, he didn’t say anything until Tuesday. So I don’t know if it was something that was wearing on him, but none of us knew.

“Hopefully (it’s) a good lesson for him and us. He needs to communicate that ASAP if he thinks something is not feeling right.”

The message was delivered by the C’s and, more importantly, got through.

“Yeah,” said Young after getting pregame treatment last night. “I’m still learning. I guess I should have talked to Ed (Lacerte, the trainer) right away as soon as it happened, but I’m still learning.”

As for how it went down, the 6-foot-6 wing said, “I was stretching before the game, and I felt a few pops in my leg. But it’s nothing serious.

“I just wanted to go out there and play. I didn’t really feel it until the second half. During halftime I put some heat on it and kept playing. I was just going off adrenaline, so I really didn’t feel it.

“The next day when I woke up, that’s when I really felt it and had to ice it. It was really stiff, sore. I couldn’t walk that much. It was hard to extend my leg.”

Stevens understands a player’s desire to work through what he may think is a minor injury, particularly a Young player looking to make an impression.

“Exactly, and sometimes you’re playing through that adrenaline,” the coach said. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel as bad in the moment, and you can just kind of play through it. Then he sleeps on it or wakes up the next day, and the hamstrings, the mild calf strain that Jeff (Green) has, you’ve just got to be really careful with the muscular stuff, just because those can be really lingering and nagging.”

Young doesn’t believe that will be the case here. But, then again, he’s a rookie, right?

“It’s just a minor setback,” he said. “As soon as I get back out there, I feel like I’ll be good and get right back into the flow of things.

“It’s kind of frustrating, but, I mean, stuff happens. So I’m going to go out here and just watch.”

So far, the Celtics have watched Young be pretty impressive, especially for a 19-year-old.

“I think he’s made progress, progress all the way from the time he’s gotten here, from the standpoint of he’s really trying to do everything we ask,” Stevens said. “He’s trying to defend the way we want him to. I thought defensively he was pretty good the other night. The best way to gauge that is he didn’t catch our attention a whole lot unless we were looking for him. Sometimes guys can catch your attention because they keep getting exposed, and he did a pretty good job.

“He’s a ball mover and he’ll shoot it better hopefully. But he’s obviously a very skilled offensive player. It comes pretty easy to him.”




bob
MY NOTE:  Rookie mistake.  Thinks that as long as he doesn't say anything nobody will notice he's not pushing off as well with that leg, not as explosive, etc.  He's more afraid of being denied his opportunity than he is of not taking advantage of the opportunity by playing in top condition. James Young might not play much this year so what's really important here is whether the message got through to Marcus Smart.  We're here to help you succeed and you're making our job harder if you expect us to read your mind.


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