HARTFORD, Conn. -- Boston Celtics rookie James Young strained his left hamstring before his preseason debut on Monday and played through the discomfort, but could now be sidelined for an extended period.
Young said he felt "a few pops" while stretching on Monday, but adrenaline helped carry him through his preseason debut, in which he scored 10 points in nearly 20 minutes of action in a reserve role.
Young said he couldn't really walk when he woke up on Tuesday morning. While he downplayed the injury and suggested it might only sideline him a few days, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Young is "probably more week-to-week than day-to-day."
"We had no idea," Stevens said. "In fact, he didn’t say anything until Tuesday. 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."
Young said he started to feel a bit of discomfort at halftime of Monday's game and put heat on the injury at the intermission. He played more than 15 minutes in the second half of a 98-78 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers and showed no apparent sign of injury.
"I’m still learning," Young said. "I guess I should have talked to [team trainer] Ed [Lacerte] right away. … I was just going off adrenaline, so I really couldn’t feel it. The next day when I woke up, that’s when I really felt it.
"It’s kind of frustrating, but this stuff happens."
The 19-year-old Young, the 17th overall pick in June's draft, has impressed early with his perimeter scoring potential and overall athleticism. Boston has depth at the wing position, but in a rebuilding situation, Young still could state a case for a rotation role.
"I think he’s made progress, first of all," Stevens said. "Progress all the way since he got here, from a standpoint of, he’s really trying to do everything we ask. He’s trying to defend the way that 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. He did a pretty good job and he’s a ball-mover and he’ll shoot it better, hopefully. He’s obviously a very skilled offensive player. The game comes pretty easy to him."
What are Stevens' expectations for Young this season?
"I don’t really have any expectations other than he gets better," Stevens said. "I don’t know what that will translate to playing-time-wise. We have decent depth at the 2 and the 3, so if he ends up winning that spot or winning a spot in the rotation, that means he’s made pretty good progress."
