WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics rookie James Young participated in his first full-contact practice in more than two weeks Tuesday and is expected to play in Wednesday's exhibition finale against the Brooklyn Nets.
Young strained his left hamstring while warming up for his NBA debut on Oct. 6, but played on adrenaline (scoring 10 points over 20 minutes of action) before the injury flared in the aftermath. The team shut him down for most of the next two weeks, and Young returned to non-contact practice on Monday, going through shooting and conditioning drills with his teammates.
The 19-year-old rookie, the 17th overall pick in June's draft, participated in a full practice Tuesday and is now working from behind a bit trying to show that he deserves an immediate role at the NBA level.
"He’s got some ground to make up," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before Tuesday's practice. "More so from a standpoint of us just evaluating him and seeing how he can perform in these environments and in these games. He did well in Game 1 on a bad hammy. He hasn’t had a chance to play or practice as far as competing yet. [Tuesday] will be the first day and [that practice] is as important as [Wednesday's game] for him because he’s going up against Jeff Green or he’s going up against Avery Bradley or Marcus Thornton. Those are guys that he needs to measure himself against right now."
Young, sweating as he chatted with reporters after a pre-practice workout on Tuesday, said he's not 100 percent yet, but is getting closer ("Somewhere in the 90s," he suggested). Young is excited to simply be back on the floor with his teammates.
"[Monday] felt really good to not just sit and watch and actually go through the actions with the team and not just sit there," Young said. Asked if it's been difficult to be patient, Young added, "I’m so young, so I try just not to think about things too much and sit there and wait. When my time is right, my time is right."
Young spent time after recent practices going over what he was missing on the floor with player development assistant Ron Nored, who also shadowed Young for much of the summer. Stevens said that the playbook for Boston's shooting guards and small forwards is interchangeable, so Young shouldn't be overwhelmed playing catchup at two positions.
The hardest part for Young might simply be taking it slow on his return. He didn't initially mention the hamstring injury to team doctors before his game debut, but has been reminded to alert the staff if he experiences any discomfort in the early stages of his return.
"The training staff, if I feel like my leg is fatigued during practice, they’ll sit me down for a little bit and have me drink some water and just get back out there," he said. "If I’m getting tired or if my leg is getting weaker, I’ll just come right out."
But he's hoping to be on the floor for an extended period during Wednesday's game.
"I want to get back into the flow of things," he said. "Try not to think about things too much and act like I’ve been on the floor for a few games and try to do what everyone else is doing."