James Young and Jordan Mickey dominate D-League scrimmage

Last night the Maine Red Claws held their annual exhibition scrimmage to showcase the new talent on the roster for the season. Both James Young and Jordan Mickey of the Celtics dominated the scrimmage and showed that they were the two best players on the floor.

In a recap on the Maine Red Claws D-League page, Evans Boston details how well Young and Mickey played:

For the Black Team, Young led all scorers with 33 points, with five rebounds and two assists. Mickey fell just short of a triple-double, with 20 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks. Clarke scored 21, adding eight rebounds in the win. Curtis Washington scored four while adding six rebounds in the win.

It's extremely encouraging to see both of the young Celtics players dominating in their D-League scrimmage. James Young displayed his scoring prowess when he played in the D-League last year and it's good to see him keep it up. Rookie Jordan Mickey also showed that he can stuff the stat sheet and be a defensive leader while on the court. 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 blocks is a tremendous stat-line and a good sign of things to come.

The biggest question surrounding these two young guys is whether or not Brad Stevens will give them playing time. We've all seen Stevens go with many different looks and rotations so far this year, usually playing to the hot hand. A big problem the Celtics have is that there seems to be too many guys in the rotation, which then results in not enough playing time to go around for everyone. While this is not too much of a concern for Jordan Mickey yet, it could be one for James Young who is entering his second year in the NBA.

As a second year player, Young has yet to step onto the court for Boston this year. Rookies Terry Rozier and RJ Hunter have both seen playing time before him. Whether it's an issue with Young's progression as a player or just a playing time issue, it would serve both him and the Celtics better if he could get onto the court. After seeing the young guard dominate in the D-League last year and in his scrimmage this year, I think he can give the squad a nice scoring punch off the bench if given an opportunity. Hopefully that opportunity comes sooner rather than later for Young.

Image Credit: Nathaniel Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
Follow Kevin Yazhari on Twitter: @KevKevYazhari