Summer League 2025, Multi-Game Thread – (Games 1 - 4)

[Celts17Pride]

I mean, what are we doing here? Bassey was the only big in the game who showed any ability to guard a pick and roll, was the only big in the game who knew how to set a proper screen, was the only big in the game who actually knew where to roll to the rim or how to sit in the dunker spot to position himself for rebounds. Amari Williams picked up three charges in a single game because he’s got no idea what he’s doing yet

There are reasons why he was the 46th pick. Don’t hate Amari Williams, he just is nowhere near ready. The year in the G League will do him well

[cloverleaf]

Love the way Gonzalez fights through every pick. Shulga can play too.

Why the Lofton hate? Kid knows how to play. His bulk is an advantage, not a disadvantage. I was all in on D.J. Burns, Jr. too. Great fun to watch. I understand he's playing in Korea now.

Shulga was really sneaky good today, I thought. A good shooter, but did more creating for others. Tough kid who was always on for D.

[Dogen]

He should not even be in the summer league ...with millions of dollars at stake. He cannot control his weight, why even bother? Boston would be much better off Spreading out those minutes to our overcrowded wing position and play one center.

Ehhh. He's only 22.
Plenty of time to get into a healthy eating plan. (By a Team.)

Do you have to be on an N b a team to hire a nutritionist and or a trainer?? Again, we are not talking about a player Who's about 10 pounds overweight? That is atrocious for anyone who wants a get a legit chance. It's not like he has only a weight issue. He's quite undersized to begin with. Why make it even tougher? And what kind of defense could he possibly play?

I agree. And it's not a good look for the team. Dude is really talented, but can get by on that with a possible roster spot yet doesn't put in the work to be at his physical best? He's not in NBA shape. And he's kind of a ball hog trying to get a contract by dominating the ball and taking away opportunites by being a ball stopper. That's fine for him, but I'll pass.

I can't see Joe giving him the time of day, really.

[cloverleaf]

Ehhh. He's only 22.
Plenty of time to get into a healthy eating plan. (By a Team.)

Do you have to be on an N b a team to hire a nutritionist and or a trainer?? Again, we are not talking about a player Who's about 10 pounds overweight? That is atrocious for anyone who wants a get a legit chance. It's not like he has only a weight issue. He's quite undersized to begin with. Why make it even tougher? And what kind of defense could he possibly play?

I agree. And it's not a good look for the team. Dude is really talented, but can get by on that with a possible roster spot yet doesn't put in the work to be at his physical best? He's not in NBA shape. And he's kind of a ball hog trying to get a contract by dominating the ball and taking away opportunites by being a ball stopper. That's fine for him, but I'll pass.

I can't see Joe giving him the time of day, really.

Beyond that body and his ability to make boards and FTs, I saw a lot of being flustered, having poor court vision, missing the open man and then missing whatever man he was aiming his pass at. I'd be shocked if he ended up on an NBA roster this year. Maybe a change of scenery to Europe is next.

[playa-hater]

Hugo Gonzalez - has shown me enough already to think he can be a Plus rotation level player one day. When is that day?? Not sure. He has "make things happen" ability. "his shooting mechanics" as someone said, is NOT Broken.

Still want to double down and say, without even seeing a game yet, Not drafting Fleming first at 28 (and hoping/expecting Hugo to be there at 32) will be a mistake proven in time. Not quite as bad as drafting Desmond Bane and trading him in 1.2 minutes. But still bad.

[Homerclease]

I mean, what are we doing here? Bassey was the only big in the game who showed any ability to guard a pick and roll, was the only big in the game who knew how to set a proper screen, was the only big in the game who actually knew where to roll to the rim or how to sit in the dunker spot to position himself for rebounds. Amari Williams picked up three charges in a single game because he’s got no idea what he’s doing yet

There are reasons why he was the 46th pick. Don’t hate Amari Williams, he just is nowhere near ready. The year in the G League will do him well

Of course, shouldn’t expect him to either.

[phincsfan]

Joe hates rookies anyway

[darrendaye]

Admittedly I had my 1 year old grand nephews over during the game, so my focus was very sporadic and I'll go back and watch more intentionally. But..
1. I thought Lofton Jr. play too selfishly too often.
2. I'm not a freak out about summer league guy, but I have always expressed a concern about Scheierman's shot, though I still love his game.
3. They really needed Wong's minutes today.
4. Hugo's game is the one I missed a good deal of watching. So I'll have a better sense on the rewatch.
5. Sell out trying to pick the ballhandler was the order of the day defensively, at least early. Again will get a broader sense later.

Great to have SL started!

[Dogen]

Love the way Gonzalez fights through every pick. Shulga can play too.

Why the Lofton hate? Kid knows how to play. His bulk is an advantage, not a disadvantage. I was all in on D.J. Burns, Jr. too. Great fun to watch. I understand he's playing in Korea now.

Shulga was really sneaky good today, I thought. A good shooter, but did more creating for others. Tough kid who was always on for D.

I like Max. He was a step slow getting things moving, which is ok for getting out of the gate, but needs to stay really energized and keep pushing through.

There was a play when Cam Spenser reached out and basically shoved Max over the halfcourt line, I think trying to induce a backcourt violation.

A guy like Max, they gotta make sure there is NO reputation developed of being a pushover, rookie or not. I have Steve Kerr as a template for him.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

A few scattered thoughts :
Always tough to start out summer league against a team that already has three games together so that's an impressive win.
Scheierman as the most established offensive player on the team tried to do too much, let's see if he can course correct for the next game.
Gonzalez had a very encouraging debut. The boxscore numbers don't pop out but he was really disruptive defensively forcing a number of turnovers. The passing was good. Hopefully now that the nerves are out of the way he'll finish better the rest of summer league. None of that was surprising for people that paid attention but it's nice to see his talent be recognized by a wider audience.
Walsh still doesn't look like the most natural basketball player out there but he had a good game and his shot felt smoother than previously.
Shulga is a pretty smart player, not sure he can hang physically with NBA athletes. Stick him in Maine for a year and see if he can adjust to the speed of the pro game.
Bassey added needed size to this roster. Not the worse option in the world for a deep bench center for the main club. Alternatively, I wonder if they can sneak him onto their G-League team and call him up later in the year when roster spots open up like they did with Kornet a few years back.
Miles Norris has good size and a pure stroke but not much else. His inbounding was embarassing. But I suppose for a role player in this NBA, if you are only going to have 2 skills, 3 and D are those you'd want to have.
Amari Williams needs a ton of work.

[Dogen]

Do you have to be on an N b a team to hire a nutritionist and or a trainer?? Again, we are not talking about a player Who's about 10 pounds overweight? That is atrocious for anyone who wants a get a legit chance. It's not like he has only a weight issue. He's quite undersized to begin with. Why make it even tougher? And what kind of defense could he possibly play?

I agree. And it's not a good look for the team. Dude is really talented, but can get by on that with a possible roster spot yet doesn't put in the work to be at his physical best? He's not in NBA shape. And he's kind of a ball hog trying to get a contract by dominating the ball and taking away opportunites by being a ball stopper. That's fine for him, but I'll pass.

I can't see Joe giving him the time of day, really.

Beyond that body and his ability to make boards and FTs, I saw a lot of being flustered, having poor court vision, missing the open man and then missing whatever man he was aiming his pass at. I'd be shocked if he ended up on an NBA roster this year. Maybe a change of scenery to Europe is next.

Yep, there's a reason these guys are in China. Too bad too cuz he has skill, but this may be his last opportunity.

edit: not knocking China here. I'm going to visit later this year and may try to watch a game. But it seems like the level of play is just good enough for ex-NBA players who don't want to put in the hard work to rest on their natural talent and coast.

[playa-hater]

Baylor Scheierman AKA Rico (for those who are unaware) is a playmaker. But based on his size, he can only be a guard and his shooting has to become much more consistent. Remember last year I had wanted Kyle Filipowski > Rico. Seeing our center situation, I am doubling down on this as well.

[playa-hater]

I agree. And it's not a good look for the team. Dude is really talented, but can get by on that with a possible roster spot yet doesn't put in the work to be at his physical best? He's not in NBA shape. And he's kind of a ball hog trying to get a contract by dominating the ball and taking away opportunites by being a ball stopper. That's fine for him, but I'll pass.

I can't see Joe giving him the time of day, really.

Beyond that body and his ability to make boards and FTs, I saw a lot of being flustered, having poor court vision, missing the open man and then missing whatever man he was aiming his pass at. I'd be shocked if he ended up on an NBA roster this year. Maybe a change of scenery to Europe is next.

Yep, there's a reason these guys are in China. Too bad too cuz he has skill, but this may be his last opportunity.

Did you say China??? Can you imagine him in China and eating Chinese food??? and getting hungry in 2 hours after eating???

[playa-hater]

Shulga seems to be a Prototypical college player who can do a bit of everything but doesn't have enough of anything (mainly athleticism) to Hang on an NBA level.

[playa-hater]

Amari Williams. - someone said Bigmen need more time to develop. Probably true. Not sure he has enough NBA potential, but a year in Maine may help.

[165bows]

baylor playing like walsh did last year, forcing things a bit too much

Ha that always happens, Hauser had a year where he thought he was Kobe.

Anyways was busy and have to catch the replay but was surprised when I saw this box score, the last few pages made it sound like they got waxed.

Fwiw this Memphis SL team just beat Utahs SL team in SLC that started all their first round picks.

[Dogen]

Admittedly I had my 1 year old grand nephews over during the game, so my focus was very sporadic and I'll go back and watch more intentionally. But..
1. I thought Lofton Jr. play too selfishly too often.
2. I'm not a freak out about summer league guy, but I have always expressed a concern about Scheierman's shot, though I still love his game.
3. They really needed Wong's minutes today.
4. Hugo's game is the one I missed a good deal of watching. So I'll have a better sense on the rewatch.
5. Sell out trying to pick the ballhandler was the order of the day defensively, at least early. Again will get a broader sense later.

Great to have SL started!

Your analysis is pretty spot for being surrounded by 1 year olds.

My main takeaway was probably the anxiety of watching the Celtics bring the ball over half court. Memphis had a game plan, and only seemed to relax the pressure when Wong was in. But Wong didn't shoot well.

Will be interesting to see how Reynolds adjusts. Will Point Rico and Point Hugo be tried again? Memphis really had the personnel to try and trap, and I think that is an MO for their regular team anyway. But for Boston it might be an early warning even though it's just summer league. Especially with Jrue gone and Tatum out.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

10 points, 0 offensive rebounds, 6 defensive rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, +1, 5/21 shooting, 0/5 from three, 0/1 on free throws
vs
12 points, 2 offensive rebounds, 2 defensive rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, +11, 4/12 shooting, 3/5 from three, 1/5 on free throws

Now I'm not saying that Gonzalez is going to continue matching Flagg's production going forward but I'll just let people come to that conclusion on their own

[playa-hater]

I actually think Gregg Anthony is one of the better analysts. But when he said Jordan Walsh has made "great strides every year" I wanted to puke. J Walsh has yet to prove he can shoot or play consistently. At age 21 though, I want to see him for a little longer however. But he needs to keep stepping up his game.

[165bows]

Admittedly I had my 1 year old grand nephews over during the game, so my focus was very sporadic and I'll go back and watch more intentionally. But..
1. I thought Lofton Jr. play too selfishly too often.
2. I'm not a freak out about summer league guy, but I have always expressed a concern about Scheierman's shot, though I still love his game.
3. They really needed Wong's minutes today.
4. Hugo's game is the one I missed a good deal of watching. So I'll have a better sense on the rewatch.
5. Sell out trying to pick the ballhandler was the order of the day defensively, at least early. Again will get a broader sense later.

Great to have SL started!

Your analysis is pretty spot for being surrounded by 1 year olds.

My main takeaway was probably the anxiety of watching the Celtics bring the ball over half court. Memphis had a game plan, and only seemed to relax the pressure when Wong was in. But Wong didn't shoot well.

Will be interesting to see how Reynolds adjusts. Will Point Rico and Point Hugo be tried again? Memphis really had the personnel to try and trap, and I think that is an MO for their regular team anyway. But for Boston it might be an early warning even though it's just summer league. Especially with Jrue gone and Tatum out.

They kind of love getting guys reps on ball in SL and Maine. I think it’s prob a good idea