NBA Summer League 2021, Championship Game -- Celtics vs Kings -- Aug. 17, 9PM

[sam_I_am]

The Houston Rockets really nailed the draft. Segun had a Kelly Olynyk type game - great numbers and lots of free throws against G-leaguers but can it translate to real NBA? Jalen Green looks like a superstar. He is going to be awesome.

Scott Barnes also looked really good. He does everything well. One highlight I saw was a 70 foot bullet pass made with his off hand.

However, the play of the day had to be Kai Jones’ dunk. Most impressive summer league dunk I’ve seen since Gerald Green.

Watch on YouTube

[greenroom31]

Pritchard, Romeo, Yam all looked good out there. Begarin has an NBA body at 18 which is impressive, but definitely still very raw (no shocker) -- got taken off the dribble a lot due to trying to jump the first move opponents made, and his handle needs work. Like his energy though and he made a couple shots.

Edwards is a wannabe bench shooter who still can't make 3s, so I don't see the point with him being here. There's zero chance that his hard drives to the basket will work in an NBA game, and he gets abused on D. Nesmith had a rough day shooting but is still active and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on shaking off some rust given his historical 3%.

[Curmudgeon]

Langford and Nesmith were beaten off the dribble too. And of course with such an undersized front line, there was virtually no rim protection.

Why isn't Bruno Fernando playing Summer league? Kids is 6-10 1/2 and pretty good on the glass.

[tlee324]

Except for that last big shot, Langford was awful. He turned it over every time he tried to drive. And I would be delighted if I never saw Carsten Edwards in a Celtics uniform again. His game has not evolved one iota in two years.

Madar was as expected. Nice player, needs to add 10-15 pounds of muscle. Begarin was a pleasant surprise. I'm a little shocked that Mazulla left him on the floor in crunch time, but he was right to do so. The kid kept his cool.

Romeo's shot was on, which is important, and they were putting him in a playmaking role. He also grabbed 6 boards, so was an active contributor all around--despite the TOs.

Ya I dont know if I'd describe Romeo as "awful." 12/6/4 on nine shots is fine. They were clearly letting him operate a little with the ball in his hands which I like.

Its really just gonna come down to shooting for Romeo. If he can hit league average he'll have a long career because he's a good defender and has some intriguing passing potential.

They need to start developing or acquiring better playmakers on this team. I see no problem with them using summer league and d-league to do so. Romeo has a chance, but needs a lot of work.

[Hal14]

Hauser needs to work on his D in the G-league, except the G-league is a terrible place to work on D.

He's not a good defender, which is his weakness (along with below average athelticism).

I only saw the highlights on youtube but i don't understand why Cooper was taking Hauser off the dribble in so many of the plays in the highlights - we weren't purposely having hauser defend cooper, were we? Or did the hawks just keep forcing switches that resulted in that matchup?

[Hal14]

Romeo's shot was on, which is important, and they were putting him in a playmaking role. He also grabbed 6 boards, so was an active contributor all around--despite the TOs.

Ya I dont know if I'd describe Romeo as "awful." 12/6/4 on nine shots is fine. They were clearly letting him operate a little with the ball in his hands which I like.

Its really just gonna come down to shooting for Romeo. If he can hit league average he'll have a long career because he's a good defender and has some intriguing passing potential.

They need to start developing or acquiring better playmakers on this team. I see no problem with them using summer league and d-league to do so. Romeo has a chance, but needs a lot of work.

*cough* Yam *cough*

[tlee324]

Ya I dont know if I'd describe Romeo as "awful." 12/6/4 on nine shots is fine. They were clearly letting him operate a little with the ball in his hands which I like.

Its really just gonna come down to shooting for Romeo. If he can hit league average he'll have a long career because he's a good defender and has some intriguing passing potential.

They need to start developing or acquiring better playmakers on this team. I see no problem with them using summer league and d-league to do so. Romeo has a chance, but needs a lot of work.

*cough* Yam *cough*

The more, the merrier.

[Hal14]

Langford and Nesmith were beaten off the dribble too. And of course with such an undersized front line, there was virtually no rim protection.

Why isn't Bruno Fernando playing Summer league? Kids is 6-10 1/2 and pretty good on the glass.

the trade officially went through, what on saturday afternoon? i. think only reason fernando didn't play was because tip off was only like 24 hrs after the trade officially went through. Maybe they needed to have rosters finalized even sooner than that, IDK.

Maybe we'll add him to the roster for the rest of the summer league games? or maybe once the league has started, you can't make any roster changes?

[FlatearthZorro]

Space Yam will be the next Tony Parker. You heard it here first.

I can see why you think so but one glaring difference is that Parker had elite speed. I don’t think Yam has the physical tools to be that good in NBA. I think the skill and energy is there but his body needs a lot of work. He is young so that maybe a year of NBA conditioning combined with his skill is enough for him to be a solid NBA player. Future HOFer? I just can’t buy into that hype.

He is really quick and definitely taller than Tony who was 6'1 at best. Obviously, I'm reaching with the Parker comp, but kid has some serious potential. And already looks to be a better defender than Tony ever was.

On the other hand, I made the comp, cause he moves a bit like Tony.

[cloverleaf]

Langford and Nesmith were beaten off the dribble too. And of course with such an undersized front line, there was virtually no rim protection.

Why isn't Bruno Fernando playing Summer league? Kids is 6-10 1/2 and pretty good on the glass.

the trade officially went through, what on saturday afternoon? i. think only reason fernando didn't play was because tip off was only like 24 hrs after the trade officially went through. Maybe they needed to have rosters finalized even sooner than that, IDK.

Maybe we'll add him to the roster for the rest of the summer league games? or maybe once the league has started, you can't make any roster changes?

Doesn't seem like that'd really be that fair to him, with the rest having practiced together all week.

[cloverleaf]

Hauser needs to work on his D in the G-league, except the G-league is a terrible place to work on D.

He's not a good defender, which is his weakness (along with below average athelticism).

I only saw the highlights on youtube but i don't understand why Cooper was taking Hauser off the dribble in so many of the plays in the highlights - we weren't purposely having hauser defend cooper, were we? Or did the hawks just keep forcing switches that resulted in that matchup?

My guess is that Cooper just kept gunning for him. I think he could really use some time in Europe to force that defensive improvement, though he's at least hoping for a 2-way here. By contrast, I think Begarin would develop fastest on a 2-way, though he'll probably be tossed back to his team in Europe for another year.

[cloverleaf]

Romeo's shot was on, which is important, and they were putting him in a playmaking role. He also grabbed 6 boards, so was an active contributor all around--despite the TOs.

Ya I dont know if I'd describe Romeo as "awful." 12/6/4 on nine shots is fine. They were clearly letting him operate a little with the ball in his hands which I like.

Its really just gonna come down to shooting for Romeo. If he can hit league average he'll have a long career because he's a good defender and has some intriguing passing potential.

They need to start developing or acquiring better playmakers on this team. I see no problem with them using summer league and d-league to do so. Romeo has a chance, but needs a lot of work.

When Ime was hired he said he learned from the Spurs system to really select high IQ players, and Mazulla noted yesterday that Romeo is "really smart". So put that together with Romeo's shot apparently getting put back together this summer and I think he has a real opportunity to flourish in something of the old ET bench role this year.

[Hal14]

Hauser needs to work on his D in the G-league, except the G-league is a terrible place to work on D.

He's not a good defender, which is his weakness (along with below average athelticism).

I only saw the highlights on youtube but i don't understand why Cooper was taking Hauser off the dribble in so many of the plays in the highlights - we weren't purposely having hauser defend cooper, were we? Or did the hawks just keep forcing switches that resulted in that matchup?

My guess is that Cooper just kept gunning for him. I think he could really use some time in Europe to force that defensive improvement, though he's at least hoping for a 2-way here. By contrast, I think Begarin would develop fastest on a 2-way, though he'll probably be tossed back to his team in Europe for another year.

Wait, what? I meant Hauser is the one who somehow kept defending Cooper and was getting burned by him. Not Begarin.

Hauser is not from europe so we can't put him in Europe. Hauser is likely to be a 2-way guy.

Begarin likely to be stashed in europe for a year. Perhaps Begarin would develop better over here on a 2-way, but stashing begarin in europe frees up a roster spot so we can have 18 guys under our control rather than 17.

[Curmudgeon]

If they put Begarin overseas it can't be China. Players learn too many bad habits in that league. Send him to the Spanish league if possible, or at least to French Pro A.

[Parliament10]

After 1 SL game I am totally convinced that Yam should be on a two way this year. Though I reserve the right to completely change my mind after the next SL game.

Seriously though I think a 2 way would be a great experience. He’d get the chance to play a lot more than in Boston behind Smart PP and Dunn, and learn our system. He seemed to have the most trouble with the physicality of the nba last night, so he will get used to that in the G league, and get used to the longer 3 pt line.

What happens after the 2 way ends? Does he become a FA or do we still have his rights?

Two-Ways are RFA's after the Season. We can give them a Qualifying Offer.

[Hal14]

For anyone saying that Pritchard is too good for summer league or that he was better than everyone else on the court, stats from yesterday's game:

FG% Madar 67%, Pritchard 39%
+/- Madar +7, Pritchard -3
Madar played far better defensively.
Madar showed the ability to get into the lane and create off the dribble, both for himself and for his teammates - Pritchard did not. The teardrop shot along the baseline that Madar hit was nasty, and so was the little shake and bake dribble drive move to get in the lane and then hitting the turnaround jumper, along with a bunch of really nice passes - especially the pass on the PnR to Auguste which was nasty.
Only thing Pritchard did better was shoot 3's. And who knows, if Madar shot as many 3's as Pritchard did, he may have made just as many

Pritchard put up better numbers in terms of points, rebounds, assists because Mazzula played him way more mins and he took way more shots.

They both played very well. Pritchard with some impressive outside shooting, and Madar did a little bit of everything, showing great hustle/energy/tenacity.

Keep in mind, it's just 1 game and it's just summer league. So at this point I don't think we could say either of them is decidedly better than the other. And we also can't say that either of them is "too good for summer league" or a "man among boys" like I've seen some people say about Pritchard after the Hawks game.

[Hal14]

Payton keeps this shooting up and improves his on court presence he’ll be a near max player soon.

Calling it

I can't tell if you're joking with this take.

Near max contract would be $25-$30 mil a yr. That is a crazy amount for an undersized PG who plays below average defense, below average playmaker.

It's even crazier to jump to such a conclusion after 1 game...1 meaningless summer league game at that. Pritchard looked good, but keep in mind he shot 39% from the floor (not terrible but not great either). and. had a +/- of -3.

I like Pritchard, love his shooting and love his confidence. He should be a solid player off the bench for us this year. But this take seems to be going overboard - unless you were joking, of course..

[Parliament10]

Edwards should be Traded by the end of Summer League. Or, Waived.
Hauser doesn't seen to be our best bet for a Two-Way, either?

Madar should get a Two-Way, at least. And probably Begarin.


On a side note:
We need to have 5 Two-Ways per team.
Let them bounce back and forth between the G-League.

Worldwide, basketball has just improved that way.
We need the middle league, meaning Two-Ways.

[sam_I_am]

Edwards should be Traded by the end of Summer League. Or, Waived.
Hauser doesn't seen to be our best bet for a Two-Way, either?

Madar should get a Two-Way, at least. And probably Begarin.


On a side note:
We need to have 5 Two-Ways per team.
Let them bounce back and forth between the G-League.

Worldwide, basketball has just improved that way.
We need the middle league, meaning Two-Ways.

I really regret the team letting Max Strus go for Tacko. Maybe Hauser can improve the way Max did. His shot is big league ready but his athleticism leaves a lot to be desired.

[cloverleaf]

He's not a good defender, which is his weakness (along with below average athelticism).

I only saw the highlights on youtube but i don't understand why Cooper was taking Hauser off the dribble in so many of the plays in the highlights - we weren't purposely having hauser defend cooper, were we? Or did the hawks just keep forcing switches that resulted in that matchup?

My guess is that Cooper just kept gunning for him. I think he could really use some time in Europe to force that defensive improvement, though he's at least hoping for a 2-way here. By contrast, I think Begarin would develop fastest on a 2-way, though he'll probably be tossed back to his team in Europe for another year.

Wait, what? I meant Hauser is the one who somehow kept defending Cooper and was getting burned by him. Not Begarin.

Hauser is not from europe so we can't put him in Europe. Hauser is likely to be a 2-way guy.

Begarin likely to be stashed in europe for a year. Perhaps Begarin would develop better over here on a 2-way, but stashing begarin in europe frees up a roster spot so we can have 18 guys under our control rather than 17.

RIght. And that was exactly my point. The irony is that Begarin who probably will stay stashed for a year in Europe ideally IMO would be over here on a 2-way this year. And Hauser who probably will be on a 2-way or in the g-league otherwise this year could probably best use a year in Europe.