On this eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord 2021, fans of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association were blessed with the witnessing of a phenomenon. The heat of the parched Nevada desert was pierced by the cool glow of a single ray of light, which shone upon a figure in green, wearing the number 28.
Yam. Madar. And he was... actually not bad.
These summer settings can amplify the drama around the debut of a second-round pick (so can being on social media, where I tend to spend too much of my time). By the time the game tipped, we were treated with a barrage of videos and photos of Madar during warmups. Boston’s lack of moves have also built up the anticipation, with many hoping he could be a revelation for the Celtics.
He came off the bench for the Summer Celtics and entered the game with the Celtics off to a slow start. He immediately began living up to some of the ridiculous expectations by flexing his trademark energy and flashy passing. He hit the first shot of the game for the Celtics after going oh-fer the first few minutes of the game and then he picked up Atlanta Hawks ball handlers full court, forced turnovers and jump balls.
“I was very happy with Yam,” Celtics assistant and summer league head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Madar. “I thought he did a great job of changing the game with his ball pressure. Last week in training camp was his first time playing and he had some growing pains. He did a great job consequently over the last two days and he really showed that in the game today. We’ll be looking for him to bring that defensive pressure, and down the offensive end get a few more touches, maybe a little more confidence and make plays for others.”
Madar played 17 minutes and finished with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in the Celtics win over the Hawks. Not the gaudiest of stat lines, but certainly enough to show that he has some potential as an NBA player. The defensive intensity was good, and his willingness to work 94 feet is impressive. His flair for the game is pretty clear, and there isn't a pass that he feels he can’t make.
“It starts with ball pressure and making great decisions for him and our team,” Mazzulla said. “Our first practice we turned the ball over a lot, and today we only had 11. We did a great job taking care of the ball, and his decision making, his poise was a reason.”
Summer league success looks nice but it’s not always indicative of anything. Kevin Knox looked great in his first summer league and he... has not been that for the Knicks. Guys look good in summer league all the time and have had it not translate to the regular season. The key for Madar is to build on these performances all week and keep taking steps forward.
For now, he can enjoy getting day one over with.
“It felt amazing,” he said. “It’s a dream come true. Being on the floor, wearing that Celtics jersey, it’s amazing. It’s a blessing for me, for my family, representing them. It was great.”
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
- Payton Pritchard may not need much more summer league action. He led the Celtics with 23 points on 7-15 shooting on 3-pointers, including a few DEEP makes. He’s trying to add more range to his shot, and it showed.
“Payton is a great competitor, he’s a great player,” Mazzulla said. “What we were looking for from him was to just be himself and make people around him better. I thought he did a great job controlling the game.”
He also had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and no turnovers.
- Romeo Langford hit the game-winning 3-pointer to cap off a good finish to a slow start for him.
“It’s a microcosm of what we're trying to get accomplished,” Mazzulla said. “Everybody has their individual goals and for Romeo it’s can he make shots at opportune times. And I'm proud of all the guys tonight but for that particular situation I felt that it was important for him to experience that.”
Langford’s overall line looked good: 12 points on 4-7 shooting (3-7 3pt), 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He did have 4 turnovers as well, and he was just kind of ... there ... in the first half. He was better in the second, but there is still a lot of room for him to grow.
- Aaron Nesmith, noted 3-point specialist, looked decent in every aspect of his game BUT his 3-point shooting. He was 1-8 from deep and it appeared he was trying to create his own offense when he had the chance. I'm not worried one iota about shots not falling.
Nesmith needs to improve his ball-handling and driving, and that’s something that he clearly focused on here. This is a classic “process over results” moment for Nesmith; I’d rather see him fail but get better at a weakness than go out there and succeed doing what he does best. This is the whole point of summer league. This is the entire reason for playing organized basketball in August.
Go out there, work on your game, get better at things you’re not good at right now. The rest can wait for training camp.
- Juhann Begarin hit a couple of 3-pointers and made the game-clinching steal. He is raw but let’s keep him in mind for next year’s Madar-like fan obsession.
- Carsen Edwards had a game where we’d normally wonder “wow, has he figured something out?” He finished with 17 points on 6-17 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, but I feel like this is a classic Edwards game where he can get going against lesser competition with 30 minutes of playing time.
I know this comes off as insulting but it’s not. Edwards is very good at basketball but it still feels like he needs time and opportunity for the offense to run through him to have games like this. He’s just not going to get that level of opportunity with the Celtics.
Maybe he’ll get it somewhere else in the league, or on a high-level team overseas. There’s plenty of basketball for Edwards to play over his career. I don’t think it’ll be in Boston.