It’s appropriate that the NBA has settled on Las Vegas, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, for its summer league. So much of what we think is good often ends up as a mirage, but very often, the bad stuff we see is very real.
Good players are supposed to do well here. Even the flawed-yet-talented can succeed because the more-flawed and less-talented competition enhances strengths.
This is why we’re prone to overreactions. Gifted players come to Las Vegas and shine all the time, but then turn around and struggle when their teammates and opponents are established NBA players, high-level veterans, or stars as opposed to people auditioning for the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins. The true art to the evaluation of certain players is trying to figure out what translates to the NBA, versus what falls victim to the overused “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” slogan.
Which is why Aaron Nesmith’s summer is so interesting. Nesmith’s stated goal was to seek out certain shots, not just try to drill open ones.
“I’m working on a bunch of shots that I saw last season that I wasn’t able to make, so a lot of them are contested shots,” he said earlier this week. “Coming into the NBA, I’m labeled as a shooter, so a lot of people are going to try to run me off the line. So I’m working on ways to create better looks for myself, find little pockets so I can get the ball off, working on my release time, and shooting over people.”
A hand in your face is a hand in your face, and the ability to still make shots while said hand is actively trying to prevent that is, indeed, a translatable skill.
Nesmith could get all the easy looks he wants in this offense. Playing off screens from an experienced, tough big man like Bruno Fernando and getting passes from Payton Pritchard could lead to warm up level shots and even bigger point totals for Nesmith. But if he’d done that, the tone of this column would be much different, because he wouldn’t have proven anything to anyone besides being able to hit open jumpers.
Big whoop. Ben Simmmons can hit open jumpers too.
Hitting the tough shots in Vegas is impressive; impressive enough to raise a question for this upcoming season?
Should he be the Celtics’ starting 2-guard?
It’s obviously too early to answer this question. We still have to see proof that this summer league performance is real when he faces better competition during the preseason. But Nesmith has made a case for himself with his shooting, especially as it relates to the rest of the Celtics roster.
Let’s start with the obvious: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown need players around them who will help them do what they do best. Marcus Smart is a good facilitator, and will likely get the starting point guard nod. Robert Williams puts vertical pressure on defenses, opening up shooting opportunities. Neither of them, though, will provide much of an outside shooting threat.
So who will?
The Celtics hope Josh Richardson will get back to some of his better shooting days in Miami, and if he does, he might be the better option. They are similarly sized, but Richardson’s experience and defensive ability could be the better choice.
However, if he doesn’t, then the options run thin.
Pritchard has shown great ability as a shooter, especially in Vegas, but the Celtics would be very small in the backcourt if he started. Dennis Schröder had one decent shooting year, but is generally in Smart territory from behind the arc.
Nesmith started to blossom late last season, and if his Vegas shooting is real, he could be the best option for the Celtics. At 6’5”, he has the right size for that position. He’s shown he can be a tenacious defender, though he does need more work to be able to stay in front of people on the perimeter. His energy is infectious, and could be very necessary in the early going.
He’d get the benefit of playing off two All-Stars, one of whom could work his way into the MVP conversation. He’d also be playing with two high-level passers in Williams and Smart, both of whom work very well in the pick-and-roll and who would suck defenses in with the lob threat.
If Williams is rolling and the ball swings over to Tatum or Brown, defenses will overreact. Nesmith could find himself all alone in the corners after a couple of swings of the ball. There, he’d face the hard-charging closeouts he’s been seeking in summer league.
Now, with the muscle memory and game film of those shots, Nesmith could become a very necessary weapon for C’s starting unit.
“Something that the great shooters have is their attention to detail. They’re meticulous,” Celtics assistant and summer league head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He came in that way, that’s just the way he’s made, and that’s why he is who he is ... That’s what separates great shooters in the NBA and that’s why he’s going to be a great one.”
No matter what configuration the Celtics use in their starting lineup, it will need shooting to help give Tatum and Brown space. Nesmith was always going to be an important player for the Celtics this year, and summer league was going to be a crucial first look at how he might be able to fit.
So far, Nesmith has shown enough to be an intriguing option for a bigger role this year. It’s the kind of performance that makes you squint your eyes, purse your lips, let out a “hmmm,” and then raise your finger and say “hey, what if...”
It’s enough of a breakthrough to at least give it a shot. It’s interesting enough to start thinking this bridge year might not be so bad after all, even for a team full of temporary players.
And for Nesmith, it could be the first step in creating a long-term role on a team desperately searching for his exact set of skills.