Summer league continues tonight with the Celtics facing the Orlando Magic ...
… [touches finger to ear] what do you mean we’re a week away from opening night? [looks at roster] do you see who’s playing? How is this not summer league? ...
Excuse me. I’m being told that this is the third preseason game as the Celtics prepare for the season opener next Wednesday in New York.
Al Horford and Jaylen Brown will both miss the game due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Dennis Schröder, and Josh Richardson are all being given the night off to rest.
Here’s what to watch for in tonight’s game.
1. Who can make a case for real minutes.
Romeo Langford and Grant Williams played well in their supporting roles, but now will get a bigger chunk of time to show what they can do. If they can each make the most of their increased minutes, then they’ll put some pressure on the Celtics coaching staff to find a spot in the regular rotation for them.
Other guys will be competing for real minutes too, including Jabari Parker, who has had limited playing time in the preseason. Even Juancho Hernangomez, who started the first preseason game, can show that with more time and an opportunity to settle into a game, he deserves some increased minutes.
2. The fight for the 15th spot (or a two-way spot, or maybe a spot somewhere else)
It appears that Juwan Morgan will get his first shot at preseason action. We’re also going to see much more of Garrison Mathews, Theo Pinson, Ryan Arcidiacono, and of course Parker. Parker’s contract is not guaranteed, so it’s essentially up for grabs.
“Shooting is always at a premium. I think that we value that with those last few spots,” Ime Udoka said on Sunday before leaving for Florida. “Guys that can come in and always be ready. Consistency, injuries happen or a guy takes a night off or whatever the case may be, some of that we can plug in and we feel confident that we won't miss a beat. Professionalism is a big part of that.”
The Celtics also have a two-way spot open where one of these guys can slide into. So it’s possible one of these guys is playing for that.
It’s also possible that this is an audition for other teams. Brad Stevens has said he’s looking at other teams’ camp cuts to potentially fill that two-way opening, so it’s conceivable that other teams are doing the same. Everyone involved knows there will probably be cuts coming, probably tomorrow, so this is a big opportunity for a lot of guys.
3. How strongly is Ime Udoka’s message getting through?
In a game full of competition that, naturally, pushes guys to go off on individual journeys, it might be the guys who listen most to the coach who make the strongest cases.
The key here is to find out who can do it the right way, and who will try it the selfish way. It’s not going to be all about getting buckets, it’s going to be about getting the game plan.
And so this game may be as much an early test of Udoka’s coaching ability as it is a test of someone like Matthews’ playing ability. If Udoka is such a great communicator with an innate ability to connect to players, then let’s see if he’s able to get this ragtag group of guys who know they’re either destined for the bench or the waiver wire to band together.
That’s not exactly 100% fair to Udoka because guys auditioning for other teams probably don’t give a damn about what Udoka has to say anymore. Why bother with making the extra pass when you’re more likely to be wearing the Panathinaikos green and white shamrock than the Boston Celtics’?
Still, it will be impressive if Udoka can draw some semblance of his game plan out of these guys.
Competition is the name of the game against Orlando tonight, which might make for some wild basketball. Guys like Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith are going to be trying like hell to earn more minutes and follow the coach’s plan to the letter while others might deviate in search of a contract elsewhere.
It might not be an actual summer league game, but it certainly feels like one.