BSJ Summer League Game Report: Nets 102, Celtics 95 - Leaving Las Vegas with an L, but with valuable chips

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' summer league matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics did a great impression of me at the blackjack table in Vegas. They got up big early, they lost some of their discipline in the middle, and the game got away from them at the end and they finished down. 

To their credit, they kept on fighting, which was a hallmark of this team throughout their run in Vegas. It was a fun trip, but they finished it on a low note, losing to the Nets, 102-95.

Box Score

PLUSSES

The scrappy summer Celtics went up against a pretty talented summer Nets team that featured a few players with NBA experience. Cam Thomas will likely be, at the very least, a scorer in the league for a long time, but the C’s were able to hang with him and the rest of the young Nets talent. 

Side note: If the Nets let Sean Marks actually build a team again, a few of these guys have a chance to be part of their resurgence.  

MINUSES

You hate to see a team lose composure and allow an opponent to get back into the game after building a big lead, but I’m not going to crush these guys in summer circumstances. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Juhann Begarin: His best game of the summer. You can see his confidence building throughout the summer league. He’s such an interesting case. So interesting, in fact, that you’re going to have to scroll down for all of my thoughts on him. 

Mfiondu Kabengele: Another impressive performance for him with 18 points, on 66.7% shooting, 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks. His summer has been impressive enough to earn him a two-way contract with the team. He joins JD Davison as a two-way player on the team, which means fans in Portland, Maine should get ready for an alley-oop fest.

JD Davison: 17 points and 10 assists on 53.3% shooting. I’m officially intrigued about his potential at the next level. Now what I want to see is how he looks against NBA defenses. 

It’s pretty easy to get out on the break in Vegas, make one read, and throw a lob. Davison is a great athlete with good vision and Vegas is the land of poor transition defense. It all makes for some fun highlights and mirages in the desert that trick people into thinking certain things are real. So now I want to see how some of this translates to the next level. I hope the Celtics feel that way too, because I’m dying to see how Davison looks against NBA defenses and not the jumbled messes he’s been facing. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE QUICK TAKE

Begarin’s value is getting interesting. 

At some point in the middle of summer league, Begarin’s confidence just took off. Over the past two games, he’s playing like he thinks he’s above the competition in Las Vegas. Shooting it with confidence has been huge for Begarin, and now we’re starting to see a little glimpse of the potential in his game. 

And that brings us to an interesting spot with him. 

He’s only 19, so there's a lot of room for growth. And just like upticks in the stock market, people see production start to rise in a setting like this and they think the sky’s the limit. Right now, we have no idea what kind of player Begarin will be in the NBA. Actually, right now we don’t even know if he’ll actually MAKE the NBA. 

I know that's harsh, and those of you who watched him in summer league may be tempted to fire back with absolutes about his ceiling, but that fact is that we don’t know. 

Remember, summer league is notorious for producing false positives. But I don’t want to go down that road right now. What we’ve seen from Begarin this summer has been intriguing, and I think the promise of him has built him up to an asset bigger than curiosity.

It’s obviously natural to look at a 19-year-old who has flashed some serious skill in this setting and fall in love with his potential. He needs to work on making his jumper more consistent, so watching it fall with some regularity is pretty enticing. 

But is it so enticing that a rival GM looking to part with established talent will take him back as quality trade return? 

The Celtics are a Finals contender now, and their window has been thrown open for what Boston hopes is the long haul. While Begarin and his potential can be valuable to an expensive tax team down the road, his value could be greatest as a valuable trade asset this season as Boston hopes to add immediate winning talent to the roster via trade. 

The rights to Begarin and one of Boston’s TPEs now, possibly, could be as valuable as one of Boston’s late first-round picks. Brad Stevens has been very willing to trade those because the Celtics are simply not in the business of developing too many players during this run. They don’t have the minutes for these players, so if there's suddenly increased value in a trade, the Celtics might want to pounce while they have the chance. 

If a second-round draft-and-stash suddenly has increased value, then I say use it to get an established player if you can now. This team’s window is open now, so waiting around for three years to see if this kid pans out isn't in their best interests. Cash in the chips now.