Charles Bassey makes his case as Celtics win second summer game

The Boston Celtics moved to 2-0 in the Las Vegas Summer League with a relatively easy win over the Knicks' summer squad. The Celtics got a big double-double from Charles Bassey, who dropped 22 points and 13 rebounds. Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh dropped 13 apiece. 

Hugo Gonzalez did not play. Brad Stevens noted Gonzalez was going to get at least a day off to help him recover from the short turnaround from the end of his season in Spain to the beginning of training camp, so this was a scheduled absence.

Here’s a player-by-player look at how things went. 

Charles Bassey: He’s been in the league four years, with 113 games played. A guy with that kind of experience should be doing well. 

“He’s a guy who’s probably playing for what’s next,” Brad Stevens told reporters on Saturday. “He’s a guy we’ve paid attention to from afar for a long time. We’re watching all these guys all the time. He was probably the biggest reason we won the game (on Friday).” 

He was just as big a reason the Celtics won this one as well. And with the Celtics super-thin in the frontcourt, I think his strong performance so far is at least enough to bring him to training camp. 

When you look for translatable skills, you look for good instincts and the ability to make plays. This is a good example of playing drop coverage but understanding what the ball handler is doing, then making a play. 

He’s a superior athlete and if instincts like this can be honed, he can slide in and have a chance to make the Celtics. Again, it’s very easy to waive JD Davison’s non-guaranteed contract or trade one of the smaller contracts to someone to open up a spot for Bassey if he impresses in camp. 

Baylor Scheierman: He shot poorly again (1-7 from 3), which is not the greatest thing in the world. I liked his overall game (13 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers), and there were long stretches where it felt like he was an NBA-level player who was kind of picking apart summer league competition. 

And while I know I’m the first one to say “don’t get caught up in makes or misses,” I do think a shooter making shots against inferior competition is at least somewhat important. I’m not going to worry too much because he shot 40% in the G League, so I know he has it in him. This could just be a couple of bad shooting nights that every shooter has. 

He did make this shot, though.

And he made this pass. 

His court vision was always seen as a complement to his shooting, and that hasn’t changed. It’s an important element that will help him earn some minutes. A guy who demands attention at the 3-point line should be able to take a dribble or two and find an open teammate against collapsing help or when picked up high in transition. 

Jordan Walsh: My hope for Walsh is fading. He hasn’t put enough of his flashes together for me to get excited about his long-term future. This is his third summer league, and he’s still playing too fast. It’s his number one issue, he has acknowledged as much, and he still hasn’t adjusted. 

He got to the line 11 times in this game, but there were 58 combined fouls committed by these teams. Walsh committed seven of those. He made a couple of buckets, but I am struggling to see much beyond his athleticism getting him results. 

Walsh is a good kid who wants to do well, but I’m starting to doubt his ability to consistently reach the next level. He is only 21, so I’m not going to write him off and say he can’t. But I’m not sure it’s going to happen in a Boston uniform. I’m starting to see an international path for him where he comes back to summer league in a couple of seasons to try hooking back on with an NBA team. 

Max Shulga: I’m intrigued by him as a future point guard. 

“I think Max Shulga knows how to play,” Celtics assistant and summer league head coach Matt Reynolds said at a recent team practice. “He can do pretty much everything on the floor, and you want to accentuate those skills.”

He’s shown that in two games by handling the very difficult task of executing a summer league offense. I think a summer league point guard is a little like a youth dance instructor trying to get eight-year-olds trying to execute their choreography when each kid is in their own little world. Shulga has shown patience and at least an attempt to make the right play. 

“That’s the quality of a steady player,” Reynolds told reporters after the game. “Doesn’t get rattled out there. Never too high, never too low. He just gets us into an action … and to do that without showing a lot of emotion, I think, is probably for the best because he can get on to the next play regardless of the result of the previous one.” 

A steady hand is translatable. Reading and reacting is translatable. The speed of the game will change, but calmness and keeping his head on straight gives him a chance. 

Amari Williams: He only played 16 minutes but the passing is as advertised. 

This is a beautiful pass. He made others that didn’t result in the finish, and I think the summer Celtics should spend a little time truly running the offense through Williams in the high post to see what kind of plays he can make. I’m very curious to see how he can run dribble handoffs or find cutters from the high post. Who knows, maybe they can run a little blind pig. 

Jalen Bridges: He deserves a mention even though he’s not really going to do anything with Boston. I can see him getting an exhibit 10, coming to camp, and then spending some time in Maine, especially if he keeps filling up the stat sheet (16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks). 

Kenny Lofton: We saw less of him in this game but it was more of the same. I’m all set. 

The Celtics play again tomorrow night at 8:00 against Miami