Las Vegas Summer League is mercifully over, capped by a Celtics win over the Hawks in which the regulars played much less and guys who filled out the roster got their chance to audition. There was no Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, or Kenny Lofton, Jr., and Amari Williams only played the first half, but it was still an important time for those other guys.
I had a friend coaching in a lower Japanese league a few years ago, grilling me about which guys I’ve seen at summer league would be good for his team. Just because this final day doesn’t serve much of my or Boston’s needs anymore, it doesn’t mean there isn’t still some meat on the bone for the smaller scavengers.
So there's no real need to go through this particular game player-by-player. Instead, here are a few overall thoughts from these five games.
- There is a lot being made of how the Celtics are playing fast and cutting in summer league. That is a departure from the normal Celtics style of play, but I don’t think it’s particularly notable. These are all young guys with minimal practice time. They aren’t going to just walk it up, set one ball screen, and let someone cook.
Who would be the iso guy? Who would be the slow-down, survey the floor, then make a play guy? This is a summer league team that doesn’t have that kind of player, so of course they're going to play fast and cut a lot.
Of course, I’d love to see the Celtics do that more often. And they might end up having to do that with the roster they have on the floor. But I don’t necessarily think this is Boston’s brass saying, “hey, let’s try a different style and see how that goes.” I think this is simply a bunch of young guys who want to make an impression so they're defending like crazy and running off every miss.
I’m not going to ascribe the natural trend towards this kind of basketball in this situation to some sort of genius maneuvering by the team. Everyone plays fast in Vegas. Too fast, even. I’d say at least 30% of the basketball played in July is frantic and out of control. And that's probably a conservative number.
- There isn’t a summer leaguer that stood out to me as a lock contributor this upcoming season. I know Scheierman and Walsh will have plenty of opportunities to make their case. The Celtics will be much better off if either, or both, of those guys can turn into a regular rotation player, but both of those guys had something about their summer that gives me pause.
Of course, summer league basketball isn't the end of the story. I’ve seen guys struggle here and then end up fine. There's something to be said about the lack of practice time and continuity. There's a big difference playing next to Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, versus Max Shulga and Miles Norris.
There's also a big difference facing NBA defense versus summer defense. So I do wish I saw more from Walsh and Scheierman. I did see good things, but it’s a three-star meal when I was expecting a four or four-and-a-half star experience.
- Here’s where I’ve settled on Walsh: I don’t think he’s fully focused 100% of the time, at least not in summer league. I got there when he said this after his best performance of the summer:
“I wanted to beat the Lakers bad. I wanted to make a statement really bad,” he said after the Boston win over the Lakers. He said he was motivated to play well after getting ejected, “and I was even more motivated when we came out and they were hitting me, pushing me, and all types of dirty stuff. And I was like ‘alright, stay cool, go out and play, and just win this game and be happy after.”
He had moments where he was out of position or even running into teammates in the first couple of games. Then he got thrown out of a game when he admittedly forgot he had gotten a technical foul just moments before getting a second one.
After he dropped that quote, it hit me that those weren’t the plays of a guy still struggling to find his way as he heads into his third season. I think he’s struggling to stay completely focused on making the right plays, the right way. I don’t know if he’s distracted or unable to lock in the same way he does for regular season or even G League games, but I think the stuff I’m missing from his game is mental more than anything.
In some ways, that's encouraging because he was still good enough to perform well. It’s discouraging because those mental lapses are going to hold him back. I think his motivated game against the Lakers was his best by a fair amount. I still think he has a chance to earn minutes.
At the same time, this has to be his last summer league with Boston. Actually, it has to be his last summer league, period. He shouldn’t have to go back a fourth time, and if he ends up having to, it shouldn’t be with the Celtics.
- Scheierman’s shooting was so bad on high volume that it overshadowed a lot of good stuff. I think he played pretty well but shot like I would stumbling into that gym after a night of blackjack and free drinks at the Bellagio.
I do not like the aesthetics of Scheierman’s shot. I never have. But rule number one of shooting is that if it goes in, don’t mess with it. It’s gone in enough for Scheierman to shoot well in college and the G League. I have to trust that this slump was the product of some tinkering and a streak cold enough to drop the temperature in Vegas a couple of degrees.
- My big summer league overreaction is that Hugo Gonzalez is going to be a big hit. I like his feel for the game, his drive, and his competitiveness. The rest of the stuff that we saw is coachable. If he accepts that coaching, then I think he’ll be in line for a “most improved player” year in, like, 2028.
He definitely needs to tinker with his shot. The NBA 3-point line is a big adjustment for him and he’s struggling to find a consistent release to get the ball where it needs to be. He’s making some nice moves but they're not paying off because the defenders here are different than what he’s used to.
I’d love to see him spend some time at the end of the Boston bench so he can get into NBA games and flail around like a freshly caught fish and get a real sense of what NBA life is like. Throw him into the deep end a little this season while still letting him get full reps in Maine to hone the lessons he learns.
- I like Amari William’s passing and vision, which I’ve noted a few times. I think he’s a little on the slow/deliberate side right now, so I’m not expecting much out of him right away. There's a “he’s not confident enough” vibe to his game right now that I think he needs to work through.
If Boston wasn’t desperate for some help at center I’d say Williams is going to play the whole year in Maine and we’ll check in on him later. That might still be the case, but there might be a little “eff it, let’s see how he reacts to this situation” opportunity for him, at least in the preseason.
- Max Shulga will play the whole year in Maine. We’ll check in on him later.