In their fourth and final preseason game, the Boston Celtics traveled south to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. But the starting lineups looked weird. Very weird.
Philadelphia played most of its top stars. Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid were all active. But with Sam Cassell leading the way as head coach, Boston played its training camp guys.
It was Milos Uzan, Hayden Gray, Tucker DeVries, Gabe McGlothan, and Chris Cenac. Those were the players the Celtics started with. Quite the eclectic group.
Both sides went back and forth. Philadelphia relied on its talent, while Boston relied on its hustle and winning the margins. By the end of regulation, the game was tied.
The Sixers were ice cold in overtime. They couldn't hit a three all night, and overtime was no different. The Celtics took advantage, led by Ron Harper Jr., Dillon Mitchell, and the camp guys.
Boston walked out of Xfinity Mobile Arena with a 125-120 victory, capping off a 4-0 preseason campaign. And they did it against some of the biggest superstars in the NBA.
Up: Hugo Gonzalez
It wasn't just Friday night. Hugo Gonzalez has looked great all preseason. This game against the Sixers was merely an extension of his play thus far.
The shot is falling at a very high rate for Gonzalez. And it seems like he's shooting the ball with a higher arc. Whatever it is, it's working.
But on Friday night, it was the other stuff that was most impressive. Gonzalez drove to the rim hard. With purpose. (Let's ignore the missed travel call on his breakaway.)
He also got a pretty good whistle. When Gonzalez drove into contact, he was rewarded with the call. And his defense was solid, too. It's been a very promising preseason for the soon-to-be second-year wing.
Gonzalez ended his night with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists. He shot 6-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-7 from distance.
Down: Amari Williams
There haven't been many opportunities for Amari Williams to play this preseason. He got in the game in the first half of this one, but things didn't go too well.
Milos Uzan ran into Williams on the offensive end, and then Williams got beat in transition badly by Brown. It looked like he didn't know when or where to contest.
The rest of his game wasn't much better. As was the case for much of Summer League, he just looked out of place. Unsure where to be on the floor.
Up: