The Boston Celtics played their first Summer League game today against the Miami Heat.  This was our first chance to check out the Green Team’s newest draft picks in a Celtics uniform.  Before I get into it, remember that Summer League success or failure does not necessarily translate to NBA success or failure.  With that said, here are my thoughts…

In Summer League you expect the “vets” who have a season or two under their belts to have a big advantage over the rookies coming into the league.  You expect them to play better than everyone else and stand out.  Well, that was the case for Jaden Springer today.  He was easily the best player on the Celtics and at times looked like a man among boys out there.  It started right off the opening tip which he ran down and then made a nice pass to get Jordan Walsh an easy layup.  It was the first of many really nice passes Springer made in the game in which he ended up with 6 assists.  (We shall ignore what seemed to be an ill advised pass attempt between his own legs in traffic in the paint that went how you would expect it to). He got in the paint with relative ease and for the most part made the right decision with the ball.  He made 3 of his 6 three-point attempts.  At least one of those was a forced shot clock beater so he shot over 50% on threes he wasn’t forced to shoot.  He finished with a team high 23 points and 2 boards and 2 steals.  It is only Summer League but this is the type of game you want to see from some who has been in the league. 

I can’t say the same thing for Jorden Walsh.  I thought Walsh looked better in last years first game than he did in this one.  The opening lay up was the only shot he made, missing all 6 of his three-point attempts.  To me he just didn’t show the poise and confidence you would expect to see from someone in their second season.   With the numbers he put up in Maine, which is at least the same level of competition, I would have thought he’s be pretty good this summer.  It was just the first game so we shall see if he improves from here on out.   

JD Davison, on the other hand, looked as good as he has so far in his career.  He seemed to be very in control and very poised.  He did have a couple of bad turnovers in the paint but aside from that he looked good.  He made all 3 of his three-point attempts and three of his four non threes for 19 points.  He had a team high 7 helpers and 3 rebounds.  He was a plus 9 for the game.  Ron Harper Jr. was the only other plus player at plus 1.  JD has managed to look better at every step in his career.  He is looking like he could be a reliable emergency PG if the injury bug catches up with the Celtics.  Assuming he keeps playing well. 

As far as the rookies go, I thought Baylor Scheierman looked good for his first outing.  He seemed nervous to start the game and two of his first three shots were airballs. He eventually settled in and shot the ball well.  He got into the paint pretty effectively and his first shot was a 10 foot pull up.  He ended up with 13 points on 4 for 9 shooting including 3 for 7 from beyond the arc.  His last 3-point miss was a huck up as the game clock expired.  He moved pretty well without the ball and I didn’t think he was particularly bad on defense.  Obviously, this is what will be looked at if there is going to be any consideration of giving him playing time during the season.  The Celtics defense as a whole was not particularly good in this game as you would expect from a bunch of guys playing together for the first time.  Baylor did not stand out on that end so that’s a good sign.  What did stand out was his passing.  I mentioned in my draft review that he started out as a point guard and the reports were that he had good court vision.  Well, that was on display tonight.  He made a bunch of really good, really smart passes even at the beginning of the game when his shot was off.  His basketball IQ may be his best attribute if this one game is to be any indication.  I am very intrigued to see how this part of his game goes as his development moves forward. 

Anton Watson, the Celtics second round pick, had a quieter game than Scheierman.  He really didn’t seem to do much in the half court offense but he did run the floor well and showed some athleticism.  He ended up shooting 4 for 7 missing his one three-point attempt.  I was surprised to see he had that many attempts.  But then again it took me a couple of minutes to figure out which guy he was when he came off the bench so I could have missed a few at that point.  He only had 2 rebounds in 19 plus minutes which isn’t great.  He did have a steal and a really nice block.  Offensively I think he is the type of guy who will play better with better players around him as he will play off them getting open threes or shots in the dunkers position from players who have drawn the defenses attention.  I do hope to see more from him on the defensive end in the coming games. 

Neemias Queta still struggles to finish around the basket.  If he could just improve that part of his game he would be a much more solid contributor.  He was pretty active in this game as you would expect.  He put up 20/9/2 with a block and a steal.  He basically looked like the guy we saw all season.  The more time he gets, the better he will be prepared for next season. 

I thought Drew Peterson was trying to do way too much and ended up looking awful and even though Jahmi’us Ramsey scored 16 points, there is something about his game I just don’t like.  I don’t know what it is.  I think it kind of felt like he was just trying to get his and not playing within the team.  I don’t know, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.  We will see how he does going forward.   

Sadly, Jaelen House did not get into the game.  As the league rolls on a lot of teams will stop playing the more veteran guys so there’s a chance House may get in yet.  Or maybe they flip flop him and Ron Harper JR as they can’t play everyone every game. That about covers it for this one.  Their next game is on Monday at 10:30pm.  That’s a terrible time for me.   I don’t know when I will be getting that review up but I promise you, I will get it up at some point.