The Boston Celtics played in the NBA Summer League last week and it was our first chance to see first round draft pick Hugo Gonzalez play in green.  We also got to see second round picks Amari Williams and Max Shulga.  Not to mention Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh.   Let’s look at how each guy faired. 

Before we get into it, I have to point out that this is Summer League.  It’s a lot like Spring Training.  The stats, good or bad, do not correlate to how a player will play in the NBA.  Plenty of guys have lit it up in Summer League and never became much in the NBA.  And there have been plenty of guys who have not shown much in Summer League who became players in the NBA.  What I look for in Summer League play is skills that should translate to the NBA and a player’s mindset and approach.  Stuff like how hard they play, how they think and see the game, and what kind of attitude they have.  And specifically, how they may fit in with the Celtics.  So just keep that in mind as we go. 

Baylor Scheierman—I’ll start with Scheierman because one, I thought he was their best player, and not just because he shaved his terrible mustache.  And two, I think he has a chance to play a real role on the Celtics this season.  Ok Scheierman could not make a three pointer to save his life in Vegas.  He shot 20.5% from three.  Not good.  But we know Baylor can shoot.  He shot 31.7 percent in the NBA last season and over 40% in Maine.  So he had a bad handful of games.  It’s not a big deal.  What stood out for me about Scheierman this summer was how under control he was.  Or I should say how in control he was.  He looked like some who played in the NBA as opposed to a rookie getting his feet wet.  Obviously, it’s because that’s what he was but still, lots of guys still look raw and uncertain in their second Summer League.  Jordan Walsh would be an example of that.  Baylor looked like he could do anything he wanted on the floor.  He could get to his spots, he made all the right plays on both ends of the court, and the team looked a lot better with him on the court than off of it.  He rebounded the ball well (5.3 per game) and he passed it great (6.8 assist per game which was good for 4^th in the league).  He made a lot of nice passes this summer and clearly sees the floor well.  He had a lot of nice drive and dish plays working.  He averaged 2.3 steals a game as well.  He just really felt like the veteran among rooks.  With the way the Celtics roster looks right now, Scheierman has a chance to play big minutes for them if he can duplicate his play with the real Celtics. 

Jordan Walsh—Walsh had a weird Summer League.  In the first game he looked good.  He looked like an actual NBA player.  In the second game he looked terrible on both ends and even racked up 7 fouls.  In the third game he was playing rather well and then got two techs and was tossed from the game.  The next game he came back and looked good again.  He has to be able to make threes in the regular season the way he does in the Summer League.  If he does that and stays under control, and doesn’t randomly shove players on the other team, he can also carve out a role for himself on this year’s team. 

Hugo Gonzalez—Hugo had the type of Summer League you would expect from a 19-year-old 28^th pick in the draft who was playing in Spain a week earlier and had to travel to a new continent and play in a new country with 12 guys he’s never met before.  In other words, he looked bad at times but showed flashes of why the Celtics chose him.  The first play for the Celtics in Summer League was a jump shot that missed but Hugo came flying in from the three-point line for the put back and it was like “OK, that’s what this kid is about”.  Hugo did his share of offensive, and defensive rebounding.  He also did more than his share of cutting.  Which of course was the key phrase everyone used to describe him after the draft.   He made some shots, but did not shoot a good percentage.  The Wally Szczerbiak look-a-like did not look like he would be any kind of defensive liability in the NBA.  He’s not going to lock anyone down but he’s also not going to be someone you have to cover up for.  He will also make plays on that end of the court, help blocks and steals, much like Tatum does.  His court vision and basketball IQ seemed rather high and he made some really nice passes.  He is defiantly the type of guy I want to see playing with great players like Brown, Tatum (eventually) and White.  Guys he can play off of.  Guy with gravity.  At the very least he seems like a very good complimentary piece.  Like White was when he first got to Boston.  How good can he be?  I don’t know.  I am sure he will start the season in the G-League where he can get used to the American style of play (he struggled in the game against the Heat when they played very physical) and will hopefully work on his jump shot.  If he can become more of a knock down shooter, he can be a very good player. 

One of my favorite things about Hugo was that they interviewed him twice during games and each time was asked questions about himself and what it was like for him to come over to the US and play and all he talked about was the game and what the team needed to do to win.  He actually said “we’re winning, so that’s fun” when asked about his experience so far.  This is a kid that thinks team first.  You can never have enough guys like that. 

Amari Williams—I liked what I saw from Amari Williams. After the draft I said it sounded like this kid had the skills to be the next Luke Kornet and from what I saw in Summer League, I still feel the same way.  The first thing you notice about Williams is that he likes to handle the ball.  He was bringing the ball up after rebounds and he really liked to handle it at the top of the key.  He moves well for a big man and makes some really nice passes.  He has the ability to score down low and had some nice touch around the hoop.  He ran the dribble hand off a bunch and finished some ally oops.  I really like his skill set on offense and think it will compliment what the Celtics already have, especially once Tatum returns to the floor, much the way Kornet did.  On defense, he moves really well for a big man.  The talk out of the draft was that he would need to be in drop coverage but I am not sure that will always be true.  He seemed like he could hold his own on the perimeter.  He rebounded well on both ends and did a decent job defending the rim.  In college he shot only 62% from the free throw line.  His free throws in the Summer League were fluid and soft.  I don’t know why he shot so bad in college, maybe it’s something he has worked on, but he looked good at the line and shot 90%.  I expect him to shoot them pretty well in the NBA. 

Max Shulga—I noticed three things about Shulga while watching him in Summer League.   One, he has a very quick release and should have no problem getting his jumper off in the NBA.  Two, He didn’t seem to be a liability on defense.  He wasn’t getting blown by on every play or anything like that.  And three, all of the herky-jerky moves he used to get his shot off inside the three-point line in college did not really work in Summer League.  I can’t imagine it will be easier in real NBA games.  He did manage to get himself to the line a bunch.  I believe he was a combo guard in college but he played the point in Summer League.  I thought he did a solid job.  He loves to throw ally oops.  His ability to shoot threes (though he shot poorly this summer) and his quick release to get them off makes him a pretty good fit for the Celtics offense.  He’d be a great guy for the Jays to kick out to after attacking the paint.  My guess is this season he plays the JD Davison role as the emergency point guard who spends most of his time in Maine. 

Charles Bassey—Bassey was a late addition to the Celtics Summer League roster and he was the only non-roster guy who stood out.  The 24-year-old Bassey has been in the NBA for 4 years.  He spent the last 3 with the Spurs.  He only played 3 games in the Summer League but he was very productive.  He averaged 15 points and a league high 11 rebounds in 21 minutes.  He also averaged 2 blocks and .7 steals.  That is some good production.  Now, he isn’t Olajuwon or anything.  And obviously, he was much older and more experienced than they guys he was playing against.  And clearly the Spurs saw the flaws in his game.  However, on a Celtics roster that lacks any proven big men, that production opens eyes.  There is no word on whether or not the Celtics are even looking to sign him but they do have two two-way contracts to fill at least.  To me he seems like someone to get on the roster and see where he fits in.   

I thought it was a very good Summer League for the Celtics.  I thought we saw what we wanted to see out of the guys we wanted to see it from.  No one on the C’s Summer League roster is considered to be a main guy.  They are all expected to be role players.  I am very curious to see how these guys play when they are in a game with number one type players.  I think they will all be more effective and efficient when they can use their best skills to compliment the star players on the team.  One last point I just thought I would mention…  Miles Norris, who is the lone two-way player on the Celtics roster right now, showed some excellent touch around the basket. He did a great job finishing at the rim.  He can shoot and is athletic.  I don’t know if he can earn playing time as the roster is constructed right now but he is definitely a good guy to have on the end of the bench if needed.