Celtics Utah Summer League Thread
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Not just because he used his fake behind the back move tonight but he looks more like Rondo to me. Seems long and impossibly quick, like he could get to any place on the floor he wants. But like Rondo the pull up jumpers weren't there and obviously he's not as adept at the pick and roll. Defensively he's active but not great position ally at denying penetrationradsoxfan said:
I actually liked what I saw out of Hunter. He didn't do much scoring, but also didn't play with anyone that resembled an NBA pg, so I think he will be better shooting the ball once he plays on a real NBA team. I liked that he has been very active on defense and hustling for everything, the same caNNOT be said about Young, who looks like a stiff.
For those who watched the game, how did Okafor look? I'm not sure you get a lot of info out of these game tbh but interested in some outside eyes opinions.
Like a rookie. He had a few good moves down low, but even facing nobody over 6'8" and probably nobody who will make the league he struggled badly on defense, often forced up ugly 10 footers and got easily boxed out on the defensive glass. Also weirdly for a guy who showed great hands in college he had real trouble corralling the ball and holding onto it in traffic. On the good side he hit the offensive boards better, and he showed some real strength once he got to a spot he liked.LondonSox said:
Rozier has zero vision but he is a blur and will get to the rim whenever he wants once he gets a little more experience. He's kind of like Jordan Crawford, minus a reliable jumper. Not sure that's super flattering but it is what I've seen so far. Rozier puts a lot more defensive effort into his defense at least.
LondonSox said:
Summer League games are notoriously hard for evaluating big men so I'd not want to have anything said considered all that solid. That said, I was surprised by how "small" he seemed to play. He posted some guys up with some nice moves and was active on the boards, but the Celtics are a very small team and Okafor didn't stand out as large and physically dominant over them. My takeaway is to be really eager to see him against real NBA size and strength because they might give him some trouble.
That said, he did show a few nice moves and a willingness to post and face up a bit. He certainly didn't look bad to me, just not as dominant as I might have expected. But again, this is summer league.
Summer league stats have some predictive power for rookies (insider):
He adds shot blocking and defensive rebounding translate well, while shooting, offensive rebounding, usage rate, and steals translate poorly. Steals are the surprise there - they're fairly robust between college and the NBA.
It looked to me that he wanted to be anywhere in the world except in Utah competing against 6-8 forwards who will be playing in Israel come November. Little intensity, little explosion. One area he will have trouble with moving forward is a lack of lift and quick hops but that is only magnified when he isn't putting forth a ton of effort in summer league.LondonSox said:
The other thing to remember is Okafor is just 19, and hasn't spent a year with the Sixers training staff yet. He will be a lot stronger and more defined next season.
Oh yeah? This isn't something I've heard, so I was just thinking of the repeated Embiid issues. But I can't claim to know all the NBA training staffs inside and out.LondonSox said:
Myles Turner is tearing it up so far. He was a rumored possible Boston pick. Too bad it didn't happen.
Smart having a great game. The rest of the team playing better as well, Young playing well but shot isn't dropping, though he might have gotten hurt.
Can't watch the game, but judging from the box score Smart has shown he is a bit better than most summer league players. Good to see him shoot well. Can someone provide info on how he looks tonight?
EDIT: and based solely upon the box score, Rozier may be in the same category.
EDIT II: And upon further investigation, Mickey seems to be doing well as well.
EDIT: and based solely upon the box score, Rozier may be in the same category.
EDIT II: And upon further investigation, Mickey seems to be doing well as well.
https://twitter.com/kpelton/status/619287267765432320
https://twitter.com/kpelton/status/619294704941707264
https://twitter.com/kpelton/status/619294704941707264
They're all playing pretty well. Smart has taken some dumb shots and had 2 or 3 plays where he made lazy passes that turned into layups for SA.oumbi said:
Though one thing to remember. This SA roster is truly terrible. Other than Anderson I don't think any of these guys sniffs anybody's roster.
The C's basically looked terrific tonight. Rozier showed a smooth outside shot and might be a Bradley in the making, whihc means we might be able to use Bradley as decent trade bait for a big. Smart was outstanding including one unbelievable block of a layup, alhough I'd still like to see him improve his handle. Hunter was unstoppabale from the outside hitting 5-5 on threes with his weird shot, and although he's slow on defense, even blocked an outside shot
Yeah it was nice to see Hunter hit shots. Young left the game with hip injury, didn't return.
Also, Cotton dropped 20 on the 76ers.
Also, Cotton dropped 20 on the 76ers.
Smart's shot selection is no big deal for me right now, I didn't see this game but after witnessing the first two, a Smart contested triple is probably the best shot we are going to get on any given possession. What I liked about him over the two game stretch was that he seemed more aggressive attacking the basket. Someone with his build should be cannonballing his way into the paint and getting to the line.
That bulldozing in the paint works against 19-year old skinny college sophomores and a front line of 6-7 summer league players like Jack Cooley......it doesn't work in the NBA with the length and athleticism of opponents frontlines even if he is able to use angles to offset his poor first step to get in the paint to begin with.Kliq said:
HomeRunBaker said:
Obviously it is going to be different against NBA-level opponents, but it is still a useful skill that he can use, as opposed to just being a jump shooter. Last year he was very tentative in attacking the basket, 17% of his FG attempts were at the rim, he should be able to do a better job then that. A guard weighing 220lbs is still huge at the NBA level, I'd like to see him use more of that skill set.
It's his size that is a detriment to his first step and lift in the paint......not a benefit. He was tentative because he knew he couldn't get where he wanted on the floor. I mean he had enough trouble getting to the passing angles off the dribble when he was initiating the offense which is why he was moved off the ball so much. It isn't a part of his skillset at this level against these athletes. He's a 3 and D guy who needs to focus on improving his shot selection while finding his comfort zone with his physical limitations.Kliq said:
HomeRunBaker said:
The guy was 20 years old last season, he is a work in progress. SSS, but his 57% FG% at the rim last season was better than the percentages of such vaunted rim attackers like Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, James Harden and Russell Westbrook during their rookie years. I don't think Smart is going to end up being as good as those guys at finishing at the rim, but I'm not ruling out the possibility that he could develop that part of his game.
Finally caught the C's-76ers from a few nights ago. The two guys who stood out to me were Hunter and Mickey. Hunter can really light it up and I think stands an excellent change of developing into a rotation guy in Boston given our need for a quality 3 point shooter. He also handles the ball well, and reminds me of Ainge back in the day - smooth shooter, pretty good handle and passer, and good size. Mickey has a good all round game including shot blocking and a decent midrange shot. All in all, all 3 top picks have looked good this summer.
The only people who said he couldn't shoot were those who looked only at last seasons 3-point pct. He has a very nice stroke, soft touch and tight rotation.....and also shot a good pct as a freshman. His challenge is as you say, learning how to best utilize his speed/skillset to the NBA game and that comes with experience that he'll be able to get probably backing up Isaiah at the point assuming Bradley is finally traded. Rozier has a real good chance to make it in this league which is a win with the 16th pick.jscola85 said:
Well it's a good thing Marcus was out there reverting to his old habits.....oh and then there were the fingers. Those are not pretty fingers. Glad that's all the bad that happened to him the past two weeks. Zero to gain.....dumb decision by Ainge.HomeRunBaker said:
Edit: Yeah, I self-quoted.
Rosier just put an impressive performance at the end of the Portland game. Made some tough clutch shots.
Rozier just took over the game. But Hunter is the one who impressed me during the fourth quarter. Despite shooting like shit, Hunter had a real impact on the game. He has great passes and was always near the ball. He will be one of the smartest players on the Celtics. He anticipates the plays and is near the ball so often.
Young, in contrast, was passive. He seems to shy away from taking over a game or making a crucial play. Twice towards the end he had the ball and seemed eager to pass it off. Still lacks confidence perhaps.
Only one game, but it was a fun finish.
Young, in contrast, was passive. He seems to shy away from taking over a game or making a crucial play. Twice towards the end he had the ball and seemed eager to pass it off. Still lacks confidence perhaps.
Only one game, but it was a fun finish.
To be fair, especially in the second half Young defended very well and Hunter was garbage on that end.oumbi said:
They both look really inconsistent on both ends and in need of serious work.
Edit- Just saw the sandwich video. Oh god that looks terrible. Like a bowl of spaghetti, 3 or 4 teaspoons of sugar, a few oz. of ranch on whitebread with the crust cut off. One of the hosts looked like he was going to puke.