Quarterfinals Here We Come!
Listen, nobody said the march to the ever elusive Summer League banner was going to be easy. Even after getting past the Knicks the Celtics showed us some warning signs in regards to a pretty terrible fourth quarter. Truthfully at this point I am numb to the fact that no matter if it’s the real Celtics or the fake Summer Celtics that they will always find a way to make you sweat it out. Last night was no different even though it was against one of the lowest ranked Summer League teams of this entire tournament. It certainly didn’t help that they were without Jabari Bird, but the Heat were without their three best players so I don’t really feel like that’s a valid argument. At the end of the day though, they survived, which is exactly what the whole point of this tournament is. Survive and advance.
I fully understand I am writing this while the World Cup is going on, so maybe you’re reading this at halftime or something. In that case, let’s just get right into it
The Good
– Ho hum, just another double double for Yabu. A nice 12/10/3/1/1 with just 1 TO in his 29 minutes of action
As he has done every time he has stepped on the court this summer, Yabu has continued to show why most of Celtics Twitter believes so strongly in him. The dude is just so goddamn intriguing. We’ve had examples of Yabu knocking down threes, but last night it was his soft hands that were on display. A guy his size should not be able to move like he does, attack the rim as well as he can, and then once he gets to the rim have soft enough hands to finish. When the game got tight the Celtics used Yabu out of the high post exactly as if he was Al Horford, and his beautiful passing out of the high post is why the Celtics ultimately won this game. Yabu needed a big summer in my opinion, and that’s exactly what he’s given us.
– I didn’t know much about Pierria Henry heading into this Summer League, but after watching him for a handful of games I can see why he has a big money offer overseas
Henry led the team with 15 points and tagged on 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 6-11 shooting in his 25 minutes. I am intrigued by his size, and this was the second game this summer where he has made someone l0ok silly on the defensive end. Granted, he had a BRUTAL final minute which we’ll talk about in a second, but he’s for sure been the most consistent point guard on the summer roster. One thing we’ve really seen from Henry is how tough he is to handle for opposing guards once he starts to go downhill. He honestly his night was basically a layup line, which tells us that the level of talent in the Summer League is maybe a little below where he is.
– The reason the Celtics were able to stay in this game early before their big run was the play of Jarrod Uthoff. His shooting was really the only offense the Celts had through the first like quarter and a half, and while he may not make this roster, he’s definitely an interesting prospect given his skillset
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He finished with 11/6 and 2 blocks in his 22 minutes and was a team best +7. Another guy who many may not have been aware of before this summer started, it wouldn’t shock me if he finds himself on someone’s G-League roster.
– I am so in on Hassan Martin it will make your head spin. What if I told you he finished with 8/6 for what seems like the millionth time this summer. I love how aggressive he is on the boards, I love his defense, I love the fact that he basically just started playing basketball and is already this good. Rumor has it there is going to be an open two way spot on this team, and I can think of the perfect person to give it to.
– Don’t care if it’s Summer League, you finish with single digit turnovers we’re putting it in this section. Same can be said for the 15 OREB.
The Bad
– OK the offense in this game was atrocious, we can all agree there. The Celtics finished with just 39/19% splits, and as has become tradition, a majority of their scoring droughts were a result of only taking threes. They stay very much on brand in that regard. Three starters had at least 3 3PA, and I know this is sort of how teams play in Summer League, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Especially when the Celtics were getting to the rim whenever they wanted, seeing them settle will never not annoy me.
– It’s pretty clear to me that Semi’s big goal this year is to improve his three point shot, because it’s literally all he is taking. He struggled in this one which was less than ideal considering Bird didn’t play, as Semi went 3-10 (6 3PA) in his 26 minutes. I get the desire to improve in that area, as his role is usually one that requires the ability to make a spot up three, but since this is lower competition I want to see Semi get back to using his size and attack the rim. I want to see him score off the dribble and do things that show he’s progressed in other areas offensively than just shooting threes. Hopefully we get that moving forward.
– I’m just going to say it. Free throws are still very, very important. Guess who missed a billion when it mattered most.
– The Heat second unit really gave the Celts bench all sorts of problems and was a huge reason why this game suddenly got close. Both Maten and Nwamu seemed to play with more energy and their 21 combined points certainly made things tight.
The Ugly
– S0 the fourth quarter was a complete disaster, we can all agree there. Scoring just 13 points, blowing a double digit lead, missing tons of FTs and WIDE OPEN layups in the final minutes, the Celtics were lucky to win this game. All the good they had done leading up to that final frame was put in jeopardy because the Celtics simply could not score. I should not be this stressed out watching a fake basketball game, and yet there I was sweating bullets. I know I shouldn’t care, but I would have been very upset had they blown it. Back to back games with horrific fourth quarter is not what you want to see when you’re trying to win a goddamn banner.
– Still no Robert Williams. It makes me more sad by the day, I just want to see the kid play and what could they possibly be concerned about if he doesn’t have anything legit serious with his knee.
And just like that the Summer Celts are back at it again tonight with a matchup against the red hot Trail Blazers who have not lost while in Vegas. Word on the street is Jabari Bird will be back in the lineup, and I’m very interested to see how the Celtics respond against a team that not only has a higher seed, but also has been better than them this entire Vegas league. The winner of this game plays the winner of PHI/MEM, so we should all be rooting for another Sixers showdown with a spot in the Finals on the line. Some may say it would be a preview of the next 10 years.