#1 Tucker DeThrees
With Amari Williams and Hugo Gonzalez both out, Tucker DeVries and Chris Cenac Jr. got their first starts at Summer League. DeVries, who missed the opening games against the Toronto Raptors, looked every bit the sharpshooter he’s been made out to be, knocking down three of his eight attempts.
Unfortunately for Boston, two of those triples came in the opening minutes, at which point DeVries’ scoring impact vanished until he scored a putback with 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter. His final triple came midway through the third, after which his impact was no longer felt in terms of scoring.
When he wasn’t scoring the rock, DeVries’ impact was limited; he only recorded one board and one dime in his nearly 21 minutes of playing time. Furthermore, his defensive impact was often negligible. He’ll need to round out some other areas of his game if he wants to make an NBA roster as more than just a single-skill sniper.
#2 Struggles at the point
What do John Tonje, Milos Uzan and Curtis Jones have in common?
They all struggled when playing one-on-one against the Atlanta Hawks. That quarter went 5-of-23 from the field, with a combined six assists, four of which came from Uzan (who now has 16 dimes in three games).
In a game where Boston’s two best players were out for the night, there were plenty of touches and shots to go around. Given the impact Tonje and Uzan had made over the previous two games, it was fair to assume one of those two would consume some of those additional reps. Yet, whether it was Atlanta’s defense or simply just a tough shooting night from the guard contingent, no one stepped up.
Unfortunately, that also means Jones, who had seen limited floor time before Monday, didn’t rise to the occasion. Instead, Jones struggled from start to finish, often running himself into traffic or holding onto the ball too long. His shot selection came against the flow of the game at times, too.
Rough nights happen. Perhaps Isaiah Wong, Isaac McKneely and Zeke Mayo were bad matchups for them. Perhaps Tonje and Uzan were struggling on the second night of a back-to-back, and perhaps Jones struggled with a sudden boost in court time.
Whatever the reason, the Celtics guard rotation had a night it will soon want to forget, and so will we.
#3 Welcome to the NBA, well, kinda
Speaking of playing in a back-to-back, for most of the players on the Celtics roster, this was their first taste of two games in a 24-hour(ish) period. I would assume that for those who played heavy minutes on Sunday, the Hawks game was somewhat of a ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment.
Tired legs, sore bodies, and a fair sprinkling of fatigue are all to be expected. Sure, we’re talking about pro athletes, but when your body isn’t used to something, you feel it the next day, professional or not. I would hazard a guess that fatigue played some sort of role in the performance we saw yesterday, specifically in the second quarter.
I would assume the first 10 minutes were fine. Then, tiredness set in and everything felt more difficult than it should. From there, adrenaline and the halftime rest likely carried the squad through the final half of the game. Still, back-to-backs are part of the NBA game, so giving everyone a taste of what that’s like, both in terms of preparation and performance, is a good primer for if/when they take the next step.
Of course, they didn’t need to adjust to travel, but that can be a curveball in their rookie seasons.
#4 A future connection?
After Boston’s opening win against Toronto, I noted the two-man game on display from Amari Williams and Hugo Gonzalez. Yesterday, we saw signs of another potential two-man game with Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell.
Both rookies are what I would classify as defensive event makers. They make stuff happen, either with their athleticism, size or energy when rotating over. Mitchell seems to love getting out on the break, making him the ideal outlet pass receiver whenever a shot gets swatted or a big board is pulled down.
As you can see from the above clip, there was a play late in the third quarter where Cenac had blocked the shot, recovered his block and found Mitchell sprinting up the floor. When it comes to a foot face, at least at Summer League level, I’d be happy to bet on Mitchell winning those most of the time. So, no surprise that he outruns Atlanta’s defense to get the finish.
If you’re going to be watching the Maine Celtics a lot next season, I would assume the connection between these two will be something you come to look forward to. After all, Cenac might be signed to the primary roster, but he projects to spend a decent chunk of his time in the G League, while Mitchell will most likely land a two-way deal following his play over the last three games.
The hope, of course, is that both Cenac and Mitchell eventually crack Joe Mazzulla’s rotation, at which point this type of defense-to-offense connection becomes commonplace for Celtics fans. It might be wishful thinking, and perhaps a touch of dreaming, but honestly, I would love to see these two build on that singular play from last night.
#5 Next up, the Sacramento Kings
Right now, the Celtics hold a 2-1 record in Summer League. If they want to end the tournament with a winning record, they’ll need to handle their business against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, July 15. However, the Kings’ roster will arguably be the strongest Amile Jefferson’s team has faced.
Sacramento has Alex Karaban, Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford and Darius Acuff Jr on its roster, among others. There’s a whole lot of young potential sprinkled with some NBA experience to round things out. Getting Gonzalez and Williams back will be key to the Celtics having a legitimate shot of ending the night with a 3-1 record to their name.
Furthermore, seeing Williams go against Raynaud will be a good litmus test for where Boston’s sophomore big man needs to improve, while Gonzalez will have another chance to continue working on his pick-and-roll game. Hopefully, both can have better shooting nights.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the Celtics and Kings match up, and will also be interested to see whether Uzan can get some minutes going against Acuff Jr, and who winds up coming out on top.
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