The Boston Celtics have played only three NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas. But with the team in the middle of a two-day break, it’s time for an annual tradition: overreacting to a tiny sample of exhibition basketball.
Here are five over-caffeinated takeaways from Boston’s first week in Vegas:
1. Jordan Walsh getting ejected was the best thing that could have happened to him.
Look, getting booted early from your best game of the summer is less than ideal. And nearly taking out Boston’s entire braintrust while yeeting an opponent into the first row was risky, too.
But Monday’s ejection was a reminder for the 21-year-old Walsh of the sort of intensity that can keep him on the floor during real games.
Walsh isn’t dominating Summer League in the way you might hope a Year 3 player would, but we have to remind ourselves he’s still the second-youngest player on Boston’s summer roster. He’s been at his best when getting physical. Walsh has ventured into the post for some bully ball and shown good ability finishing through contact on drives.
After missing his first 22 3-point attempts last year, he’s more consistently knocked down shots from distance this time around, shooting 35.7 percent on 4.7 3-point attempts per game this summer.
If Walsh can harness the sort of intensity that Pelle Larsson summoned from him Monday night, then we think he can carve out a more consistent role. It’s the least surprising thing in the world that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was a fan of Walsh getting tossed. He’d probably be an even bigger fan of Walsh playing with more consistency — and controlled aggression — during the 2025-26 season.
2. Baylor Scheierman’s TD pass from the floor was a road map to consistent time.
Scheierman’s 3-point shooting hasn’t been great in Vegas (21.4 percent on 9.3 attempts per game). But much like Walsh, we think Scheierman’s best basketball has come when he’s simply playing hard and letting his basketball IQ take over.
There was one sequence in the first half against Miami where Scheierman dove to the floor, then showed off the arm that threw for 3,942 yards and 59 touchdowns as a senior quarterback at Aurora High School in Nebraska (watch below). Scheierman is averaging 7.0 assists per game in Vegas and continues to showcase his playmaking abilities.
Not that we didn’t know Scheierman’s potential as a passer already. The 24-year-old had a couple of Rajon Rondo-esque dimes late in his rookie season.
If the shot is going to be streaky, then Scheierman needs to bring value in other areas. We’d like to see him gamble less on defense and just let those natural instincts guide him. His court vision and ability to deliver on-target passes might be his biggest strength.
3. Hugo Gonzalez needs consistent minutes in his rookie season.
Mazzulla is an admitted rookie hater. He told Scheierman (and the since-departed Anton Watson) as much during their first NBA seasons. But in a season where Boston’s depth is depleted and expectations will be tempered, rookie Hugo Gonzalez could really benefit from learning on the job.
Yes, Gonzalez is only 19. But he’s been a pro in Spain for more than a half decade. He spent all of last season surrounded by former NBA veterans. His two appearances at Summer League have shown there will be plenty of ups and downs. Gonzalez getting a tough whistle in his second Summer League game prepped him for some of those impending frustrations.
But we like how hard Gonzalez plays. He crashes the glass relentlessly from the perimeter, and will basically launch himself into an opponent that tries to cut on the other end of the floor.
Full game highlights from rookie Hugo Gonzalez’s Summer League debut with the Boston Celtics vs. the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Celtics need to find out what they have in their recent draftees, and doing so while Jayson Tatum rehabs from Achilles surgery feels like an ideal time to lean into the youth.
We’ll balance this suggestion by acknowledging that playing time is earned, not given. But we have a feeling that, perhaps more than anyone else on this Summer League roster, Gonzalez is going to state a case for consistent time with how hard he plays.
4. Josh Minott could be All-Interview First Teamer.
From noting how the Celtics shoot a “s— ton of 3s,” to an emphatic, “Why not Minott?” explanation of how to pronounce his last name, Josh Minott had a brief-but-entertaining first media session with reporters in Vegas.
It gave us a little bit of Robert Williams III vibes. (Fun aside: Time Lord cursed so frequently during his first media sessions in Boston that Celtics brass pulled him aside and politely suggested that he didn’t need to swear as much. And he listened!)
We are very intrigued by Minott. He’s got great size and defensive versatility. He’s nicknamed the Lawn Mower because he just goes and goes once you start him up. He’s still only 22 years old, and we’re eager to see if the Celtics can pull even more out of Minott this season.
Getting some fun soundbites wouldn’t be bad either on a team that lost a lot of personality in Luke Kornet and Kristaps Porzingis.
Chris Forsberg explains what Josh Minott brings to the Celtics and how he got his surprising nickname
5. The Celtics have a type … and maybe a new playing style.
It feels like every player the Celtics have added this offseason has a reputation as a cutter. From drafting Gonzalez to signing Minott to adding Jalen Bridges to the summer roster, it appears there will be a greater emphasis on movement in this year’s offense.
Of the 16 playoff teams in 2025, the Celtics ranked dead last with only 4.8 possessions finished off cuts. That was roughly half the number of top teams like the Rockets (10.7), Nuggets (9.8), Warriors (9.1), and Thunder (8.5).
Ironically, the Celtics had the best points per possession off cuts (1.47) and shot 71.4 percent off that playtype.
The offense just never featured quite enough cutting. Even the regular season numbers were less than ideal, with Boston generating 5.9 finishes off cuts per game (tied for 27th in the NBA) but averaging 1.36 points per possession (tied for 4th-best).
With the absence of so much talent going into the 2025-26 season, we suspect the Celtics will play harder on both ends to try to mask the talent drain. We could see more pressing of opposing ball handlers after made baskets, and we suspect there will be an emphasis on movement and crashing the offensive glass with the players added this offseason.
Read the full article here