Jaylen Brown, RJ Hunter and Terry Rozier Shine In The Celtics Summer League Opener
Boston Celtics Summer League Fever is here! After a grueling 67 days of no Celtics basketball, life is starting to get back to normal. Opening up in Utah yesterday was our first look at some of the new rookies, our third look at James Young, and right from the opening tip I could feel the green Kool-Aid flowing. You just have to love Summer League. After an intense 4th of July FA weekend, nothing is more fun than overreacting to beyond meaningless basketball. Keep in mind though, as we saw last summer, it can provide little glimpse into a part of a players game. Take example Marcus Smart’s fast break shot blocking ability. We saw it in the summer, and it immediately showed up again once the season started. At the same time, forming opinions based on a glorified practice scrimmage is a testament as old as time.
Going into this summer, both in Utah and Vegas, there are a couple things I would like to see. First and foremost, even if he’s only 20, I’m going to need to see James Young show up. Third year players playing in the summer league is never ideal, and he’s quickly running out of chances. I’m sure there are people out there who have decided that James Young simply sucks and there is no point in even trying. I am not one of those people. He has to earn the opportunity for sure, but I’m not giving up. I’m never giving up.
Next, this is a big summer for Terry Rozier. With Turner off the team, this second unit is going to need more ball handlers, and this is his opportunity to show that the minutes he got last year, and in the playoffs, weren’t for nothing. I don’t need him to dominate the summer league, just show me that he can run and offense, make good passes, and hit a damn jump shot. The thing with summer league is that guard play is always the most horrific, so obviously yo take everything with a grain of salt.
And finally, we’ll be able to determine if Jaylen Brown is an early HOF candidate. That’s important.
Ok so let’s take a look at what we learned with the Celts 102-94 win to start the summer
James Young
It took all of 4 minutes for me to realize why I can’t quit his guy. His overall line wasn’t anything special (3-8 8 points 6 rebounds and a team low -7), but that jumper, that sweet sweet jumper
Here’s the thing about Young that frustrates me, and probably all of us. He should be able to take the great start from last night, and use it as the catalyst for a great game. Instead, he disappeared. That’s what I think of when I try and put his time in Boston into perspective. He shows flashes, but then hides. Is it a confidence thing? Is it a minutes thing? Is that just his thing? Who knows, again he’s only 20, but that is starting to get annoying. Oh and I can’t not mention that nose ring. That has to go immediately. Dennis Rodman you are not.
Jaylen Brown
Ok, now the real reason everyone tuned into this game. After digesting, I’d say this was a pretty good start for the guy. Sure Brown wasn’t great, it wasn’t as if he completely dominated, but, he did outplay Ben Simmons for what that’s worth (nothing, but everything). Basically what we saw were things we already knew. He didn’t shoot the ball well (expected), but it was easy to look past that when you saw what an aggressive player he is. Sure, maybe the game doesn’t count, but 17 FTA!! SEVENTEEN! That’s an encouraging sign when you look at someone like Young who is absolutely terrified to take it into the paint. Playing a team high 28 minutes, we saw Brown do a lot of things that should get you excited about his future. First, he was fantastic on the glass for his position, and seeing him grab a board and lead the break was basically a look into our future for the next 5-10 years.
Defensively, he was as advertised, and capped the night murdering Ben Simmons, which led to his “cramps”. Sounds like he was just embarrassed to me
RJ Hunter
It’s no secret this team needs shooting, and it needs it badly. If we’re being honest, there’s nothing out there in the FA market that I really love, so I would be ecstatic if Hunter developed into a player that can fill that role once the season starts. We saw last night that his stroke is as pure as ever. His three makes from deep and 17 points lead me to believe if given the chance he’s ready to roll, but there are still some concerns after watching this game. RJ Hunter, at the moment, is deathly allergic to playing NBA caliber defense. It’s not even close to being there, yet. Ultimately, when you want to play for Brad, you have to defend, and that might be what holds RJ back. The basketball IQ, the touch, the rebounding for his position if you can believe it, are all there. Once he figures out how to play semi-competent defense on the NBA level, we could have something.
Terry Rozier
Best performance of the night, hands down. Every summer I hold a competition to see who will win the title of my official Celtics Summer League Crush, and this was a hell of an audition right off the bat. 18 points 6 rebounds 5 assists with a couple threes and good shooting percentages. I’ve mentioned it before, but Rozier plays with such an incredible pace I can’t get enough. What looked like out of control play last year, looks a lot more honed in this year, and with the reports that he’s been working on his jumper all summer (you don’t say!) this was the best possible outcome for the guy. What made Rozier such an interesting pick was not only did the Celtics have about a trillion guards already, but he was so raw. Mostly athletic and nothing else. Well, we saw some of that athleticism last night, and yes, it was erotic.
Also to note, Ben Bentil showed he’s way more NBA ready than our French Draymond, and will probably contribute in Maine right away. The thing with Yabu that is a bit concerning is how much he looks like Sullinger on the court. Negative vertical leap. He moves a little more fluid than Sully, but man he has a long long long long long way to go. It’s a bit disappointing that Zizic isn’t on the squad, would love to see how he stacks up.
The good news is the Celts are right back at it tonight with their second game in Utah, so after such a long wait for our first taste, we only have a few hours of not working to get through.