Celtics (0-0) vs Utah Jazz (0-0) Jazz SL Game 1 7/6/15

[nacceltic]

Honestly, I don't understand some people...Many on this board have been crying that Smart should drive more and be more aggressive...Now, he does that tonight and he's "too out of control". He's DEVELOPING that skill set...Do you expect him to be an MJ like finisher? Honestly, the guy dominated for major stretches tonight and was easily the best player on the floor. When the C's got up early, he was the reason. When they made their run in the 3rd, he was the reason. Kid's a beast.

Rozier, looked like a kid in his first game at the next level, albeit SL. Some good, some not so good. But, a few things stand out: NBA level quickness, handle and athleticism. I also think he was trying to feel his way through for most of the game, which should be expected. Let's not forget, a lot of the criticism surrounding his game was regarding his penchant for forcing shots. Not surprising he'd come out trying to "fit in", instead of take over. Someone posted about Jordan Crawford as a comparison, with more handle...I can see that, but with a higher ceiling as an all-around player. Still really early though.

RJ Hunter is Maine-bound most likely. Looked a bit unsettled to start, which again, is understandable. However, he's a player best off the ball which depends on ball movement, spacing and pace. So, his real worth will be displayed better with veterans surrounding him.

Jordan Mickey looks like he can be a decent bench big guy with a pretty well rounded offensive game. Not sure he's big enough, right now, to play the four. He was abused on the glass and looked uncomfortable at times banging around.

James Young was invisible for the most part. The light has to come on sooner rather than later, or I'm officially concerned about his future. Willing to give it some more time, b/c he's so young and I saw that unmistakable potential at Kentucky.

[MikeJelly]

Anyone think they should give Young the "Green Light"? Like honestly in Maine he showed how good he can be when given the green light. It would be nice considering the team would be showing full confidence in him

[Chief]

Brad Stevens live on  nBA channel.

[SHAQATTACK]

These guys are very handicapped with no center .

I don't think they can win a game without a center to rebound for them......

Our squad. Is TOO short.

We got Okafor next.

Yeah ...the only people crying louder than the Celtics over him

Will  be the Lakers .......one of the stupidest mistakes in years.

[hodgy03038]

Anyone think they should give Young the "Green Light"? Like honestly in Maine he showed how good he can be when given the green light. It would be nice considering the team would be showing full confidence in him

Why give him the green light? He can't play. Can't shoot. Definitely can't pass. Can't defend. Can't absorb contact and get his shot off.

He can stand in the corner and wait for the ball to arrive and launch it for the miss. I say "YES" give him the green light........in Maine.

[KeepRondo]

Trying to argue the leading scorer and assist man in the game is having a bad game is high comedy at this point. hahaha

hes playing against mostly D league players. His shooting and inability to get separation at the rim has been terrible. Those two things cant be argued against.

KeepRondo =  the Debbie Downer of Marcus Smart comments ("observations")

I want him to be the next super star also but this game doesnt convince me he's gonna be. Just hoping to see him work on pulling up in the lane. These out of control drives are not working.

Dude, Smart had a monster game and had the most hustle out of anyone. Who would you rather have? Elfrid Payton?

He forced a ton of bad shots. Had a tough time finding clean air when driving and seemed out of control way too much.

Was hoping to see a better performance from him.

Yeah, I hoped he would have a triple double also. After having that first quarter it was obvious he was the only threat. The Jazz big men just sat and watched him as he drove to the paint. He took questionable shots early, but his effort was unmatched.

never said he played terrible. Disappointed he struggled with getting to the rim. You cant really argue that he took some wild shots driving into those d league guys.

Everything else he did was great.

Harden does the same thing. While Harden is a bit more graceful at it, Smart is bigger and strong enough to bulldoze his way through more than Harden can. I think you might be putting the bar a little too high for Smart right now. With everyone's talk last year that "he can't drive," this was an A++ game for him. Shot selection is a legitimate criticism, though.

Harden is better at breaking his man down causing most teams to be out of position on his driving angles. Harden also continues his drive after making contact. Smart usually takes it right at the defender absorbing the contact and he usually stops his momentum. He's not going to get those calls often.

[jpotter33]

Anyone think they should give Young the "Green Light"? Like honestly in Maine he showed how good he can be when given the green light. It would be nice considering the team would be showing full confidence in him

Yes. You can tell he's being timid and not playing his game. He's a shooter, and just like golfers, shooters are very "mental," not using the word derogatorily. They have to be mentally right to be at their best.

I totally botched what I was trying to say, but, hey, I have a newborn at home that I've been watching by myself all day. So I get off the hook. 

[Kuberski33]

Cooley is a rebounding monster for Utah. We couldn't stop him.

Are we sure Sully, KO and Zeller weren't out there? 

[hodgy03038]

Cooley is a rebounding monster for Utah. We couldn't stop him.

Are we sure Sully, KO and Zeller weren't out there?

Cooley wouldn't dominate the rebounds against Sully. The other 2 yes.

[alewilliam789]

Things I took out of this:

Smart:
Was clearly more aggressive, which by no means is a bad thing, but he needs to have better body control when he gets into the paint. Still didn't really control the pace of the game which he needs to do as a point guard, or at least main ball handler, instead of 100% always. Really plays more like a 2 and should be slotted at the SG position accordingly because it's easier to tailor to his strengths. Needs to be more mindful of his shot selection at times. I don't mind the occasional early 3 point pull up, but after you have missed it more than twice its time to pull it out and run some offense.

Rozier:
Really differed to Smart. Seemed a little tired at the end so I'm expecting him to get better as Summer League progresses and he gets more acclimated to the faster game. Overall I don't have many knocks on Rozier besides maybe not being aggressive enough. He flashed me good touch, lock down defense when he was on Exum, and the occasional pull up jump shot. He even had some flashy passes as well. Clearly the most athletic player on the Celtics Summer a League team right now. Hope he flashes that Louisville scoring ability more as the SL progresses.

Hunter:
Surprisingly more settled with Hunter than I would usually think I would be after a 0/5 performance. For me it's not a question of whether his jump shot will drop, but when. Flashed his Basketball IQ all throughout the game as a help defender. Slid his feet really well in 1 on 1 situations and used his length to work those passing lanes. Needs to move more without the ball because he was kind of getting stuck in the corners. On the contrary we need to find him on the baseline on drive and kicks and transition for him to be completely effective. Need to run him more off some ball screens and back screens to get him some open shots. Hoping he becomes more comfortable as the SL progresses.

Young:
Not going to fuel the negativity, but I wasn't a fan of Young at 17 anyways so I'll just leave it at that.

Not bad all in all.

[SHAQATTACK]

Cooley is a rebounding monster for Utah. We couldn't stop him.

Are we sure Sully, KO and Zeller weren't out there?

Cooley wouldn't dominate the rebounds against Sully. The other 2 yes.

Agree ......Cooley was cool because the Celtics had NO center....Cooley sucked big time ...Even Fab Melo could have shut him down ....he was flat footed as can be..which frankly I'm sick of .......playing ball all the time with no center .....can we fire Ainge yet please...?

[kozlodoev]

These guys are very handicapped with no center .

I don't think they can win a game without a center to rebound for them......

Our squad. Is TOO short.

Yeah. I mean, the lack of a center is clearly the reason why our three guards shot a combined 13/39.

[Kuberski33]

Cooley is a rebounding monster for Utah. We couldn't stop him.

Are we sure Sully, KO and Zeller weren't out there?

This team won't be ready to do anything till it upgrades from Sully at the 4.  Any front line with even average bigs has had their way with us for the past 2 seasons.

I will give you that Sully has been and still is the best rebounder we have.  But that's not saying much.

[crimson_stallion]

Hunter:
Surprisingly more settled with Hunter than I would usually think I would be after a 0/5 performance. For me it's not a question of whether his jump shot will drop, but when. Flashed his Basketball IQ all throughout the game as a help defender. Slid his feet really well in 1 on 1 situations and used his length to work those passing lengths. Needs to move more without the ball because he was kind of getting stuck in the corners. On the contrary we need to find him on the baseline on drive and kicks and transition for him to be completely effective. Need to run him more off some ball screens and back screens to get him some open shots. Hoping he becomes more comfortable as the SL progresses.

Could you see Hunter maybe becoming a bit of a Courtney Lee type player, albiet a less athletic version?

Right now he kind of strikes me as being somewhere between Courtney Lee and Tayshaun Prince. 

I believe his shot will come, guys often struggle with their jump shot in their first NBA level games. 

But I see solid passing and ball handling ability, and he seems to use his length very well on defense - seems to have excellent basketball IQ.

By no means an elite or explosive athlete, but seems to move well enough to be effective on both ends of the floor.

Has a decent frame, so hopefully he can put on some mass.

I'm already liking Hunter a lot more after one game than I've liked Young at any time in the past year.

Overall I'm actually pretty enthused by what I've seen from all the rookies.  Rozier looks to me like he could play spot minutes at backup PG right now (in a Phil Pressey type role).  He struggled with his shot a little but looked quite fluid handling the ball and getting shots off, he just didn't take (or make) that many of them.  Similar deal on defense - shows flashes of solid defense.  Given his athletic ability I think the upside is definitely there - I feel like this kid could easily become Reggie Jackson / Eric Bledsoe good...and if he does then that's a steal at #16.

Mickey showed some potential - he definitely has skills.  he's only 6'9" I know, but he has elite athletic gifts and a ridiculous wingspan relative to his height - if he can put on another 10-15 pounds I feel he could be a very solid producer (in the mould of Brandon Bass).

Thornton didn't get to play much, but I'm actually really curious to see what he can do.  Not a lot of tape out there on the kid, but he has elite athleticism and according to scouting reports there isn't a lot he can't do - good scorer, solid shooter, good ball handler, decent passer, solid defender.  Danny doesn't seem to often use those late 2nd round picks on athlete's with upside so curious to see if he can amount to anything at the NBA level.

[cltc5]

If I have a 21 year old who has already shown flashes of skill and has clear potential tog et better...and a 19 year old who's shown no signs of skill and you just have to HOPE he can develop some...then I'm going to take the 21 year old every time.

Young has obviously shown skill.  And you would've missed out on some great NBA players.

What skill?  His game is a spot up shooter because he can't create his own shot.  Can't drive in traffic or make a decent pass.  His skill is soley based in transition and the times he got the ball in transition he made one shot!  He made a nice fade away with no defender in him and got a dunk off of hunters pass.  He has no skill to be a go to guy and even at Kentucky he had the same role.   So with two sg's... Smart, and Bradley.  What does danny draft?  Another spot up shooting guard.   It's absurd that we still have two positions of need after 3 years that  have yet to be addressed...sf and center.  Other teams are developing a complete team and we have a farm system for guards and power forwards.