After reading part 1 of the summer league notebook, I wonder if Semi will see some time in Maine this year. Here is a quote from the article:
"6. On Semi Ojeleye: “He was in over his head last year. We never planned to play him as much as we did. When Gordon (Hayward) went down, it changed our entire plan. He more than held his own on defense, but offense needs work. He had to think his way through things. By the playoffs, it was finally all coming together. He really could have used some time in Maine (with the NBAGL Red Claws).”
It would certainly be unusual for a second year player who got as many minutes as Semi did last year to go to the G-league, but with the number of guys ahead of him on the depth chart and the fact that his three point shooting has not improved it might give him a better chance to grow offensively.
I wonder who the quotation is from, and why it's anonymous. In any case, obviously Brad and Danny thought otherwise; he got rotation minutes all year, even after Morris came back, even after Morris came back the second time, even after Moose was signed.
As for his 3-pt shooting improving or not - he shot .440 after the all-star break. That looks like "improvement", I'd say.
It’s not an insult. He showed he can play defense in the NBA, but he also showed he cannot contribute on offense.
Even your anonymous source says, "By the playoffs, it was finally all coming together".
Left and right handed dribbles, changing hands to avoid the defender, getting his shoulder down and into the defender's chest to get around him, finishing through contact, eurosteps... he shows a range of skills, though we didn't get to see a whole lot last year.
But for me the finest moment was in the playoffs: gets the ball at the arc at "2pm", fakes the pass to Rozier in the left corner to get the first defender going that way, fakes the shot to draw the closeout from the second defender, then delivers the simple pass to a wide-open Jaylen at "12 o'clock" for the game winner. I'd call that a nice "contribution": unselfish, well timed, skilled.
Of course if there are injuries that changes things, but if the Celts stay healthy it's hard to see where serious minutes come from. Sure, they can find a few here and there, but I have a hard time seeing Semi playing 10 plus minutes a game unless someone is hurt.
"If there are injuries..." -
there will be injuries. It is rare, in fact, for any NBA player to play 82 games in a season.