2019 Celtics Summer League Discussion: 7/6 5:30 PM EST vs. PHI (ESPN)

[SHAQATTACK]

TackO Salads here we goes ....

puts on the Philly Cheeses

[dreamgreen]

I have to be honest. I still hate our draft and have no interest right now in summer league for the first time in years. I figure if I want to really see these guys I can just watch them in Maine this coming season!

The draft is always a crap shoot.  I was very down on the draft on draft night, but after reading more have some optimism.  I can say, however, that you generally can tell if a guy has some potential to be a nice NBA player after watching a game or two of summer league.  A strong performance doesn't guarantee NBA success, but a weak performance is pretty telling in terms of a lack of potential - IMO. 

Al Jefferson, Rondo, Tatum, Brown all looked very solid to me in summer league.  Kedrick Brown, Fab Melo, RJ Hunter, James Young, Yabs did not.

So, whether you liked the picks or not, there should still be interest in hoping you were wrong and actually see some talent.  No?

Sure I'll buy that theory. Ever notice that for some reason our top picks always have injuries going into or during summer league and end up playing very little? Is Mr. Can't shoot Langford playing?

[libermaniac]

I hope they use Tacko right. It's not hard too but I don't have a lot of faith on this coaching staff with how they coach bigs in the past. Tacko should be the Shaq of this generation until his knees or feet give out that is.

Tacko has none of Shaq's athleticism and none of Shaq's offensive skillset. 

Where does this expectation even come from?  Dude averaged 11/7 in his senior year.  Forget Shaq.  If this dude is ever as useful as Perk, everybody should be p---ing rainbows.  The more realistic outcome is that he never really contributes.  He went undrafted for a reason.

Couldn't agree more.  People on this board get so excited for 2nd round picks and undrafted FA for some reason.

What’s wrong with being excited for young players?

It's not young players ... get excited about Romeo, get excited about Williams, even get excited about Carsen (who was borderline first round), Tatum and Jaylen were definitely worth getting excited about.  It's 2nd round picks and unsigned FAs.  They fall that far in the draft for a reason.  True there is probably a 5% chance they are worth getting excited about, but you usually can see that in summer league play.   

[libermaniac]

I have to be honest. I still hate our draft and have no interest right now in summer league for the first time in years. I figure if I want to really see these guys I can just watch them in Maine this coming season!

The draft is always a crap shoot.  I was very down on the draft on draft night, but after reading more have some optimism.  I can say, however, that you generally can tell if a guy has some potential to be a nice NBA player after watching a game or two of summer league.  A strong performance doesn't guarantee NBA success, but a weak performance is pretty telling in terms of a lack of potential - IMO. 

Al Jefferson, Rondo, Tatum, Brown all looked very solid to me in summer league.  Kedrick Brown, Fab Melo, RJ Hunter, James Young, Yabs did not.

So, whether you liked the picks or not, there should still be interest in hoping you were wrong and actually see some talent.  No?

Sure I'll buy that theory. Ever notice that for some reason our top picks always have injuries going into or during summer league and end up playing very little? Is Mr. Can't shoot Langford playing?

Ya, that stinks if Romeo can't play, but I'm excited to watch Carsen Edwards, Grant Williams and Timelord.

[TheBig3]

I hope they use Tacko right. It's not hard too but I don't have a lot of faith on this coaching staff with how they coach bigs in the past. Tacko should be the Shaq of this generation until his knees or feet give out that is.

Here are some players

Tacko has none of Shaq's athleticism and none of Shaq's offensive skillset. 

Where does this expectation even come from?  Dude averaged 11/7 in his senior year.  Forget Shaq.  If this dude is ever as useful as Perk, everybody should be p---ing rainbows.  The more realistic outcome is that he never really contributes.  He went undrafted for a reason.

I get tired of the he got undrafted for a reason speech, although he may not amount to anything, here are a few players that went undrafted for a reason...

Ben Wallace
J.J. Barea
Raja Bell
Udonis Haslem
Brad Miller
Darrell Armstrong
Jose Calderon
Bruce Bowen
Avery Johnson
John Starks

Not saying Fall becomes one of these guys, but can use they only drafted players are good

[SHAQATTACK]

Carsen Edwards tore up VA in the tournament.  He was putting a IT4 like offensive whipping on them .  VA had a good defense as well , and could not even slow him down and were lucky to,win that game.

I ll,be watching to see if that was a fluke game or can he still shoot  lights out like that .  Or.....will he be another Rj Hunter / Young flash in the pan and can't throw it in the ocean .

Waters has that microwave scoring too .

These two little tiny dudes could be impressive in summer league or total flops.   Totally a wild guess.
 

[SHAQATTACK]

Edwards, Langford, Williams, Williams, and Jacko.

That is the team I'd like to see.

Our center just stand each side of the bucket and lob it up above everybody's head .

[Neurotic Guy]

I hope they use Tacko right. It's not hard too but I don't have a lot of faith on this coaching staff with how they coach bigs in the past. Tacko should be the Shaq of this generation until his knees or feet give out that is.

Tacko has none of Shaq's athleticism and none of Shaq's offensive skillset. 

Where does this expectation even come from?  Dude averaged 11/7 in his senior year.  Forget Shaq.  If this dude is ever as useful as Perk, everybody should be p---ing rainbows.  The more realistic outcome is that he never really contributes.  He went undrafted for a reason.

TP for "everybody should be p---ing rainbows".  Never heard the expression but I like it.  I look forward to doing just that.

[Ilikesports17]

I hope they use Tacko right. It's not hard too but I don't have a lot of faith on this coaching staff with how they coach bigs in the past. Tacko should be the Shaq of this generation until his knees or feet give out that is.

I know we love overhyping summer league kids but holy cow

[rondofan1255]

The above poster was right that Romeo has been ruled out for Summer League 2019.

https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2019/07/02/five-takeaways-celtics-summer-league-workouts/

Five takeaways from Celtics summer league workouts

By Brian Robb

The team opens up action on Saturday in Las Vegas to kick off a week's worth of games but there is plenty to keep tabs on the meantime. Let's go through a few items of note as a very talented young roster gets to work to make a positive first impression.

Robert Williams is eager for his opportunity: There will be plenty of competition at the center spot after the signing of three big men in the last two days. However, the highest upside of the bunch may belong with Williams. He will have a lot to prove during summer league action, but he's eager for a chance to get into the mix for rotation minutes with Horford and Baynes out the door.

“It’s a whole lot of opportunity,” Williams said. “Like I said, this is free agency going on, so you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know where people are going to land and none of that, so it’s a lot of opportunity that I’m grinding for. Putting in the work, hopefully things happen. ... I’m trying to get out here and play. I’m trying to showcase. Everybody’s trying to showcase, man. There’s a chip on your shoulder, always. Especially, not being able to play that much in Summer League last year, not being able to prove myself like I wanted. It’s another opportunity going in as a second-year player. Just got to keep that mentality.”

Romeo Langford is not going to play due to injury and is working on his shooting form in creative ways: The swingman is still recovering from thumb injury so he won't be cleared for live action in summer league. However, he's still getting in some work with the team, including reshaping his shooting form via a creative method. He was seen wearing a ping pong paddle on his left hand today at practice.

“We’ve got a big match lined up with Forrest Gump, so we gotta keep him fresh with the paddle in his hand," Celtics Summer League coach Scott Morrison said with a laugh. "It’s kind of like putting the basketball in the baby’s crib. I don’t want to speak for Coach (Joe) Mazzulla, who is working with him, but I believe it has something to do with keeping his guide hand thumb off the ball when he follows through.”

“I used to shoot with a little hitch in my shot,” Langford said of the paddle. “If you want to be consistent and be one of the best shooters in the NBA, you can’t shoot with a hitch in your shot. Most good shooters have a two-motion release, so just trying to eliminate that little glitch or hitch. Just try to make it all one smooth release.”

[Tr1boy]

Grant Williams
Ceiling - Paul Millsap
Floor - Corliss Williamson

- High floor and ok ceiling.  Very comparable to both Millsap and Williamson in terms of size (undersized PF but strong) while possessing some SF skills.  Williamson didn't shoot the three but had a decent mid range jump shot.  Millsap is the next level up with a respectable 3 point shooter. 

Romeo Langford
Ceiling - Demar Derozan
Floor - Evan Turner

- High ceiling and low floor.  Superb size and length for a 2 guard. Crafty and very good ability to finish in various ways near the basket. Good stepback jump shot. Solid handles.  Off ball game and shooting is still work in progress.

Carsen Edwards
Ceiling - IT4 (6'0 with 6'6 wingspan version)
Floor -  Nate Robinson (6'0 with 6'6 wingspan version)

- Medium floor and medium ceiling.  Can be electric.  Has shown ability to raise intensity in big games (college level).  Has deeper range already than IT4 and Robinson. But otherwise similarities are undersized built shooting guard.

Tremont Waters
Ceiling - Poor man John Stockton
Floor - Rich man Phil Pressey

- Low Floor and Ceiling. John Stockton size, poor wingspan type pure pgs are less of a trend at the NBA level these days.  Waters if everything "clicked" could turn out to be a poor man version of Stockton - backup off the bench.  But more realistically a rich man version of Phil Pressey who could still be a decent backup.   Tenacious little defender(good at steals) and offensively sees the floor well.  Knows when to drive vs take the jump shot. But we will see if he can finish over todays NBA length.  Jump shot is already better than Pressey but could still be better.


Any other floor/ceiling comparisons for these players?

looking forward to watching these guys play at SL.  I think they have a good shot to win
 

[moiso]

Grant Williams
Ceiling - Paul Millsap
Floor - Corliss Williamson

- High floor and ok ceiling.  Very comparable to both Millsap and Williamson in terms of size (undersized PF but strong) while possessing some SF skills.  Williamson didn't shoot the three but had a decent mid range jump shot.  Millsap is the next level up with a respectable 3 point shooter. 

Romeo Langford
Ceiling - Demar Derozan
Floor - Evan Turner

- High ceiling and low floor.  Superb size and length for a 2 guard. Crafty and very good ability to finish in various ways near the basket. Good stepback jump shot. Solid handles.  Off ball game and shooting is still work in progress.

Carsen Edwards
Ceiling - IT4 (6'0 with 6'6 wingspan version)
Floor -  Nate Robinson (6'0 with 6'6 wingspan version)

- Medium floor and medium ceiling.  Can be electric.  Has shown ability to raise intensity in big games (college level).  Has deeper range already than IT4 and Robinson. But otherwise similarities are undersized built shooting guard.

Tremont Waters
Ceiling - Poor man John Stockton
Floor - Rich man Phil Pressey

- Low Floor and Ceiling. John Stockton size, poor wingspan type pure pgs are less of a trend at the NBA level these days.  Waters if everything "clicked" could turn out to be a poor man version of Stockton - backup off the bench.  But more realistically a rich man version of Phil Pressey who could still be a decent backup.   Tenacious little defender(good at steals) and offensively sees the floor well.  Knows when to drive vs take the jump shot. But we will see if he can finish over todays NBA length.  Jump shot is already better than Pressey but could still be better.


Any other floor/ceiling comparisons for these players?

looking forward to watching these guys play at SL.  I think they have a good shot to win
 

Your ceilings aren't bad but you gave three of our rookies floors that seem very high.  All of the floor players had very productive almost 10 year careers.  I'm pretty sure at least one of those three will be a dud who only lasts a couple of years in the league, but who knows.  Maybe Ainge struck gold on a draft that I'm not really sold on.

[libermaniac]

Grant Williams
Ceiling - Paul Millsap
Floor - Corliss Williamson

- High floor and ok ceiling.  Very comparable to both Millsap and Williamson in terms of size (undersized PF but strong) while possessing some SF skills.  Williamson didn't shoot the three but had a decent mid range jump shot.  Millsap is the next level up with a respectable 3 point shooter. 

Romeo Langford
Ceiling - Demar Derozan
Floor - Evan Turner

- High ceiling and low floor.  Superb size and length for a 2 guard. Crafty and very good ability to finish in various ways near the basket. Good stepback jump shot. Solid handles.  Off ball game and shooting is still work in progress.

Carsen Edwards
Ceiling - IT4 (6'0 with 6'6 wingspan version)
Floor -  Nate Robinson (6'0 with 6'6 wingspan version)

- Medium floor and medium ceiling.  Can be electric.  Has shown ability to raise intensity in big games (college level).  Has deeper range already than IT4 and Robinson. But otherwise similarities are undersized built shooting guard.

Tremont Waters
Ceiling - Poor man John Stockton
Floor - Rich man Phil Pressey

- Low Floor and Ceiling. John Stockton size, poor wingspan type pure pgs are less of a trend at the NBA level these days.  Waters if everything "clicked" could turn out to be a poor man version of Stockton - backup off the bench.  But more realistically a rich man version of Phil Pressey who could still be a decent backup.   Tenacious little defender(good at steals) and offensively sees the floor well.  Knows when to drive vs take the jump shot. But we will see if he can finish over todays NBA length.  Jump shot is already better than Pressey but could still be better.


Any other floor/ceiling comparisons for these players?

looking forward to watching these guys play at SL.  I think they have a good shot to win
 

Your floors are way too high on these guys. If we just added Corliss Williamson, Evan Turner and Nate Robinson this draft was an A+.

[Tr1boy]

@moiso @libermaniac

I feel this way about Waters and Langford

I do believe however....worst case in the floors for Williams and Edwards

These guys are undersized but built like tanks and seem to gain more energy as the game prolongs

Again if Gwill can add a consistent 3, I feel like he is going to be special

As for Edwards, depends if he can guard bigger shooting guards....if not, how much he is able improve his pg skills (to play the point). And also fit on a team could be a factor. So far in theory looks like a good fit under CBS

[tazzmaniac]

@moiso @libermaniac

I feel this way about Waters and Langford

I do believe however....worst case in the floors for Williams and Edwards

These guys are undersized but built like tanks and seem to gain more energy as the game prolongs

Again if Gwill can add a consistent 3, I feel like he is going to be special

As for Edwards, depends if he can guard bigger shooting guards....if not, how much he is able improve his pg skills (to play the point). And also fit on a team could be a factor. So far in theory looks like a good fit under CBS

Where is Jordan Mickey now?