We just witnessed something AMAZING unfold…

We just witnessed something AMAZING unfold…

We just witnessed something amazing unfold for the Boston Celtics as in their first summer league game with a lot of question marks surrounding a lot of players and who could potentially step up for this Celtics team. Plenty of players shined out and definitely looked spectacular in this game. And I think plenty of them can not only fit into Joe Missoula’s offense, from the key rotational players that we saw from the Celtics roster already playing, but guys that can mesh into that G-League roster as well to give them another competent run that we’ve seen in the past. Brad Stevens and the Celtics have been doing absolutely fantastic and we got to rejoice in some great Celtics basketball. After a long wait, we finally got it and it was well, well rewarding. Welcome back to Celtics Digest. I’m Bruce with my co-host Patrick Billings. And Patrick, you mentioned before we went into the stream or into the video here today that this game was just simply fun. And I can’t I think that’s like the best way to truly describe getting back into Celtics basketball today. Yeah, I hope a lot of you guys watching were able to watch this game because I did say in the stream that it was going to be fun to watch this team in summer league and it definitely was. It was an awesome start and everybody played a decent amount, played very well on all ends of the floor and it was honestly a really really fun game. Yeah, ultimately I thought it was absolutely spectacular to see just the Celtics back out there in general. But like you mentioned, they played hard on the offensive end, really hustled on the defensive end, and were able to get something very, very solid out. So, without further ado, guys, we’re going to dive in and explore what really broke down into the game and who really made an impact here today as this was once again great to see having the Celtics back there out there on the court. and Patrick. Like we mentioned in this game, we saw the Boston Celtics win 92-78. It was a little bit of a blowout there in the first half. Grizzlies kind of made it closer in the third quarter, a little bit in the fourth than the Celtics were able to pull away. From looking at some team stats, you can kind of see comparative to the Grizzlies how the Celtics did play. But when looking at the Celtics box score, there are a lot of names here, Patrick. And I want to ask you, who is the one that really jumped out to you the most here on this list? Yeah, I mean, look at the scoring. It’s very spread out. So, that’s how you could tell that this game was fun. Everyone was getting involved, but I think Ugo Gonzalez definitely stood out. I mean, he definitely made his mark in his first game, playing well on both ends of the floor. Kind of showing that energy and that off ball pressure that he does on the offensive end and on the defensive end. This is what they drafted him for. This is a highly highly, you know, what’s the word I’m looking for? just there was a lot of interest in him about a year ago going in the draft about going higher kind of mid lottery and he fell to the Celtics and everyone even us kind of like annoyed about the pick at the time but now we’re kind of seeing why the Celtics like this guy because of his motor and his mentality. You see him in the interview because he had to go right back out there to the quarter at the beginning, but he was talking quick, trying to get to the point, but you could see the demeanor that he has too. Like he’s really got this professional type of like mentality to him already at 19 years old. I mean, we know he was with Real Madrid since he was nine years old. Played pro for two years. I think 2022 20 22 I think was his first pro career uh debut. So, I mean, you could already see in his mentality the type of player that he is. And I mean, man, it showed in the first game. I mean, maybe it’s not the biggest stat line that you want to see already the way that I’m talking about it, but it is summer league. Everyone’s feeling each other out already, but I mean, it was it was awesome to watch him play and play well. Yeah, I think you kind of hit that on all cylinders. A lot of people were very questionable with this pick, including us, not really knowing much research on him, but we always have to put that trust into Brad Stevens, like we have in the past, and luckily, it’s been able to at least show us some good promise so far with Ugo’s first performance. You mentioned he was able to do things not only on the ball here, being a little bit of a playmaker, had a nice little flashy pass down low in the paint, I believe it was, to Charles Bassie or Mari Williams at one point in the first half. Was making some smart plays, but also defensively was able to lock in, be that little gritty pest alongside Cam Spencer. They were getting into some little uh tussles there on the court, but it was kind of funny kind of locking in that mentality. And then you mentioned the interview that he did talking really fast, really just sticking to the point. My buddy was over. I was kind of like, damn, that kind of sucks that he’s got to do an interview in the middle of the quarter. Like, just let him play the game. He’s a rookie. He’s trying to make an impression. And you also noticed with Hugo Ugo Gonzalez that there was a lot of frustration kind of coming out of him where these misses and stuff like that. And I tweeted out that that kind of matches the Celtics energy to a key, not only just like his motor and his hard uh working and relentless attitude, but just his play style fits, but it’s clear when he gets frustrated on these misses that Joe is going to love this. I think he’s going to use this as motivation to bring out the best in Ugo for this lineup. And I can’t wait to see what that ultimately is. I’m not going to obviously scream because it’s a summer league game that he’s going to be a key rotational piece. But I truly do think from our first performance that we did see from him, he absolutely highlighted uh what the Boston Celtics fans wanted to see. And not only just that, answered some quarrels as well. Hit some threes, kind of stepping into them as well, like was very confident in that shot making ability, which was very, very transcended from him. Another player as well that really stood out for the Boston Celtics as well, Patrick, was someone that we have not sold our stock on, and that is Jordan Walsh. Came in and made some immediate impacts. Had 12 points in the first half, hit some wide openen threes, felt more confident in that jump shot. And I feel like this was the Jordan Walsh that a lot of people were expecting in last year’s summer league. But even though it didn’t happen, at least we’re seeing it now. Yeah, they talked about it on the broadcast where last year in summer league he missed 22 straight threes. So to see him actually knock a couple down this game, what he had, three threes. He went three for six. That’s definitely something you love to see from Jordan Walsh. Kind of getting that confidence. You know, his third year in the summer league. Of course, you’re going to expect him to kind of put his foot on the pedal and kind of go and just really show everybody what he’s got. But he wasn’t only just shooting threes, he was getting down low in the paint, being aggressive, getting a couple dunks, and just really showing his worth with his length and his size. I mean, he does have a little bit of a small frame, but it is a very lengthy frame and we know the type of player he is and what he could be. And I think he showed a lot of those flashes in this game. That’s why again, it made it so fun to finally see these guys that are on the end of the bench kind of just coming off cold during the year, just trying to give some big minutes, five, seven minutes, you know, just trying to get something moving for the Celtics this year. But now we’re kind of seeing them in a bigger role and seeing what they could actually turn out to be. I think I think this is the perfect game for Jordan Walsh to kind of gain some confidence. No, I completely agree. And like we kind of mentioned with Luca Garza and Josh Manat, the two signings for the Celtics, they haven’t really gotten much opportunity. And similar with Jordan Walsh, they’re kind of that guys on the end of the rotation, like we mentioned, get garbage time minutes, don’t get time to warm up, don’t get time to get ready in fluid motion to really be successful in those dire minutes. So to see him actually have an opportunity to go out on the floor and absolutely dominate. He says obviously he’s the vet of this team being the oldest player on the longest tenure player at least but I believe is the oldest player as well on this roster. That goes to just show you that he’s taking that leadership and putting it out there on the court as well. We also finish out the starting lineup here by looking at the other two second round picks that the Boston Celtics made. Amari Williams and Ma Max Schulga or Suga I think they were saying during the pruga. So, I’m sorry if I was mispronouncing that, but Suga really really solid on the defensive end. Really, really aggressive. Uh, I know a lot of people were tweeting that he was at BCU they played uh very uh halfcourtheavy off defense, so they were in that pressure of of, you know, just being relentless and giving fullcourt press. And I think that was clearly translating here. He had a couple steals and just playing relentlessly. I think that’s going to fit really well in for the uh main Celtics. And also, Amari Williams had a beautiful like crosscourt pass to Miles Norris earlier on in the first half. had a nice little turnaround jumper as well in the low post late in the fourth quarter as well. Had some good screens, getting some good rebounds. Once again, I think the Celtics really hit on these draft picks so far from what we’ve seen from this first game. And you know, not to make give them early reactions that these guys be stars, but I do think that they can definitely fit in for this main Celtics team and at least have some promise. We’re not looking and going, maybe they struck out on this guy already. Yeah, I will say real quick, Jordan Walsh definitely not the oldest guy on this team. He’s only 21, 22 years old. You got to remember this. That’s true. guy in his third year came in at 19 years old. So this is why there’s still a lot of time for this guy to kind of get a little bit better on the court. And I mean 22 years old, there’s guys coming in as a rookie like Baylor Shyman being 24 years old, you know? So there there’s a lot promise like thinking about a guy, you know, you know, you look at a guy on the other side of the court like GI Jackson in the same scenario being a younger guy kind of getting early experience. So, that’s another kind of thing to think about when you’re looking at a lot of these guys that have been here for a little bit, but now they’re kind of getting their their volume up on the minutes side, on the court, and just being able to, you know, show everybody what they got. They still have the age to be in summer league, too. So, of course, he’s going to be here, but again, with those two other guys and Matt Schulga, I mean, I love the way that all these guys that you’re looking at on the box score, we talked about it before, were with ball handling. I thought that they had some pretty good ball handling and I felt comfortable with anyone kind of bringing the ball up the court. Amari Williams as well actually had a little bit of a tight handle which I was definitely surprised. And I think the one thing with Amari is that I kind of wish he got more scoring opportunity. I mean he went three for three but we saw a little bit of his postwork maybe a couple dunks but I mean we saw one little post up little baby hook and that was pretty much it. And that was the one thing I really did want to see more from him was seeing how he looks in the low block and just seeing what type of footwork he has down low because we know about his playmaking, but the one thing that I definitely want to see is his rebounding, which he actually did pretty solid today, but I think we need a little bit more than just three, but there was other guys on the court clearly that were grabbing a ton of rebounds. But I think the rebounding and the scoring is one thing that I’m going to be looking forward to their next game. 100%. And yeah, you were correct on the Jordan Walsh take. I completely forgot about that. So that is my bad on that. Just see that’s that’s the thing. He this his third season be an older guy, but I mean he’s been around. He won the championship. I mean he when you win a championship I feel like you’re kind of marked down as a vet in a way just got to the end and you got the finish and now like you have this different mentality now that you won a championship. So I mean 21 22 years old man he still got a lot of room to grow 100%. And then we’ll get into some more guys that really stood out on the bench as well before we kind of get into the other part here. But I think a guy named Charles Bassie is the one to look at here because if we want to look at from the reports from the Celtics, he wasn’t listed on this roster. He was a late addition to the Celtics summer league. Was just shown kind of playing in practice. We saw a picture of him, but you know, didn’t really have like a confirmed report that he was going to be with the teams. Didn’t really want to talk about it, but he showed up, went to some tryyouts or practices with the team, some training camp, and now is playing with the summer league team. And in his debut, Patrick, 11 rebounds, 14 points, a plus 20. And our good old friend Jack Simone, lucky guest for us on the show, said the Celtics need to sign Charles Bassie. He’s been a monster today. Really good rebounder, paint defender for the summer league, and a good screener, too. obviously could help out the Celtics in that center committee, which we’ll tease for a video later on that you guys will definitely be seeing talking about this, but obviously the Boston Celtics could use some center help. And Bassie, a former NBA player with the San Antonio Spurs last season, now a free agent, could be, you know, a late addition to this team or at least a two-way guy at most. This is like the biggest mystery of the summer. all of a sudden see him peeking in a little Instagram story from the Celtics is like, “Is that Charles Bassley?” I think you were talking about it that people didn’t even recognize that it was him on the court. There is nothing about anything with contracts. I believe the Celtics have two two-way contracts that they could give out still. So, that’s definitely an option for him. And I mean, he played incredible. 14 points, like you said, the 11 rebounds definitely stands out. And the two blocks, too. I mean, all over the place. I mean, did you get a little bit of a Time Lord feel from him or is that just Nick? No, he was definitely representing some of that rim protection and high level shot blocking and rebounding that we saw from Time Lord. And I think he also had uh that he did catch that alley oop pass from Baylor Shyman as well to close out the fourth quarter, which was really exciting. You mentioned the two blocks. I believe those came like back to back as well, like really high succession. So, it’s just interesting to see what the Celtics can do and I think you really highlighted him truly the mystery man on the Celtics team. We’ll have to really see what they do. Maybe as a two-way guy or who knows, they do clear open a roster spot down the line with doing some other roster moves or changes. We could see a spot open up for Bassie here for the Celtics cuz I think he’s definitely going to be someone in the system at least. There’s no way that he they they let him walk away and kind of just stumble off into the distance. Also looking at the bench, Miles Norris also pretty played pretty solid all as well. a little bit better of a first half. But one thing I really like about Miles Norris, I don’t really know much about him because he was a late addition to the Celtics at the G-League in late in the year, but he just lets it fly and he feels confident. He hit that pass across the court from Amari Williams. I’m interested to see what he can bring for the main Celtics this year. Yeah, I think they said that he averaged 16 points per game in the GLeague, shooting 39% from three, which is definitely above average from the three-point line. I mean, it’s the same length, just in a different league. But I mean, just the things that he could do. He’s actually pretty quick. I think he’s listed a lot shorter than he is. I think we talked about this. And I mean, he just looks so long on the court. But again, I I think that he could bring something valuable to them. I think that’s what they’re trying to figure out with him in the summer league. I mean, he is kind of coming off the bench, but I mean, they also want to see their rookies kind of getting a lot of playing time as well. But I think as the time goes on, I mean, he got 22 minutes, so they’re definitely interested with how he’s playing. And I mean, hey, GLeague guy, two-way guy. I mean, what are you going to expect from him more? But, uh, if we’re talking about some guys also I really just want to bring up real quick is Kenny Loftton because I said he was going to be the MVP of the game. But, I mean, for that first quarter, he was just grabbing almost every rebound. Speaking of ball handling, loved his ball handling. Maybe his playmaking could get a little bit better where he’s a little bit late on a couple decisions, but I love the way that he plays. I mean, he’s a little bit smaller. Kind of plays that power forward center position being at like 68 about there. And I mean, I think that he’s a fun player, too, to kind of watch out for to get that two-way contract because he totally deserves it. And I I think he would fit in well, especially with how many rebounds he got. Yeah. So, the one thing about Kenneth Loftton, and I know a lot of people on the social media side of things weren’t really the biggest fan of Loftton today. So Patrick, you might get some slack for that comment, but I’m going to agree with you with Kenneth Loftton. Even though he had some, you know, questionable decision-making with obviously not being able to really make a basket, not really passing that much and, you know, kind of just focusing mainly on himself, he did help out the Celtics in a lot of ways. And the rebounding was definitely one of them. And I think that having him just kind of down low, especially once again, like you mentioned, two-way or even just he’s on the main Celtics, I think that’s kind of a good spot for him to kind of figure that out. Also, like like I mentioned, this is just the first game of him as well. We might see him continue to grow within the Celtics rotation, getting a little bit more comfortable within this team. So, I definitely will agree with that. My MVP was Isaiah Wong. And unfortunately, he didn’t do that great today, even though he took some he only made one shot. He played solid, just his shots weren’t falling. But I think if he could kind of get that microwave scoring up a little bit more, he could be a little bit more lethal for the Boston Celtics. And then the final player that we didn’t fail to mention was Baylor Shyman. Not really the greatest performance from Bla Baylor offensively, but playmaking hustle-wise being that uh uh passer was definitely key. And him and Ugo were kind of sharing those on ball duties here today mainly for the Celtics like you mentioned alongside Schuga as well. I really liked what he able what he was able to do to kind of control this offense. And I think if you know we don’t see a bad shooting night, a lot of people are a little bit happier with his performance from Shyron. So, I ultimately do think it’s just a bad shooting performance, which happens to these type of players, obviously. Yeah, I think that goes for both Baylor and Kenny Loftton as well. There was a lot of plays down low that Loft and kind of just had a couple just roll right off the front of the rim as the Celtics shot terribly in the paint today inside the three-point line. It was just a terrible shooting performance. It was talked about multiple times on the broadcast. So, if you weren’t going to be able to watch it, that’s definitely where Kenneth Loftton missed a lot of his shots going one for eight. Baylor Shyman two for 14. And that’s one of the guys that I said that I was hoping that was going to play well. Um, just because I thought he was going to show us a lot, but he didn’t lose confidence. Neither they walk. They just kept putting him up because they’re confident in their shot and just sometimes it doesn’t fall and that just happened. But I think the one thing from Baylor that I would love to see more is just kind of score at all three levels. I keep talking about it. I mean, he was getting to the paint, taking a couple floaters, but he was taking some deep threes as well. But I think if he just keeps on doing that, maybe mixing some mid-rangers as well, I think he’ll be just fine. Yeah, I I would agree with that. And like I said and like you said as well, I think they just need to get a little bit more comfortable within this rotation. And who knows, we could see next game where both of them are absolutely lethal and making every single one of their shots and someone else could be struggling. So that’s what the takes of summer league is. But the all allout goal of the Celtics winning actually happened, which was absolutely fantastic. And that’s just great to see kind of unfold in game one. And we got to see some of those uncertainties kind of be asked with the mystery man and Charles Bassie kind of coming through. We saw Ugo Gonzalez, the other mystery man coming from overseas who wasn’t even expected really to play in summer league have a standout performance. And then our solid vet Jordan Walsh holding down the rotation and providing some great basketball. Patrick Sun Celtics take on summer league once again on Sunday. I unfortunately will not be available to do a video on Sunday because I’ll be at the big three. But if we can get something up, we will have something up. If not, we will have stuff for you guys coming Monday looking at the Boston Celtics and going some things as well. Make sure to stay tuned, hit the subscribe button, and let us know your thoughts on the summer league breakdown and what your honest reactions were from game one. But decent episode today and well worth it to dive into all the basketball news from the Boston Celtics. So, thank you guys so much for tuning in. We hope you do enjoy the video and we’ll catch you guys on the next one. Have a great rest of your night and go Boston Celtics.

SHOW INDEX:
0:00 Boston Celtics News
1:39 This was Great to See

Enjoy the July 11th edition of Boston Celtics News or Celtics News today! Bruce Veliz and Patrick Billings discusses the latest Boston Celtics news, as we look at the latest on the Celtics as they just had their first game of the Summer League. Please let us know your thoughts below.

Celtics Digest is a YouTube Channel that covers all the latest news, trades, reports, and rumors regarding the Boston Celtics. Our channel provides in-depth analysis, game highlights, and player performance reviews. We focus on key players such as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis, and Derrick White, as well as the insights of Head Coach Joe Mazzulla and General Manager Brad Stevens. Stay tuned for all the exciting updates and engaging discussions on everything Celtics!

NBA Trade Rumors, NBA Free Agency, NBA Draft, NBA Finals Preview, Fantasy Basketball Advice, NBA Betting Odds, NBA Jersey Review, Player Performance Breakdown, DraftKings NBA Picks, FanDuel NBA Strategy, Sports Analytics, NBA Highlights, NBA News Update, NBA Stats, NBA Roster Moves, NBA Predictions