The Lakers played in the California Classic Summer League before coming to Las Vegas. They went 0-3 in those games, losing to Sacramento, Golden State and Miami. They lost their first game in Las Vegas on Friday against the Rockets. As with the Heat, they have played 3 more games than the Celtics and so their chemistry should be farther along.
As always in Summer League, it’s next to impossible to predict who will start as coaches try to mix and match players and to experiment with different starting lineups. The Lakers used 3 different starting lineups in their 3 games in California but they used the same starters in their last 2 games, the last one in California and the first one in Las Vegas.
D.J. MacLeay will be coaching the Celtics Summer League team. The Celtics hired MacLeay in 2021 as a player enhancement coach on Ime Udoka’s staff. In July 2022 he was promoted to assistant coach. He stayed with the Celtics as an assistant after Udoka left. Dane Johnson is coaching the Lakers Summer League team. He is the coach of the South Bay Lakers GLeague team.
No matter who plays well and what else happens in this game, the top story will likely be Bronny James and how he does in this game. I was looking up a picture for the Miami game and I had to wade through 3 solid pages of pictures of Bronny from his game against them before I was able to find one picture of the Heat players. He has been the story since he declared for the draft and that’s not likely to change any time soon.
Boston Celtics Roster
Tyler Cook
JD Davison
Tristan Enaruna
Ron Harper, Jr
Jaelen House
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta
Jahmi?us Ramsey
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Killian Tillie
Jordan Walsh
Anton Watson
Head Coach
D.J. MacLeay
Starters Last Game
JD Davison
Jordan Walsh
Jaden Springer
Baylor Scheierman
Neemias Queta
Players to Watch
JD Davison
Davison is back for the 3rd year with the Celtics. He has spent the past 2 years on a 2 way contract, playing mostly in Maine. He is signed to a 2 way contract once again for the upcoming season. In the first Summer League game against the Heat, he finished with 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists but he also had 4 turnovers. He shot 85.7% from the field and 100% from beyond the arc.
Jaden Springer
The Celtics traded for Springer at the deadline last season and were excited about his defense and potential. His shot was inconsistent but if his first game in Summer League was any indication, he has worked on his shot. He finished with 23 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and no turnovers. He shot 53% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. He will likely be looking to prove this wasn’t a one time performance.
Baylor Scheierman
Scheierman was the Celtics 30th pick in this year’s draft. He is known as a shooter but his performance in the first game proves that he is a versatile player with great court vision. He finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal with just 1 turnover. He shot 44.4% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc.
Los Angeles Lakers Roster
Colin Castleton
Mohanmed Diarra
Sean East II
Blake Hinson
Bronny James
Dalton Knecht
Tommy Kuhse
Maxwell Lewis
Kyle Mangas
Grayson Murphy
Joirdon Nicholas
Quincy Olivari
Armel Traore
Vincent Valerio-Bodon
Head Coach
Dane Johnson
Starters Last Game
Tommy Kuhse
Bronny James
Dalton Knecht
Maxwell Lewis
Colin Castleton
Players to Watch
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Dalton Knecht
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
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Bronny James
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images
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Colin Castleton
Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
Dalton Knecht
Knecht was the 17th pick in the draft by the Lakers and has been touted by some as the steal of the draft. He gives the Lakers some much needed scoring. He shot 39.7% from 3 last season at Tennessee. In the Lakers game against the Rockets, he finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc.
Bronny James
James was the Lakers’ 55th pick in the draft and has gotten way more attention than even the first pick in this draft. He has struggled somewhat in Summer League so far, but the Lakers believe that he has a high upside. Against the Rockets, he finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. He shot just 21.4% from the field and was 0-8 from beyond the arc.
Colin Castleton
Castleton spent last year with the Lakers on a 2 Way contract and the Lakers have re-signed center Colin Castleton to a two-way contract for this season. Castleton averaged 14.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 blocks for the South Bay Lakers last season. The 6’10” center finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks against the Rockets.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Just as defense is the key to every game in the regular season and in the playoffs, it is also the key to winning in the Summer League. In their first game in Las Vegas, the Celtics allowed the Heat to shoot 61.5% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. It’s hard to win when you allow a team to shoot like that. They have to play tougher defense and limit the Lakers open shots.
Rebound – Along with defense, rebounding is always a key to winning. The Celtics out-rebounded the Heat 35-29 in their first game. In the Lakers’ first game in Las Vegas, they were out-rebounded 48-40 by the Rockets. The Celtics need to crash the boards in this game if they want to get a win.
Improvement – In Summer League, improvement and evaluation are more important than winning. Both coaches are looking for improvement from returning players and they are evaluating all of the players on the roster for possible spots on the roster or 2 way contracts.
X-Factors
Chemistry and ExperienceThe Lakers team has played in 3 more games than the Celtics and so will likely have better chemistry on the court than the Celtics who are playing in just their second game. The Celtics players have more experience than the Lakers players and so that may give the Celtics an edge.
