This is the fourth game for both the Celtics and the Knicks. Both teams played last played on Wednesday. Both teams won their last game after losing the first two games. The Knicks lost the Philadelphia110-101. They also lost to Brooklyn 98-80. In the game just before the Celtics and Lakers game on Wednesday, The Knicks beat the Magic 82-80 in overtime.
The Celtics are coached by assistant coach Tony Dobbins, who has been an assistant with the Celtics since 2020, under Brad Stevens, Ime Udoka and Joe Mazzulla. He served as a video coordinator for the Celtics during the 2019-20 season. The Knicks are coached by Dice Yoshimoto. He was the video coordinator for Tom Thibodeau in Chicago. When Thibs left Chicago, Yoshimoto went to Denver and worked under Coach Malone. He worked with the Georgia Bulldogs as the director of basketball strategy and video. He is an assistant coach with the Knicks under Thibodeau.
As with every Summer League, it’s difficult to predict a starting lineup as coaches are looking to try different lineups and combination of players and they want to get an idea of what each player brings to the table. I’ve listed the starting lineup for each team from their first Summer League game. For the most part, evaluating players to see which ones might fit with the roster is more important to these coaches than winning the games.
Celtics Roster
J.D. Davison #20
Kamar Baldwin #26
Jordan Walsh #27
Jay Scrubb #29
Mychal Mulder #37
Justin Bean #38
Vincent Valerio-Bodin #41
Sam Griesel #45
Olek Balcerowski #50
Udoka Azubuike #51
Reggie Kisoonlal #55
Justin Champagnie #99
Delano Banton
Starters Last Game
PG: J.D.Davison
SG: Justin Champagnie
SF: Delano Banton
PF: Jordan Walsh
C: Olek Balcerowski
Head Coach
Tony Dobbins
Players to Watch
Jordan Walsh
Walsh was the Celtics 38th pick in the 2023 draft. He is 6’7” with a 7’3” wingspan. He averaged 7.1 ppg for Arkansas last season on 43% shooting. He can defend 1-5 and with and is unselfish and a hard worker. He just signed a 4 year $7.6 million contract with the Celtics. He is off to a good start with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks in his first Summer League game and 12 points, 2 rebounds 3 assists and 1 steal in his second game. He stepped up in his 3rd game as his 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks helped the Celtics to beat the Lakers.
JD Davison
Davison was the Celtics 53rd pick in the 2022 draft. He was a 2-Way player for the Celtics last season. He played 26 games with the Maine Celtics and averaged 12.5 points and just under 9 assists per game. He played spot minutes in 12 games for the Celtics. He has signed a contract for another 2 way spot this season. He struggled against the Wizards but bounced back to post 11 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists 2 steals and 2 blocks against the Lakers.
Jay Scrubb
Scrubb was the 55th pick by the Brooklyn Nets in 2020. He has played for the LA Clippers, Agua Caliente Clippers, Orlando Magic and the Lakeland Magic over the past 3 seasons. He played very well in his first action for the Summer Celtics, finishing with 17 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals and 1 block off the bench. He finished the second game with 17 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals and 1 block off the bench. He impressed once again against the Lakers with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
Knicks Roster
Trevor Keels
DaQuan Jeffries
Jalen Harris
Jaylen Martin
Jahvon Blair
Isaiah Roby
QJ Peterson
Marcus Garrett
David Shriver
Race Thompson
Michael Foster, Jr
Justyn Hamilton
Dmytro Skapintsev
Charlie Brown, Jr
Khalid Moore
Starters Last Game
PG: Trevor Keels
SG: Jaylen Martin
SF: Charlie Brown, Jr
PF: Isaiah Roby
C: Michael Foster, Jr.
Head Coach
Dice Yoshimoto
Players to Watch
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Charlie Brown, Jr
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
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Jaylen Martin
Photo by Louis Grasse/Getty Images
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Isaiah Roby
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
Charlie Brown, Jr.
Brown went undrafted in the 2019 draft. He has appeared in 41 games over three seasons between Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and Dallas. Last season he played for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G-League team. He has starred for the Knicks Summer League team, averaging 17.3 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.7 steals and 2 blocks in the 3 games so far.
Jaylen Martin
Martin went undrafted in the 2023 draft and signed a 2 way contract with the Knicks on July 3, 2023. He played for Overtime Elite last season. He averaged 13 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1 steal and 0.7 blocks per game over the Knicks first 3 games.
Isaiah Roby
Roby was the 45th overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2019 draft. He has played for the Texas Legends, Oklahoma City Thunder, Oklahoma City Blue, San Antonio Spurs and he signed with the New York Knicks on April 9, 2023. He is averaging 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game for the Knicks in 3 games so far.
Keys to the Game
Shooting – The Celtics will be looking for players who can shoot from the outside and also who can finish at the basket. They will also be looking for players who can shore up the wings and point guard spots. They scored just 88 points in their first game and increased to 98 in their second game. They scored 95 points against the Lakers. Jordan Walsh and Jay Scrubb have been the best scorers for the Celtics so far.
Defense – The Celtics have put a premium on playing defense in the past and they will be looking to see which Summer Celtics fit that mold. JD Davison has already said that he plans to show he can be a dog on the defensive end and Jordan Walsh is also a very good defender. Players will have to show that they can play tough defense if they hope to get a spot on the Celtics or a two way contract. The Lakers got out to a 14 point lead and the Celtics came back to win the game behind some tough defense in the 2nd half.
Take Care of the Ball – The Celtics are averaging 18.7 turnovers per game while the Knicks are averaging 17.3 turnovers per game. The Celtics cut their turnovers to just 11 against the Lakers and they will need to take care of the ball and limit their turnovers in this game as well.
Rebound – Rebounding is always important. The Celtics were out-rebounded 38-22 in their game against the Heat. They did much better in the second game, out-rebounding the Wizards 43-31. They out-rebounded the Lakers 52-39. The Celtics need to continue to crash the boards if they want to win this game.
X-Factors
It’s Summer League – While teams want to win, every one of these teams is pretty much cobbled together from undrafted players, end of bench players, and G-League players. They have had limited practice time for the most part and so it’s hard to tell how each team will play and which teams will dominate. One thing for sure is that every player is trying to get noticed and earn a place on a roster and so we may see some players surprise us.
