The Boston Celtics wrapped up their dose of Summer League action on Sunday night with a consolation game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite a hard-fought battle, the Celtics dropped the contest 103-98, with David Jones pouring in 23 points to lead the way for Philadelphia.
On the green side, Jordan Walsh led the way in scoring, dropping 18 points and finally finding his three-point shot. Jaelen House and Tyler Cook made for a nifty bench combo, scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively.
1. Jordan Walsh escapes his own head
After four straight games of woes, Walsh finally broke through on Sunday. He nailed his first two triples of the game and ended the evening shooting a clean 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. His final statline was 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. He shot 7-of-14 from the floor.
There were still a few moments throughout the game where Walsh showed off his youth, but this was by far his best Summer League showing.
“I feel like I played pretty bad,” Walsh said of Summer League. “But we came out, won a couple games, had some fun, got to meet new guys, got to play as a team, I feel like I got better as it went on. But I definitely expected more from myself, for sure.”
Walsh’s struggles were definitely eyebrow-raising, but they were never a full reflection of who he is as a player. With youth comes mental mistakes, and Walsh was clearly in his own head about his three-point shot. As soon as he saw one go down, he loosened up and got back to normal.
“We talk a lot about not letting things snowball, not letting things boil up and boil over,” said coach DJ MacLeay. “Today, he put a stop to that.”
2. Anton Watson is an NBA player
If the Celtics’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks solidified Anton Watson’s case as a legitimate NBA player, then this game should have made it a reality. It’s very unlikely that Boston will shell out the money to sign him to a second-round exception contract with the 15th roster spot right now, but Watson deserves it.
“I think we’re going to figure that out sometime this week,” Watson said of potential contract talks. “Those conversations are definitely coming.”
At every turn, Watson is in the right spot, making the right play, and doing all of the little things. In this game, he finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-5 from distance.
Defensively, Watson should be able to defend multiple positions, and if he stays confident on offense, he could play real minutes up in Boston as soon as this season.
3. Baylor Scheierman gets clowned
ESPN’s Channing Frye could not stop laughing at Baylor Scheierman on the broadcast. It was a tough night for the rookie, as he just couldn’t find his shot for most of the game. And shot after shot, turnover after turnover, and mistake after mistake, Frye was letting the jokes rip.
That said, Scheierman persevered. In spite of his poor shooting night, he remained confident and nailed two massive threes in the fourth quarter.
Scheierman finished the game with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal. He shot 4-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-7 from beyond the three-point line. The rook also committed four turnovers and picked up three fouls.
This was probably Scheierman’s worst game of Summer League, but his confidence never wavered, and his playmaking flashes still shined through. Both of those things bode well for him moving forward.
4. Tyler Cook kind of cooks
This was a sneaky-good game for Tyler Cook—if a game where you finish third on the team in scoring qualifies as “sneaky.”
Cook didn’t do anything particularly flashy. He just stayed in the right spots and capitalized on his buckets. The big man also got to the line eight times, sinking six of his free throws.
Cook feels like the type of player who would be an ideal choice for an end-of-the-bench big man—if he were two inches taller. As Frye pointed out on the broadcast, Cook plays the role of a traditional big man well. But he’s only 6-foot-8. If he was even 6-foot-10, he could fill the role of a Drew Eubanks or Jock Landale-type guy easily. But he’s not.
That said, having Cook in Maine next year wouldn’t be a bad idea.
5. Jaelen House goods and bads
The past two games have cemented the fact that Jaelen House deserves to at least have a spot in Maine if he doesn’t get signed elsewhere. He’s a tenacious defender, is extremely quick with the ball in his hands, and has shown signs of promise running an offense.
Simultaneously, he fouls a lot. He picked up nine in this game—one away from fouling out. House’s size also comes back to bite him at times, which he can’t help. He also tends to try to force the issue a bit too much, whether it be trying to squeeze a pass into a tight window or go for a steal that leads to a foul.
As mentioned, however, he’s played well enough to the point where the Celtics should want to keep him in their orbit if they can.
6. The rest
The Celtics only trotted out eight players in this game, so there are fewer notes than usual. Killian Tillie got the start and was solid, but his seven fouls were less than ideal. Ron Harper Jr. was in street clothes for this one, as was JD Davison.
Tristan Enaruna was the first player Boston signed to a training camp deal, but he just doesn’t seem like a great fit. With no reliable outside shot, all he seems to provide is solid hustle and the occasional duck-in dunk. He was pretty invisible throughout Summer League.
Drew Peterson wrapped up a relatively underwhelming Summer League with a six-point, three-rebound, three-assist performance. He didn’t play against the Mvas but was thrown back into the action with a start in this one. If anyone’s two-way is in jeopardy, it’s his.
Lastly, Jaden Springer, Neemias Queta, and Jahmi’us Ramsey were nowhere to be found. They weren’t on the bench. For Queta and Springer, that probably just means that they went back to Boston. But where is Ramsey? With how well he played, one would have to assume he got signed to some type of deal somewhere.
