Summer League Game 1 Recap

by Jeff Clark on Jul 6, 2009 10:21 PM EDT in Games Comment 32 comments

The Celtics won their summer league game tonight.

I only saw bits and pieces myself but I'm told that I didn't miss much. From what I saw, Swift is not swift and Bill Walker still likes hard fouls. Also, the announcers might be the worst I've ever heard.

Here are some notes from the recap.

Lester Hudson, the 58th selection in the 2009 NBA Draft who is the only player in NCAA history to register a quadruple-double, posted 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.

"I just want to play hard on both ends of the floor," Hudson said. "I just go out there and stop my man from scoring."

Other standout performers included Gabe Pruitt and Bill Walker, who each earned some minutes this past season for the C’s. Pruitt and Walker combined for 25 points.

Here is the full box score

(hat tip to user Mike-Dub who posted these as FanShots)

Update: Also see FLCeltsFan's recap at LOY's Place

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saw some of the game streaming on the net. hudson looked good- gabe did not look any better than hudson. swift looked lousy- what is danny thinking? giddens and walker did not stand out but were not bad.

by nazzbo on Jul 6, 2009 10:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the hat-tip Jeff.

by Mike-Dub on Jul 6, 2009 10:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I liked

Hudson can shoot, the kid can play just don’t know if he can be a pg. Walker and Giddens looked good, both making shots and playing good D. Robert Swift was terrible.

by Champzilla on Jul 6, 2009 10:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

sweatney

our BBD replacement!

by hpantazo on Jul 6, 2009 10:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

also

wow, summer league games are terrible, I understand why they don’t televise them, they would ruin the public perception of the nba more than anything

by hpantazo on Jul 6, 2009 10:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Typical Fan Reaction

Everyone’s all over the map regarding who played well etc.

Bottom line is that three of the players on the Cs had played together before, enough to where it made a huge difference against a bunch of nobodies who never played together. While Swift is anything but, he was better than what they had. Michael ‘the belly’ Sweetney was terribly out of shape, but obviously knew how to play the game. Fazekas will never fool anyone about his physical abilities, but he can shoot. Lester looks like he belongs. Rogers looked pretty good as well.

Right now if I were Danny I would be pleading with McDyess to come to Beantown. I think Fazekas could make the team if he was a little more fit. Swift just doesn’t have it, and it is difficult with Sweetney because he’s hard to judge. Such a shame. Obviously any contract with him would have to include a weight clause.

I thought JR looked really good, though the free throw shooting of he and everyone else was abysmal. Gabe looked good after a shaky start. But he always comes out slow. If Doc were coaching, Gabe would have played two minutes and then sat the rest of the game.

Overall, a pretty good first game. Would have been nice to be there instead of the bad camera footage and the awful commentary.

Ergo, Nacho Cheese!!!!!

by amenhotep04 on Jul 6, 2009 10:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Bill Walker lead the team in points with 14 but i never really noticed him do much i just remember him missing one shot. I expected a flashy showing from him, he had some hard fouls but no big dunks or anything. I was hoping for him to dominate summer league to help him get a chance to really contribute in the rotation this year.

by adesilva on Jul 6, 2009 11:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Walker

Walker was active in the post, showing a nice jump hook and drop step—he could have scored more in the post but didn’t get many opportunities. He also got a nice steal and converted it on the other end. Most impressively, he showed a few Paul Pierce-like moves, one dribble drive step back jumper from about 15 feet, and one step back three pointer that was all-net. All in all, he did well—he had a couple turnovers and was a little spacey on defense. If not for foul trouble, he probably could have gotten 20.

by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Jul 7, 2009 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

JR and Hudson

impressed me the most i thought they both played very good defense, JR had some nice assists and he seemed to be able to score at will if he wanted to. Hudson right before the end of the first had seemed to dominate as well. If he can keep that up he will def stick.

by adesilva on Jul 6, 2009 11:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Giddens dominated the ball alot

I liked the dribble drives as well, as JR has a dynamite first step which he used to blow by defenders all night, but we’re not going to be giving the ball to JR in similar situations during the regular season. He needs to work on his spot-up jumper and filling the lanes—the Paul Pierce imitations are nice but are not going to help him secure a role on this team….

Hudson was VERY impressive. He almost automatic from 15 feet, can get his jumper at ANY TIME, and he’s a super quick on defense. He had a nice block too, where he cheated off his man and came from behind. He also has super body control, at one point putting a head-and-shoulders fake on a defender and then converting a layup. His point guard skills look rusty, though he seemed more comfortable as the game wore on. He’s already a better prospect that Pruitt….

by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Jul 7, 2009 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not trying to be contentious here, but why wouldn’t the Celtics want Paul Pierce imitations out of Giddens? Wasn’t that the point? Giddens and Walker are competing to see who can best backup Pierce. Being able to give a reasonable impersonation of Pierce would seem to be a good thing.

by no kidding on Jul 7, 2009 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Giddens won't get the calls that Paul gets

Against NBA opponents, Giddens’s drives to the basket would either be cut off by better defense or would result in him being swallowed up under the basket and a likely turnover — as a young player he’s not going to get many whistles in his favor. That’s why I was more impressed by the all-around offensive game Walker showed: Giddens needs a more reliable jump shot, otherwise he’s just Tony Allen Redux.

by MattD on Jul 7, 2009 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe. But, I’ve seen other young players make out okay on getting calls. Courtney Lee comes to mind. And either Giddens is good enough at the NBA level to take defenders off the dribble, or he isn’t. If he can, then maybe he sticks. It depends on what Walker shows.

I guess we’ll see, unless Grant Hill or somebody else comes along to kick them to the curb.

by no kidding on Jul 7, 2009 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why no Paul Pierce imitation?

Because we don’t need JR to be Paul, we need him to space the court, score without running plays for him, be scrappy and aggressive, and play defense. That’s what his role is going to be—if he’s ready for it. Paul is still going to be Paul and there’s only room for one Paul on this team.

If we were a lottery team, then JR doing a Paul Pierce imitation would be more appealing. But on this team, he’s just not going to get those kinds of opportunities.

The same thing happens with TA—he could be Paul Pierce like, which would be great for a lottery team, but on this team, he just needs to be a solid role player—a role which he hasn’t settled into.

As Matt mentioned, that’s why Walker was more impressive last night—he was scoring in situations similar to opportunities he might get during the season. Giddens was scoring in situations similar to opportunities he might get playing in the D-League.

by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Jul 7, 2009 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks, but I can’t buy this idea there’s only room on this team for one Pierce.

I mean, we are talking about the second unit here. Surely it would’ve been nice if Tony had played like Pierce on the second unit last year. As opposed to dribbling it off his foot constantly.

No, if Giddens can play something like Pierce as a backup, then the coaches will probably be happy to run some plays for him. And if he can’t, then Walker will likely be getting to do his thing.

by no kidding on Jul 7, 2009 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

JR is just made for summer league

Because he doesn’t have to remember anything (defense or offensive plays) He is Gerald Green – The Sequel

Kevin Rogers looked good to me and Hudson looked quick and tough.

Is it Soup Yet?

by Master Po on Jul 6, 2009 11:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No way Po. JR can play, and he works harder than Gerald ever did. Gerald is definitely a purer shooter than JR ever could be. And it’s hard to be as dumb as Gerald. One would have to work at that.

At this stage I wouldn’t be surprised to see either JR or Bill traded. That’s a shame too because I think they were both good picks. I’d take both of them ahead of TA any day.

by amenhotep04 on Jul 6, 2009 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just hold on to Billy Walker

And I would take JR over Pruitt in terms of taking up bench space. TA must be history

Is it Soup Yet?

by Master Po on Jul 7, 2009 8:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope that Swift plays better today on my Bday…. but he only took 2 shots in the last game – thats definitely not enough… looking forward for the second game! Come on Swift give me a performance!!! (Double-figures is enough)

I asked god and he said: L.A. will lose again next year!! ^_°

by greenmech on Jul 7, 2009 4:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Danny????

Is that you? I recognized the Swift bro-mance.

by cordialb on Jul 7, 2009 9:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The worrisome thing about Gabe is that in his third year with the C's and in the NBA, having played for a year with the

two best scorers on his team, he wasn’t able to dominate the game. Rather, he was upstaged by a late second-round draft pick who’s never seen NBA level competition before.

by clover on Jul 7, 2009 6:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

excellent point (no pun intended)

Is it Soup Yet?

by Master Po on Jul 7, 2009 8:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe that's 'excellent POint' to the Master POint Guard!

by clover on Jul 7, 2009 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't get over how bad the announcers were

They set new lows in the history of broadcasting. I complained to the league office. Those two jerks shouldn’t get a pass.

"People don't understand, if you can't live the rest of your life off one year in the NBA, you can't live off 21." -- Keon Clark

by Eeyore III on Jul 7, 2009 9:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

How did you complain? Is there a URL? I would like to do the same. I turned it on after halftime and there was no way to tell which player was which because they never mentioned any of their names.

by richtrader on Jul 7, 2009 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

agree with Eeyore III and richtrader. I did not mind them trying to be loose and funny, but for the love of God give us the names of the players once in awhile!!!!! and tell us the score. You know….act like you are actually at the game instead of 48 minutes of a bad stand up comedy routine.

The funniest thing about the game was the Utah Jazz..

Is it Soup Yet?

by Master Po on Jul 7, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep.

The only reason they had an audience was because people wanted to watch the game. So why not actually pay attention to the game? If they were just doing their dumb schlock without the game on tv, they wouldn’t have had a tenth the audience. Doesn’t that say something about what people were tuning in for?

by dslack on Jul 7, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs