Summer League is over and perhaps the biggest news was Lester Hudson breaking his finger. However, Marc Spears has some positive things to say about Gabe Pruitt, who was fighting for a roster spot (the Celtics can still cut him and not be responsible for the last year of his contract.
Gabe Pruitt got his important offseason off to a productive start this week in Orlando, averaging 10.2 points and 4.8 assists for the Celtics' summer league team. He wrapped up the tournament yesterday with 13 points and nine assists in a 92-79 win over the New Jersey/Philadelphia entry.
"The main thing I needed to do was be consistent and this was a good chance to showcase that,'' Pruitt said. "Early in the week we had a lot of turnovers in a couple games and I take that personally, me being a point guard and handling the ball. So, I tried to take care of the ball better. But I had a chance to really play the point and show what I can do.''
"He shot well, he did a good job getting into the paint and taking care of the ball,'' said Celtics assistant coach Mike Longabardi. "Russell Westbrook [of the Thunder] was definitely the best point guard here, but you can make an argument Gabe was the next guy. He's just got to continue to work, continue to stay ready, and we'll see what happens.
"He's been in the league two years now, he's played in NBA games . . . After Year 1 coming into Year 2, I thought his body improved. He really did a good job with that.''
Also, if you care about summer league stats, here's a quick rundown.
The Celtics finished with a 2-3 record in Orlando. Nick Fazekas led the team in scoring (13.4) and rebounding (6.2). J.R. Giddens averaged 11.8 points and 4.2 rebounds and was named to the league's All-Star second team . . . Chris Lofton broke the league record for 3-pointers, hitting 15 on 25 attempts over five games. The old 3-point mark was 12, held by Keith Bogans (2003) and Josh Davis ('07). "It doesn't really matter in summer league,'' said Lofton, who shot 17 of 22 from 3-point range in a 61-point performance in Turkey last season. "I shot pretty good but there's always room for improvement.'' Said Longabardi: "He looked like Eddie [ House] out there tonight.''