Summer schedule: Celtics in Salt Lake, Vegas

by **112288** Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:29 pm

ESPNBOSTON

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Staff Writer

The Boston Celtics will compete in both the Utah Jazz and Las Vegas summer leagues in July. Here's a glance at the game schedule (all times Eastern):

Jazz Summer League at EnergySolutions Arena

Monday, July 6 vs. Utah, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, July 7 vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Thursday, July 9 vs. San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Vegas Summer League at Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center

Saturday, July 11 vs. Portland, 8 p.m.

Sunday, July 12 vs. Philadelphia, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 14 vs. Miami, 7 p.m.

The Celtics will compete in additional playoff games in Vegas based on seedings after their initial three games.

Boston will announce its summer league roster after the draft later this month, but is likely to include this year's rookies, sophomores Marcus Smart and James Young, and overseas stash Colton Iverson. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said last month that Kelly Olynyk was unlikely to participate since he'll spend time with the Canadian national team this summer, while the team was uncertain about how much time Phil Pressey would play this summer in order to allow Smart to maximize minutes at point guard. Pressey's $947,276 contract becomes guaranteed after July 15 and he's utilized summer league each of the past two seasons to cement his spot on the team.
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Below is the complete schedule for Samsung NBA Summer League 2015. Please note all times listed are Pacific.
NBA Summer League 2015 Game Schedule

> All Times listed are PACIFIC

Friday, July 10
Cox Pavilion
3 p.m. -- Milwaukee vs. New Orleans (Game 1)
5 p.m. -- Atlanta vs. Denver (Game 3)
7 p.m. -- D-League Select vs. Houston (Game 5)
Thomas & Mack
3:30 p.m. -- Sacramento vs. Toronto (Game 2)
5:30 p.m. -- Minnesota vs. L.A. Lakers (Game 4)
7:30 p.m. -- Golden State vs. Cleveland (Game 6)
Saturday, July 11
Cox Pavilion
1 p.m. -- New Orleans vs. Dallas (Game 7)
3 p.m. -- Washington vs. Phoenix (Game 9)
5 p.m. -- Boston vs. Portland (Game 11)
7 p.m. -- Brooklyn vs. Cleveland (Game 13)
Thomas & Mack
1:30 p.m. -- New York vs. San Antonio (Game Cool

3:30 p.m. -- Chicago vs. Minnesota (Game 10)
5:30 p.m. -- L.A. Lakers vs. Philadelphia (Game 12)
7:30 p.m. -- Miami vs. Utah (Game 14)
Sunday, July 12
Cox Pavilion
1 p.m. -- Washington vs. D-League Select (Game 15)
3 p.m. -- Chicago vs. Toronto (Game 17)
5 p.m. -- Sacramento vs. Denver (Game 19)
7 p.m. -- Portland vs. Dallas (Game 21)
Thomas & Mack
1:30 p.m. -- Phoenix vs. Houston (Game 16)
3:30 p.m. -- Milwaukee vs. San Antonio (Game 18)
5:30 p.m. -- Golden State vs. Atlanta (Game 20)
7:30 p.m. -- Philadelphia vs. Boston (Game 22)
Monday, July 13
Cox Pavilion
1 p.m. -- Cleveland vs. Milwaukee (Game 23)
3 p.m. -- D-League Select vs. Atlanta (Game 25)
5 p.m. -- Miami vs. Denver (Game 27)
7 p.m. -- Toronto vs. Houston (Game 29)
Thomas & Mack
1:30 p.m. -- New Orleans vs. Brooklyn (Game 24)
3:30 p.m. -- Golden State vs. Sacramento (Game 26)
5:30 p.m. -- L.A. Lakers vs. New York (Game 28)
7:30 p.m. -- Utah vs. Minnesota (Game 30)
Tuesday, July 14
Cox Pavilion
12 p.m. -- Portland vs. San Antonio (Game 31)
2 p.m. -- Brooklyn vs. Chicago (Game 33)
4 p.m. -- Miami vs. Boston (Game 35)
Thomas & Mack
12:30 p.m. -- Washington vs. Dallas (Game 32)
2:30 p.m. -- New York vs. Philadelphia (Game 34)
4:30 p.m. -- Phoenix vs. Utah (Game 36)
Wednesday, July 15
Cox Pavilion
1 p.m. -- #24 Seed vs. #9 Seed (Game 37)
3 p.m. -- #22 Seed vs. #11 Seed (Game 39)
5 p.m. -- #20 Seed vs. #13 Seed (Game 41)
7 p.m. -- #18 Seed vs. #15 Seed (Game 43)
Thomas & Mack
1:30 p.m. -- #23 Seed vs. #10 Seed (Game 38)
3:30 p.m. -- #21 Seed vs. #12 Seed (Game 40)
5:30 p.m. -- #19 Seed vs. #14 Seed (Game 42)
7:30 p.m. -- #17 Seed vs. #16 Seed (Game 44)
Thursday, July 16
Cox Pavilion
1 p.m. -- Winner of Game 37 vs. #8 Seed (Game 45)
3 p.m. -- Winner of Game 39 vs. #6 Seed (Game 47)
5 p.m. -- Winner of Game 41 vs. #4 Seed (Game 49)
7 p.m. -- Winner of Game 43 vs. #2 Seed (Game 51)
Thomas & Mack
1:30 p.m. -- Winner of Game 38 vs. #7 Seed (Game 46)
3:30 p.m. -- Winner of Game 40 vs. #5 Seed (Game 48)
5:30 p.m. -- Winner of Game 42 vs. #3 Seed (Game 50)
7:30 p.m. -- Winner of Game 44 vs. #1 Seed (Game 52)
Friday, July 17
Cox Pavilion
1 p.m. -- Game 37 Loser vs. Game 38 Loser (Game 53)
3 p.m. -- Game 41 Loser vs. Game 42 Loser (Game 55)
5 p.m. -- Game 45 Loser vs. Game 46 Loser (Game 57)
7 p.m. -- Game 49 Loser vs. Game 50 Loser (Game 59)
Thomas & Mack
1:30 p.m. -- Game 39 Loser vs. Game 40 Loser (Game 54)
3:30 p.m. -- Game 43 Loser vs. Game 44 Loser (Game 56)
5:30 p.m. -- Game 47 Loser vs. Game 48 Loser (Game 58)
7:30 p.m. -- Game 51 Loser vs. Game 52 Loser (Game 60)
Saturday, July 18
Thomas & Mack
1 p.m. -- Game 46 Winner vs. Game 51 Winner (Game 61)
3 p.m. -- Game 47 Winner vs. Game 50 Winner (Game 62)
5 p.m. -- Game 45 Winner vs. Game 52 Winner (Game 63)
7 p.m. -- Game 48 Winner vs. Game 49 Winner (Game 64)
Sunday, July 19
Thomas & Mack
3 p.m. -- Game 61 Winner vs. Game 62 Winner (Game 65)
5 p.m. -- Game 63 Winner vs. Game 64 Winner (Game 66)
Monday, July 20
Thomas & Mack
6 p.m. -- Game 65 Winner vs. Game 66 Winner (Game 67)

112288

by **Sam** Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:44 pm

By July 15, I expect Pressey's future, along with many other aspects of the Celtics roster, will have been decided by Trader Danny.

One thing I really like (and I bet the same is true of board members with day jobs) is that all six games will be in the evening.

Sam

by **112288** Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:48 pm

Sam,

Agreed, Pressey may be gone by then either trade or release. He was pretty good for his size and always gave 100%.

Yes, being 3 hours behind it will allow us Eastern Establishment the chance to turn on the AC and relax and watch some late afternoon or night basketball.

112288

by **Sam** Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:59 am

112288,

I've always appreciated Pressey's ability and constant willingness to push the ball. Most of that time, he actually put Rondo to shame in that regard. I also thought he turned into a pretty good defender. But, in terms of becoming even a reasonable facsimile of a dependable impact player, he was pretty much a trick-or-treater.

And yet, when all is said and done, right now he's really the only true "1" on the team. So let's see what happens over the summer.

Thanks for the schedule.

Sam

by **112288** Wed Jun 17, 2015 11:38 am

Ya Sam,

Well stated. I like Pressey a lot. But the PG position has taken on length (height) the last 5 years and the new short is 6'2" or 3". Cleveland figured out how to stop Thomas, so I think Danny needs to start a looking/drafting a PG who has height eventually if Smart does not work out.

112288

by **wide clyde** Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:32 pm

I like Pressey as well, but his always going to have to scrap, hustle etc to get a roster spot. He seems to play well at times, but not well enough consistently for Stevens to trust him in a regular rotation type role. Since he has always been a minimum salary guy he is going to have to get lucky to ever get out of that role on probably any team that he ever plays for in the NBA.

He is not "too small" if Thomas is tall enough, but I doubt that he gets much more court time for Boston than he has in his first two years without a huge in-season injury to one of the guards above him on the depth chart.

by **112288** Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:52 pm

WIDE

Thomas is way undersized as well and it showed towards the end of the season and in the 4 game loss to Cleveland. Thomas does makes up for his challenged height through his speed and athleticism. Pressey does not have the athleticism as Thomas possesses.

The league is a changing, the new norm for point guards is 6'3" +. The new small forward is now 6"9" +.

112288

by **Sam** Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:26 pm

Maybe the height thing is a reason why the story surfaced about the Celtics possibly trading for Rose. But, although he might qualify height-wise at 6' 3", his situation screams out "damaged goods" to me—especially if his quickness (a major attribute) is affected negatively.

Sam

by **112288** Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:32 pm

Sam,

I did not hear that story about Rose. Where, when, and who do they want for him.

112288

by **Sam** Wed Jun 17, 2015 3:03 pm

112288,

It was a tiny squib about which I posted, mainly tongue-in-cheek, in a thread entitled "Rose to Celts?" It contained no specifics and only wild conjecture, and I posted it mainly to be able to laugh at it in print. However, it was an indication that someone, somewhere, was considering the possibility.

Sam

by **rambone** Mon Jun 29, 2015 12:09 pm

One more week. I wonder if Pressey is on the summer league roster or not. With management wanting Smart to get reps at PG, and now having Rozier and Thornton, I wouldn't be surprised if Pressey doesn't make the cut.

I do like Pressey, but he's definitely looking like an odd man out for next year's roster. Though his skillset is still unique on the Celtics.

by **bobheckler** Mon Jun 29, 2015 5:19 pm

Celtics Summer League Roster, as of 6//29/15:

Returners:

Marcus Smart
Chris Babb
James Young

Draft picks:

Terry Rozier
R.J. Hunter
Jordan Mickey
Marcus Thornton

Others:

Jonathan Holmes (6-foot-9 forward; UDFA out of Texas; fell out of draft despite No. 24 ranking on DraftExpress' list of top prospects; versatile player who could fit well in Boston's system)

Colton Iverson (rugged 7-foot-0 center; 2013 draft pick; spent this season in Spain)
Erick Buckner (6-foot-10 forward out of Georgia State; spent this season in Turkey)

Corey Walden (6-foot-3 guard; UDFA out of Eastern Kentucky; averaged 18.8 points per game on 54.1 percent shooting as a senior)

Malcolm Miller (6-foot-7 forward; UDFA out of Holy Cross; strong dunk clips on YouTube)
That makes 12 players. According to Murphy, the Celtics plan to bring 13 to Utah and Las Vegas. Last week, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported Boston's summer league team will also include Royce O'Neale out of Baylor.

bob
MY NOTE: I don't know why Iverson isn't included under "Returnees" but Chris Babb is.

A different way of looking at this roster:

5 - Iverson
4 - Mickey, Holmes, Buckner
3 - Young, Miller
2 - Smart, Hunter, Babb, O'Neale, Walden
1 - Rozier, Thornton

.

by **tjmakz** Mon Jun 29, 2015 5:30 pm

Bob,

For some reason, the Returners are the 3 players that are under contract for next season.

by **gyso** Sat Jul 04, 2015 9:43 am

I made this a sticky for easier reference. We can add post-game comments here if you want.

gyso

by **rambone** Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:47 pm

by **kdp59** Mon Jul 06, 2015 11:24 am

OH mY!

in that video it looks like Marcus has been going to the buffet's with Sully this off-season!

our new Center?

by **rambone** Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:01 pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- On the eve of the Boston Celtics summer league opener in Utah, guard Marcus Smart provided a bit of a scouting report on some of the team's players.

Asked who stood out through the first handful of practices, Smart replied, "Um, just the same guys.

"It's kind of hard in three days to kind of see what everybody's capable of. We're trying to put in our offense and defense, so we didn't really have as much time to go 5-on-5 and stuff. But Terry (Rozier), we know how explosive and athletic he is. And he shows that. He's one of the fastest guys with the ball in his hands.

"James Young is still progressing, his confidence is still going through the roof. So that's good for us. And Jordan Mickey, he's doing what he's supposed to do. He's protecting the rim, and he's learning on the fly. That's what you need. You need guys like that to be coachable and be able to adjust on the fly."

Pressed about Young, Smart continued, "James, he's shooting the ball with more confidence. But at the same time, he's reading the defense very well now. He's not being as hesitant as he was last year. He understands that he expects more out of himself. Not only him, but this organization expects a lot out of him."

Stevens: The No. 1 goal better be winning

It's summer league, sure, but don't expect the Celtics to take games lightly.

According to assistant coach Jay Larranaga, who will serve as the head coach in Utah, "The first thing Coach (Brad) Stevens said to the whole group was, think about what your goals are for the next three weeks.' He said, 'If your No. 1 goal wasn't winning these games and representing the Boston Celtics franchise in the best way possible, you better change your goals. We're going to do what it takes to win and hopefully help everyone improve through the process."

One of the Celtics' goals has been to put together the summer league's toughest defense.

"That's been Coach Stevens' blueprint as long as he's coached," Larranaga explained. "He's always had tough defensive teams. It was what helped us be successful this past year. And we have guys that have a defensive DNA. Marcus, Terry and Jordan Mickey are all guys that have had success at the defensive end of the floor. We're hoping to play some good D this week."

Said Smart: "I'm interested to see how Terry plays on the defensive end. And then we have Phil (Pressey) with us in Salt Lake. So that's also going to be a big key for us because everybody knows Phil brings the intensity on the defensive end, and he picks up the energy on the defensive end for us. So that's going to help us a lot. That's going to help Terry and the rest of these guys pick up on it and kind of go with the flow."

Olynyk, Celtics discuss national team schedule

In an effort to limit the wear and tear on his body, Kelly Olynyk said he, the Celtics and the Canadian national team have communicated about how much he will compete for his country this summer.

The big man said he doesn't believe playing in the Pan Am Games later this month is "completely out of the question," but he wasn't listed on a roster released earlier this week. Even if he does compete in that event, he sounds likely to sit out games in it to save his body for the Olympic qualifying tournament that begins in late August.

"For me and for Canada right now," Olynyk said, "it's about qualifying for the Olympics."

Shifting gears, Olynyk added that while he and Kevin Love have put aside their bad blood, he's not sure if the Twitter death threats have ceased.

"I haven't really looked," Olynyk said, "but probably not."

by **rambone** Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:10 pm

kdp59 wrote:OH mY!

in that video it looks like Marcus has been going to the buffet's with Sully this off-season!

our new Center?

Smart has a huge stocky build, and he was never going to be the 215-220 lb guy some people wanted him to be. Just like Sully was never going to get down to 250.

But a realisticly in-shape Sully would probably weigh 265-ish, and Smart is probably going to keep getting bigger naturally, and that's okay. Smart was never going to be able to defend the quickest 190 lb point guards for 48 minutes, and his best position to defend is SG.

A 235 lb Smart might sound crazy and ill-advised, but a lot of it is inevitable, with plenty of benefits as well. I think we're going to see lots of 3 guard lineups going forward, and I think Smart is going to be that 3rd guard most of the time, defending small forwards. Guys will score over him some, but that lineup would also have lots of benefits. Kind of like playing Draymond Green at center or something.

by **rambone** Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:22 pm

With Smart being a veteran now with a lot less to think about, and while not playing as much point guard this summer league, I'm hoping to see some real nice, explosive drives to the hoop. Something like Baron Davis, but maybe a half step slower. But Smart is definitely stronger than Davis was for most of his career.

by **rambone** Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:19 am

Marcus Smart Full SL Highlights vs Jazz (2015.07.06) - 26 Pts, 8 Ast

Jordan Mickey 16 points, 3 blocks vs Utah Jazz - 7/6/2015 - Full Highlights

James Young 12 points vs Utah Jazz 7/6/2015 - Full Highlights

Terry Rozier 7 points, 2 assists, 2 steals vs Utah Jazz 7/6/2015

by **rambone** Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:01 pm

CJ Fair 12 points Full Highlights 2015 Summer League (Celtics X Jazz) [07.06.2015]

by **rambone** Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:27 pm

Celtics Highlights vs Spurs SUMMER LEAGUE 7-9-15

by **rambone** Fri Jul 10, 2015 9:19 pm

Marcus Smart vs San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz SL - 22 pts, 7 ast

by **rambone** Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:38 am

Celtics Highlights vs Trailblazers SUMMER LEAGUE 7-11-15

by **gyso** Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:47 am

rambone,

Thanks for these highlight videos. I wasn't able to watch this game. NBA TV was showing a different game and I couldn't get any of the links to work.

gyso

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