Post Game 2 - Vegas League vs Sixers

Okafur and Smart both had the night off.

1.  I'm giving my game ball to Mighty Mouse.  He did it all.  Despite taking some bad shots (he slashed across the lane and threw the ball so hard off the backboard it bounced out to 15') but he still scored 16 points on 7-12.  Considering how bad our fg% was last year anytime anybody in green shoots 7-12 against any level of competition I'm happy.  His 18'-19' seems pretty reliable.  Not completely, but he can hit it.  When he shoots it his hands are WAY over his head and the ball has a really high arc to it.  If you're an undersized PF shooting the ball from way over your head is a good thing.  He also has some very nice inside moves too.  He plays, what I would call, a "clever low game".  He doesn't bull his way in but uses his length and athleticism to get his daylight.  He had a lovely double fake spin reverse layup early in the game for 2.  He also had 11 rebounds and 4 blocks.  At least two of his blocks were against his man 6'11" Steve Zack, not help, and they were from point blank in front of the rim.  He got backed down and, when his man went up to put it in, he fed him a Wilson burger.  There was a poor entry pass that was stolen by a Sixer.  Mickey chased him down full court and blocked the layup.  His defensive timing is quite good, he had that block the whole way despite having to run 50' with a smaller, faster man to stay in contact and position for it.  He switched well on defense too, played roving intimidator.  In fact, a pass was made to 6'7" Kazemi, whom Mickey had already blocked at least once, in the paint.  Mickey took a step out to meet him, Kazemi saw Mickey step up and instead of continuing down the lane he dribbled out and passed.  Nothing will show that in the boxscore.  There was no blocked shot, no fga, no turnover but Mickey's play forced a change in the play.  I don't think an NBA player would be daunted by anybody doing that, they'll still challenge the shot blocker, but that gives you an idea of the mental impact Mighty Mouse had on the game.  He was very impactful on both ends, in 31 minutes.  Hunter and Mickey play well together.  Hunter is the outside to Mickey's inside, Hunter is the drive-and-disher to Mickey's pick-and-roll.  Some very nice 2-man game going on between those two last night.  Mickey set a pick 25' from the basket.  Hunter rolled to the rim and missed the shot and Mickey was able to curl around the other side of the lane and make it to the other side of the rim in time for the offensive putback.

2.  Hunter finally developed shot amnesia and is shooting freely.  I've mentioned before about how his shot mechanics are very "Steph Curry-like".  I see another similarity to Curry.  Neither of them care about distance.  All they care about is "can I see the rim?".  A 15' shot is the same to both of them, as far as willingness to take the shot, as a 25' shot.  Stepping back a step or two to get a little more daylight is worth it to them.  Players, when taking free throws, typically toe the line.  Hunter shoots his fritos from 6" behind the line.  6" isn't going to make a big difference in ftm%, it's the "distance isn't an issue as long as I know where I am and can see the rim".  He has very, very good courtvision and BBIQ, as one might expect from a coach's son.  He needs to put on a lot of muscle, a lot.  He seems to be put off by contact and NBA basketball is a contact sport.  Nevertheless, if Brad wanted more offense...

3.  A good game by Rozier.  He started off with two really ugly TOs but then settled down.  His biggest problem that I've seen repeatedly over the games he has played so far is that he dribbles into traffic and gets into trouble.  He has a pretty good handle on his dribble, better than, say Avery Bradley, but he just needs to not push his luck so much.  His shot is pretty good, he's not Hunter but he's pretty good, and he has that killer crossover.  Where he has most of his good play is on the defensive end.  His 6'8" wingspan blows players up and he is quick on his feet.  Rookie mistakes, to be expected, but coming along.  He was Celtic high scorer with 22 points.  He was 4-9, 2-3 from 3, but he was 12-13 from the line.  After watching Godzilla and Rodin lose games for their teams in the playoffs it thrills me to no end seeing players take and make one of the fundamentals of the sport of basketball.

4.  By far the worst game of either summer league by CJ Fair.  Oh well, he's entitled to one, and he has only had one.

5.  Jonathon Holmes with 15 points on 5-10 (3-4 from 3) and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.  5 of those rebounds were offensive.  If we weren't already up to our eyeballs in undersized PFs I'd be more optimistic about his chances.

6.  Their Sampson is better than our Sampson.  How sad.  

A nice end-to-end win, although it tightened up a bit at the end.  Both teams shot like shit.  35% for them and 36% for us.  We shot 8-23 from 3, with Hunter shooting 3-11 (but one of those 3pt fgas was a buzzer beater forced on him because someone (Holmes?) dribbled the clock too far down for Hunter to get a good shot off) but every time Hunter shoots it looks like it's going in.  

I went back and looked at the Game On thread this morning, to refresh my memory.  It's amazing how many time Hunter and Mickey's name were mentioned both individually and together.  



bob


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Yes, Hunter and Mickey play really well together. Imagine what'll happen when they have more than 2 weeks experience together. Both are super smart about where to be on the floor.

Mickey and Hunter have officially passed my "some is forever" test.  If a player demonstrates a certain move in enough instances, it's proof enough for me that he has the ability to do it consistently.  It's not proof that he will do it consistently.  And it's not proof that he will do it at the next level.  But it is proof that he definitely has the skill, and the challenge becomes not developing the skill but maintaining and enhancing the skill over time.  These two definitely have major skills, and those skills just happen to fill major needs on this teem: notably defensive intimidation and an outside threat.

What's needed by Hunter isn't practice to improve his shooting percentage (although practice is always good for the stroke).  He needs to be playing in an atmosphere in which he will be more consistently put in a position to exceed.  In other words, he's VERY likely to make a better showing with the big team than in Summer League.

I don't necessarily share concern over Hunter's weight.  Of course, he'll add pounds of muscle; virtually every pro does.  And those added pounds will undoubtedly buttress what is already a pretty good defensive game.  But his offensive game is always going to be about elusiveness more than brawn.

Rozier's shot (or maybe I should say "shot selection") seems to be improving before our eyes.  It's his defensive work that's become an eye-opener to me.  Over time (although maybe not at the outset), that defense will stand him in good stead in competing for minutes with Avery Bradley (because Rozier already has a better offensive arsenal) and Isaiah Thomas.

In fact, the defensive play of all three of these players (The Mouse, Rozier and Hunter) fits right into my belief that virtually every offseason move by Danny has upgraded the defense of the team.  And the same could be said for speed and athleticism.  (Lee will break that mold, but I'm excited about his offense, rebounding and ability to set good picks.  Not every player should be a clone of a certain combination of attributes.)

As far as I'm concerned, the performance of the remainder of the summer squad is testimony to the fact that Danny can find talent—at least sufficient talent to do a representative job in Summer League.  Some may catch on with another team; some may head overseas; and some may fall by the wayside.  But it's unlikely that any will wind up becoming a Celtic.

Go Celtics,

Sam

But it's unlikely that any will wind up becoming a Celtic...


You must mean any other than Rozier, Hunter, and Mickey.

Fair has a fair chance to make it somewhere. Thornton, perhaps. Sampson, none.

bob


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Worcester, I was referring to the "remainder of the summer squad" in the first line of my first sentence.  Yes, that remainder excludes Rozier, Mickey and Hunter.

Sam

Hunter and Mickey - these are very intelligent players. Very.

Sorry for not reading your post closely enough Sam. I really, really enjoyed last night's game. Rozier stepped it up a notch, and the dynamic duo of Hunter and Mickey, wow - Ican hardly wait to see how their games develop. They remind me of old time Celtics ball when the synergy of the team accounted for more than the sum of the parts.

W,

At, that wonderful word, "synergy."  The epitome of good basketball in my opinion.  I'm enjoying every game, although my incremental learning curve has slowed way down.  It's now mainly a matter of looking for consistency rather than much of anything new.

It could be argued that the play of those three guys is a microcosm of what I hope the Celtics can be like this coming season.  (Obviously without a stud in the middle.) They run all the time, even after made baskets.  Their miscues are usually the result of high energy rather than because they're operating so deliberately that opponents are making easy steals in the passing lanes.  They're ganging up on the boards, although the results are obviously not as good as they'd be without said stud.  They're throwing Alley Oops and executing pick and rolls very well.

They've been a little slow to master the swing of the ball, and I think the reason is that they have yet to see it pay off in a big way.  Enter one Brad tutorial.  Moving the ball side-to-side will be a must this season, especially given the emphasis Brad seems to be placing on perimeter shooting.

On the defensive end, they're pretty much depending on their athleticism rather than technique.  Enter.....who?  I don't know who will be Brad's defensive coach; and I'm a little concerned about that.  But they have shown some ability to hedge and recover, and their switches are becoming surer and swifter.

It's true that this team is being built backwards...from the support players upwards rather than from a strong center downwards.  But that's Danny's opportunism showing.  When he spots someone who will fill a hole, he goes after the guy—especially if the guy displays some versatility.

I still think Danny's got some trades left in him, and I won't be shocked if he succeeds in trading quantity (plus picks) for quality.  That will help to keep the roster size in balance.

With the oldest player on the team being age 28, they're all basically of the same era and should blend well and grow well together, although I strongly suspect there will be some changed faces before training camp arrives.

Sam

These guys play like the Warriors. Hunter reminds me of Steph. Mickey of Draymond Green. I like the pace and movement, hustle and flow to steal a movie title. We shall see...

Now about that defensive specialist. Any chance that Tom Thibodeau would grace us with his presence, if only as a part-time consultant. I respect him coaching D more than anyone else in the NBA.

I think Jonathan Holmes will get a really long look for a final roster spot. He'll probably get a non-guaranteed contract after summer league, probably two years. That way he could still be cut pre-season, but he'll at least get a very long look in the fall.

He's hit a 3 pointer in just about every game so far, and really lit it up last night. He's 6'9", strong, mobile, and he's already hitting NBA 3 pointers at a good rate, and not just from the corner like most stretch 4s.

For the first 2/3rds of Holmes' senior season, he was shooting the lights out from 3 point land, until he suffered a concussion on Feb 3rd or thereabouts. His % plummeted in the aftermath, but he showed over a long period before the concussion that the sweet shooting we're seeing from him now isn't a fluke.

I think Holmes might just be as good as Trey Lyles, and is probably a much better 3 point shooter right now.

I think we just really lucked out with Holmes landing on our summer league squad after going undrafted, much like the Lakers are probably excited to have Upshaw. And the undrafted Aaron Harrison had a great summer league, and was rewarded with a two year contract.

Sometimes a draft is just really deep with talent, and the undrafted label doesn't mean what it usually does.