What are the Boston Celtics up to this summer?
They did pretty well in the NBA Summer League; they came in first place in the Utah Division. Granted, there’s only four teams and they played three games, did not lose any of them. And in the Las Vegas League, they went 1-4. But hey, .500 ain’t bad.
The truth is though, the summer league isn’t really an accurate representation of how teams will be performing in the regular season. Yeah, there were a few guys in the summer league who will definitely contribute to the C’s this season (Terry Rozier, Marcus Thornton, James Young and Jaylen Brown among others). But some of the C’s draft-and-stash guys are played as well as some guys who look like they’ll end up on the Red Claws.
There is definitely merit to the summer league though. If there wasn’t, they would not waste their time with it. It can show a little promise among young players. At the same time though, it is not fair to judge a guy off a small sample size — like one game. Remember: even Luke Harangody had a good game once. That should say it all.
In the past few season, here’s a list of NBA Summer League MVPs: Jeremy Lamb, Jonas, Valanciunas, Elfrid Payton, Glen Rice Jr., Aaron Gordon, Kyle Anderson, Arinze Onaku and Tyrus Jones. See any NBA superstars on that list? No. Not quite.
Regardless, the Celtics are definitely on the rise. And while the draft might not have gone the way anyone wanted it to be, Jaylen Brown looks as though he will contribute this season. And the Al Horford signing wasn’t bad either, so there’s that.
Is this going to be the year the Celtics hoist up banner No. 18? Probably not. But it’s a step toward it. And that’s something too.