Celtics (1-1) at Pistons (3-0) Summer League Game 3

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (1-1) at Detroit Pistons (3-0)
Wednesday, July 7, 2014
7:00 PM ET
TV:  NBA-TV, CSNNE
Online:  Summer League Live
Amway Center Practice Court
Orlando, Florida




Roster
O.D. Anosike
Chris Babb
Dairis Bertans
Daniel Coursey
Colton Iverson
Edwin Jackson
Chris Johnson
Mike Moser
Devin Oliver
Kelly Olynyk
Phil Pressey
Marcus Smart
James Young

Player to Watch

Kelly Olynyk

After posting team-highs with 20 points and 8 rebounds during Saturday's satisfying summer-opening win over the Miami Heat, Olynyk again topped Boston's box score with 15 points and 6 boards, but the Celtics endured a 96-77 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Olynyk couldn't help but wonder if his decision to switch from a ponytail to his more familiar headband had messed with what was working.

"You know what, I probably should have stuck with the ponytail," Olynyk said. "It was working. That was a bad decision. That was probably the worst decision of the day."

Roster
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Brian Cook
Justin Harper
Jordan Heath
Damion James
DeAndre Liggins
David Lighty
Ian Miller
Tony Mitchell
Tim Ohlbrecht
Payton Siva
Tristan Spurlock
Markel Starks
Chris Watford

Player to Watch

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

After scoring 30 and 26 in his first two games, Caldwell-Pope delivered his most sensational effort to this point on Tuesday when he registered 26 points and buried a game-winning 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left to lift the Pistons to an 80-78 victory over the Heat. On Detroit's prior possession, he sunk three free throws with 14.9 ticks left after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt.

"I just think he's more confident," said teammate Peyton Siva. "He's not being hesitant and that's helping him out a lot."

Key Matchup
vs
Marcus Smart vs Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
If the Celtics stick with the same pattern, Smart will start at shooting guard vs Kentavious Caldwell Pope, who has been having a very successful Summer League so far.  At 6'6" tall, Caldwell-Pope has a couple of inches on Smart and also a year of experience on him.   
Celtics fans are waiting for Smart to have a dominant game and this would be a good time for him to dominate, especially on the defensive end. 

Game Notes
  Summer League is a strange creature where getting to look at players and evaluate them trumps wins and losses.  While teams like to get wins, the goal is to evaluate players, especially the undrafted free agents trying to make an impression.

The Celtics have started the same 5 players in both of their games so far: Pressey, Smart, Johnson, Olynyk and Iverson.  The Pistons started the same lineup in their first two games Siva, Caldwell-Pope, Liggins, Cook and Mitchell.  In the third game, They replaced Cook with Harper. 

The Pistons have won all 3 of their contests so far,  while the Celtics have split their first two.  They will be trying to bounce back from their blow out loss to the Pacers on Monday.  The Celtics got off to a good start but then seemed to get lost on both ends of the court.  It felt like we were back in the regular season again. 

The Celtics will need to put out consistent effort for 48 minutes and players need to be aggressive.  With two games under his belt, it would be nice to see Marcus Smart break out and have a big game. 

[LarBrd33]

This should be an interesting one, because Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has just been absolutely dominant through his first 3 games.  He's been incredible... averaging like 28 points with efficient %.  Today he brought his team back and had a game winner.  Just getting it done all over the court.  About as good as you can get for summerleague play. 

In 3 games, KCP is averaging 28 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.75 assists, 3 steals, and 1.75 turnovers on 44% shooting from the field 39% from beyond the arc, and 88% from the line

He's also legit SG size (6'5 200+)... so let's see if Smart can shut him down. 

[JacksAxe]

I honestly don't expect Smart to dominate at all.

Listen guys, he may be a #6 pick but he is still a rookie, and I doubt 3 games in we will see Smart be amazing. Got to give him, and our other rookie Young, more time to develop and improve. It may even take more than a season for Smart to become who we want him to be.

[BudweiserCeltic]

52 minutes and counting!

[LarBrd33]

I honestly don't expect Smart to dominate at all.

Listen guys, he may be a #6 pick but he is still a rookie, and I doubt 3 games in we will see Smart be amazing. Got to give him, and our other rookie Young, more time to develop and improve. It may even take more than a season for Smart to become who we want him to be.

Let's just say that if Kentavious drops another 25+ on Smart's head tonight... we should start getting worried.

The knock on KCP's dominance over the first 3 games has been the lack of defensive pressure he's received.  IF the hype on Smart is legit, he'll shut down KCP...  We drafted him to make a defensive impact off the bench... this will be his first real opportunity to prove he's worth any salt.

[JacksAxe]

Let's just say that if Kentavious drops another 25+ on Smart's head tonight... we should start getting worried.

The knock on KCP's dominance over the first 3 games has been the lack of defensive pressure he's received.  IF the hype on Smart is legit, he'll shut down KCP...  We drafted him to make a defensive impact off the bench... this will be his first real opportunity to prove he's worth any salt.

While it's something to be concerned about IF that happened, I'm still not going to hold full judgement on him.

KCP is a very talented player player, and Smart is a rookie. Smart's defense has been his greatest asset in college, but he is still a rookie, and can still have some bad games while he gets acclimated in the NBA. I'm not saying we should expect this, but I am saying that it is possible, because players develop differently then others over time in the NBA.

So yeah, if KCP dropped 25 on Smart, it would certainly be cause for concern in the short run, but it doesn't mean it's a sign of things to come.

What I am trying to do here is temper expectations, because he is just rookie. Talented, top 6 pick, but still a rookie. I hoe he develops quickly, just like everyone else here.

[obnoxiousmime]

Olynyk is driving me crazy. On one possession, he passed up a 3, then got the ball back and passed up a wide-open 8-footer. Instead, he dribbled TOWARDS his man and then opted for a contested fadeaway jumper which he missed. Is this guy a shooter or isn't he?

[Mr October]

I haven't seen any summer league games. Is Iverson worth a roster spot?

Or is he no better than Faverani and Zeller?

[Evantime34]

Really expected Smart to get the bucket more often than he has thus far in the summer league. His shot is really hurt by the fact that he almost never goes straight up when he shoots.

[rondohondo]

Really expected Smart to get the bucket more often than he has thus far in the summer league. His shot is really hurt by the fact that he almost never goes straight up when he shoots.

he is playing great so far, getting everyone involved. He got Babb and KO about 4 easy buckets, also just ripped the ball away on a drive and started a fastbreak. He is definitely a PG from what I've seen .

[obnoxiousmime]

Really expected Smart to get the bucket more often than he has thus far in the summer league. His shot is really hurt by the fact that he almost never goes straight up when he shoots.

he is playing great so far, getting everyone involved. He got Babb and KO about 4 easy buckets, also just ripped the ball away on a drive and started a fastbreak. He is definitely a PG from what I've seen .

Yeah when he's on the court with Pressey he turns invisible. He needs the ball in his hands.

[BleedGreen1989]

I haven't seen any summer league games. Is Iverson worth a roster spot?

Or is he no better than Faverani and Zeller?

I really wanna root for him, but I would go with the latter.

[hpantazo]

I haven't seen any summer league games. Is Iverson worth a roster spot?

Or is he no better than Faverani and Zeller?

I really wanna root for him, but I would go with the latter.

Yeah, unfortunately. He got killed in the paint by a scrub in the last game.

[LarBrd33]

Really expected Smart to get the bucket more often than he has thus far in the summer league. His shot is really hurt by the fact that he almost never goes straight up when he shoots.

I'm not actually watching the game...

Often teams have their young players work on their weaknesses during summer league... so if he's not attacking the basket, it might be by design.  However, if he's attacking the basket and finding that his "pitbull" size/strength isn't giving him the same advantage as it did during COllege... that's another story.  Only going to get worse during preseason and then the regular season. 

[SHAQATTACK]

Smart get his mojo back yet

Can he hit a shot