vs
Boston Celtics (2-0) vs Miami Heat (1-1)
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
7:00 PM ET
TV: Summer League Pass, NBA-TV (Tape Delay 1:30 am ET), CSNNE
Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, NV
Celtics Roster49 Fair, C.J. F 6-8 215 Syracuse/USA
68 Holmes, Jonathan F 6-8 240 Texas/USA
28 Hunter, R.J. G 6-6 190 Georgia State/USA
55 Mickey, Jordan F 6-8 235 Louisiana State/USA
48 Miller, Malcolm F 6-7 210 Holy Cross/USA
47 O'Neale, Royce F 6-6 215 Baylor/USA
12 Rozier, Terry G 6-1 190 Louisville/USA
70 Sampson III, Ralph C 6-11 244 Minnesota/USA
36 Smart, Marcus G 6-4 220 Oklahoma State/USA
27 Thornton, Marcus G 6-4 190 William & Mary/USA
46 Walden, Corey G 6-2 189 Eastern Kentucky/USA
13 Young, James G-F 6-6 215 Kentucky/USA
Michael Holyfield
Players to Watch Jordan Mickey
Mickey has impressed in Summer League so far and Steve Bulpett reported that the Celtics are working with him on a contract. He is leading the Las Vegas SL players in blocks with 3.5 per game and also field goal percentage at 59.1%. He's got a chip on his shoulder since he feels he should have been a first round player and is going to bring just what the Celtics need.
James Young
Young may or may not play in this game due to the hip injury that kept him out of the first two games in Vegas. He came into SL saying how hard he has worked and then has fallen flat in the games so far. He needs to have a break out game or may find himself on the outside looking in.
RJ Hunter
Hunter struggled in his first 2 games but then had a big game in the final game in Utah and has played well since. There is a battle between Hunter and Young for the SG position and so far Hunter is winning.
Heat Roster 32 Ennis, James* F 6-7 208 Long Beach State
38 Howard Jr., Juwan* G 6-5 228 Detroit Mercy
25 Kalinoski, Tyler* G 6-4 189 Davidson
26 McGruder, Rodney* G 6-4 205 Kansas State
13 Napier, Shabazz* G 6-1 175 Connecticut
34 Olaseni, Gabriel* C 6-10 225 Iowa
14 Richardson, Josh* G 6-6 200 Tennessee
51 Smith, Joshua* C 6-10 360 Georgetown
36 Trice, Travis* G 6-2 177 Michigan State
29 Tuttle, Seth* F 6-9 225 Northern Iowa
5 Walker, Henry* F 6-6 235 Kansas State
28 Whittington, Greg* F 6-8 212 Georgetown
20 Winslow, Justise* F 6-6 225 Duke
Players to Watch Justise Winslow
Winslow is the player that the Celtics tried very hard to move up in the draft for. So far in Summer League he is averaging 11.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Winslow scored just 3 points in the Heat's Monday night loss to Denver.
Shabazz Napier
Like Marcus Smart, Napier is approaching his second season in the league. He is averaging 13.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5 assists. Napier scored 20 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the Heat's loss to the Nuggets on Monday. If Smart plays, it will be an interesting matchup.
Greg Whittington
Whittington is averaging just 6 points and 5 rebounds per game but has improved with each game he has played in Summer League. In Monday's loss to the Nuggets, he scored 16 points with 3 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Game Notes The Celtics return to the court after a day off to face the Miami Heat. The Heat are playing on the second night of back to back games while the Celtics had Monday off. The Heat lost a close game to the Nuggets on Monday, after winning their opening game on Saturday against the Jazz.
As with the first game in Vegas, NBA-TV will not carry this game live. They will have it on a tape delay at 1:30 am eastern time. It will be available live on the Summer League Pass. It appears that the Celtics are still not on the League's preferred teams list. CSNNE will also broadcast this game live as well as air a replay on 7/25 at 4:00 pm ET.
The Celtics are looking for their 4th straight victory in Summer League play. After losing the first two games in Utah, they won the final game against the Spurs and then won the first two games in Vegas. They are currently undefeated in Vegas.
Key Matchup
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Marcus Smart vs Shabazz Napier
Assuming both players play in this game, this should be a good matchup of second year point guards. If Smart doesn't play, Rozier vs Napier would be a good test for the Celtics' rookie as well.
Keys to the Game Rebound The fact that the Celtics have won the games that they rebounded well in and lost the games where they were out-rebounded isn't an accident. The Celtics must box out and crash the boards.
Teamwork The Celtics are gelling and playing as a team. They need to continue to trust each other and make the extra pass and play as a team.
Defense Defense wins games. This isn't just a cute saying, it is fact of life. The Celtics came into Summer League wanting to be the best defensive team in SL and they have been playing good defense. They have to continue to play well defensively and get stops.
X-Factor
Who is Playing As with the previous games, the biggest X-factor will be which players are playing and which are resting for both teams.
Topic: Vegas Summer League: Game 3 Celtics (2-0) vs Heat (1-1) 7/14/15 (Read 58362 times)