Though the Boston Celtics find themselves with a Sunday exhibition scheduled, the majority of attention amongst basketball fans this weekend will likely be geared towards Saturday’s double-header NCAA Men’s Tournament Final Four matchups.
During game one, slated for a 5:14 PM (ET) tip-off, we see the Baylor Bears going up against the Houston Cougars. In the second game of the evening, scheduled for 8:34 PM (ET), we’ll be seeing another exciting matchup between the Gonzaga Bulldogs squaring off against the UCLA Bruins.
Now, while some NBA fans may not be as enthused as others about the aforementioned contests, for perhaps the collegiate game just isn’t their forte, there are many enticing reasons to tune in for the Final Four, one of which being to simply scout out players that could be of some use for their favorite franchise at the next level.
There are a few players Boston Celtics fans should monitor during Final Four
Though the NBA Draft is still several months away, this weekend provides last-chance opportunities to see some of this year’s top prospects play live in-game action.
With this in mind, in regard to Boston Celtics fans specifically, they may want to try and keep a close eye on 3 specific players during Saturday’s events:
Player Boston Celtics fans should monitor No. 1) Joel Ayayi (Gonzaga, PG/ SG)
First up on the list we have the third-year combo guard out of Gonzaga, Joel Ayayi.
Though mainly projected as an early second-round pick by the majority of publications, having quality depth is never a bad thing for a championship-aspiring team to have, especially one with a relatively shallow talent pool in the backcourt like the Boston Celtics.
An athletic and versatile swingman, the 21-year-old finds himself averaging 13.4 points and eight boards per game on 49 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from downtown under the bright lights of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
With the fact that most of his scoring damage comes off of corner jumpers in catch-and-shoot scenarios coupled with his expertise when playing off the ball and finding proper positioning, the idea of the Cs taking a flier on the French-born baller at the top of round two is certainly something that should be considered.