This year’s NBA Summer League has raised the bar for the annual July tournament, taking place this year in August due to the COVID-19 adjusted 2020-21 schedule. The Boston Celtics dominating so profoundly isn’t even the only reason why.
The games themselves have been competitive and spirited, with the pace being particularly torrid. That has been the trend in the last few years as a whole, but it seems amplified because of the passionate fans punctuating highlight plays with passionate cheers of jubilance.
Fans are back in the stands once more, and while there are masking and social distancing requirements in Las Vegas that weren’t present during the NBA postseason, it is certainly a far cry from where we were just one year ago when games were being held behind closed doors in front of virtual fans down on Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports complex.
Of course, things are extra sweet because the Cs will be participating in tonight’s Summer League title game. Their opponents, the Sacramento Kings, will have the best player on the floor in Davion Mitchell.
Mitchell has shot the lights out of the ball, averaging a 50% clip from the 3-point line to complement a 47% overall shooting percentage. While we know he will be one of the Kings’ primary contributors, who will be getting it done for the Cs?
Here are 3 Celtics we can see in the starring role tonight during the NBA Summer League title game:
Potential Boston Celtics Summer League title game star #1: Payton Pritchard
Will he or won’t he?
We don’t know whether or not Payton Pritchard will be able to follow through on his tweet proclaiming his return to the Summer League Cs, but if he does, you can bet that Pritchard will play a starring role.
Currently averaging over 20 points on an insane 57% clip from the 3-point line, Pritchard is coming off a 92-point game in an Oregon Pro-Am. He’s got the hot hand, and it’s a hand I want the ball in tonight if he gets the green light to play from Celtics summer league head coach Joe Mazzulla.