Celtics Summer League Grades: Chris Cenac Jr. has proven Cs right so far

Every year at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, one of the most intriguing aspects is always seeing the first-round picks play for the first time. The story was the same for Boston Celtics fans this year.

Houston big man Chris Cenac Jr. fell to Boston at the 27th pick. Cenac Jr. was one of the top recruits in his high school class, and draft experts projected him to be in the lottery at this time last year. He filled a smaller role at Houston, so he didn’t put up the counting stats that would’ve reflected his recruit ranking.

Nonetheless, he showed some of that top-tier talent and athleticism across four appearances for the summer Cs.

Chris Cenac Jr. Summer League grade: B+

There couldn’t have been a louder way for Cenac Jr. to announce his arrival to the association (or its summer version). His game-tying three to send Boston’s opener against the Toronto Raptors to overtime showcased the perpetual confidence that will become synonymous with the rookie.

Throughout that matchup and beyond, the 19-year-old never shied away from the change to sky through traffic for a big rebound or to try and throw down an ambitious dunk over multiple defenders. Those two tendencies are largely positive, with the latter perhaps needing some fine tuning. Some extra discipline to attack the rim with finesse in certain spots could go a long way -- that or just get really good at dunking on guys, either outcome is acceptable.

In all seriousness, Cenac Jr.’s rebounding ability was an eye-opener. His tenacity and fearlessness should make him a great asset in that area for years to come. He doesn’t just wait for the ball to fall to him, he goes and gets it.

The big man (or teenager?) averaged eight rebounds per game at Summer League. Perhaps more surprising were his 2.8 blocks per outing. A lot was made of Cenac Jr.’s college block rate of less than one per game.

Some draft experts found it odd while others attributed it to head coach Kelvin Sampson’s instructions to focus on getting good rebounding position instead of chasing blocks. If the latter is true, then Celtics fans have an entirely new aspect of the rookie’s game to look forward too now that he’s completely free to protect the rim.

Cenac Jr.’s athleticism is a key factor in both areas. He gets off the ground quickly and is able to recover for second and third jumps quite well.

As far as scoring goes, the Louisiana native has promise, for sure. One glaring surprise was the occasional ability to put the ball on the floor and create for himself. Most bigs in Boston’s system fit into the same category. They’re strong screen setters who can score in low-usage situations. None of them are hitting baseline crossovers or hitting stop and pop jumpers like Cenac Jr. did at Summer League.

Areas for Chris Cenac Jr. to improve

He wasn’t perfect, though. Going forward, Cenac Jr. will have to be more efficient as a scorer. He shot just 36.6% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc. With his opportunities in the regular season being presumably limited, he’ll have to do better at converting his offensive chances (which might be easier with better creators setting him up).

The aforementioned importance of screen setting in Boston calls for some improvement in that area, too. It could be as simple as adding extra muscle, but Cenac Jr. would benefit from fine tuning his ability to create space for his teammates.

Overall, Cenac Jr. impressed in Vegas and Celtics fans have plenty to be excited about with him. As we’ve seen with other bigs, sometimes the developmental part takes some time before they see consistent minutes in Boston.

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