Monday’s Boston Celtics Summer League game didn’t go as well as the first two did. Boston fell behind in the second quarter and never quite recovered, falling to the Atlanta Hawks 102-90.
Here's what stood out:
The Celtics really missed Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams
It’s Summer League. This isn’t remotely the sort of roster Celtics fans will be seeing in October, but it couldn’t be clear how much this version of the team needs all of the talent it can get. Even though neither Hugo Gonzalez nor Amari Williams played great in Sunday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets, their presence alone enabled Boston to avoid dipping too deep into their bench.
They weren’t able to avoid it in the second quarter with both men with the day off.
Once Milos Uzan, Chris Cenac Jr., John Tonje, and Dillon Mitchell headed to the bench, the Celtics’ offense absolutely stalled. Atlanta outscored them 23-11, before Kyle Mangas sank a buzzer beater three to send the game into halftime.
Boston simply didn’t get the necessary production from the players who inherited extra minutes from Gonzalez and Williams’ absences.
They managed to cut the Hawks’ lead to 10 points early in the third quarter, but then Atlanta blew the game wide open when the reserves checked back in.
Again, these are players Celtics fans will have forgotten about by the time training camp rolls around. Their performances in Game 3 of Boston’s Las Vegas run won’t linger, but it does show how important the calming “veteran” presence of the pair of second-year Cs is to this group.
How were the rookies?
They were encouraging.
Cenac was the most impressive, by far. The first-round pick had a slow start, but found his footing in the second half. Cenac got active in the third quarter. He piled up 10 points, three rebounds, and three blocks in that frame alone, and finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and four blocks.
Four turnovers haunted him, though. Nonetheless, the overall showing this week has been positive from the rook.
Mitchell continues to captivate, too. For a guy whose biggest weakness was his lack of a jumper, he’s had no problem taking and making jump shots in Vegas. He sank three of his four attempts on Monday, sinking one three on two tries.
Overall, Mitchell has been the biggest riser in terms of expectations to actual performance thus far. With each passing game, it’s feeling more and more likely that he’ll make the roster next season.
He finished the afternoon with 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
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