Random Thoughts as Summer League Finally Starts

 Summer League is here and there are several things I'll be watching as the games progress.  It's great that Kelly Olynyk is with the team working out with them.  Kelly stayed in Boston and has been working with the coaches since the season ended and now he asked to be able to work out with the Summer League team.  From the Herald:

“Just working on getting my shot off a little quicker, with more consistency,” Olynyk said. “I’m just taking a lot of shots — similar stuff to what you work on all the time but you’re fine-tuning it. You always want to be better. As long as you’re on an upward trend, that’s the goal.”

The Celtics need to improve by developing the players that they have who have the potential to be very good.  Kelly is one of those players and seeing the work that he is putting in to get better shows that he is worth keeping.  He has skills and potential and if the work ethic is there, he's worth keeping.  It takes a few years for bigs to develop and Kelly can be good. 

Another thing to watch is James Young starting his sophomore season.  He showed some flashes with the Red Claws but needed work to keep up on defense.  Reports are that he has put on 20 or so pounds of muscle and has increased his vertical leap.  Preliminary reports are that he looks good so far and it will be fun to see how that translates to games. 

This will be our first look at the Celtics' 16th pick, Terry Rozier.  Reaction wasn't very good when the Celtics made the pick on draft night but many are warming up to him now that they have had a chance to learn more about him.  Brad Stevens has talked about his speed while having good things to say about him from practices so far.

Word is that Rozier was having trouble scheduling workouts against the higher ranked guards in the draft as most of their agents didn't want them to work out against him.  From what Danny said, no one could get the ball up court against him and so maybe there was something to those stories.  Now, he's got a chip on his shoulder and is looking forward to playing against some of those guards and it will be fun to watch him do it. 

As much as many Celtics fans were disappointed in the Celtics first pick of Terry Rozier,  they were excited about the Celtics second first round pick, RJ Hunter.  Hunter was billed by many as one of the best pure shooters in the draft and the Celtics certainly could use someone who can score.  James Young was a shooter also but struggled on the defensive end and spent a lot of time in Maine.  It will be interesting to watch Hunter on both ends to see if he can help the Celtics this year or will need some seasoning before he can help the team.

Jordan Mickey may be the answer to the Celtics' rim protection woes.  He's just 6'8" tall but he has a 7'3" wing span and a 37" vertical leap.  Mickey was one of the best shot blockers in college basketball last season and has the athleticism and wingspan needed to excel defensively in the NBA. He runs the floor well and could potentially defend up to four positions because of his lateral mobility. As a second round pick, he's not guaranteed a contract and so he needs to make an impression in Summer League to make the team. It will be fun to see how his game translates to the next level.

Along with the Celtics draft picks, another player to watch is Jonathan Holmes. Holmes expected to be drafted and several mock drafts even had the Celtics taking him with the 28th or 33rd pick. But the Celtics picked Jordan Mickey with that pick and Holmes went undrafted. It was rumored that when Danny said that the Celtics might buy another second round pick, it was to take Holmes, but since he went undrafted, they didn't need to buy a pick. Holmes vs Mickey will be worth watching.

Danny said that he wants Marcus Smart to play more point guard in Summer League. He showed some flashes during the regular season but he struggled to run the offense in the playoffs with a 1.3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Brad Stevens used Evan Turner to run the point when Smart struggled. Marcus said that his ankle injury held him back last season.

Hopefully we will see some growth in Smart's game at the point in the Summer League.  Perhaps if Smart and Rozier are a deadly tandem,  Danny will move Avery Bradley, who has some trade value, and move Rozier to the point with Smart at the two. Regardless, it will be fun to watch Smart/Rozier vs Dante Exum in the first game.

 I don't know about you but I can't wait to see these guys in action.  It's going to be a fun couple of weeks.  Enjoy it because after that we enter that stretch of the off season where there's no basketball for a long time. 

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