All your favorite teams and sources in one place

Build your feed

Your Teams.
All Sources.

Build your feed

© 2024 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC.

No results found.
Celtics earn first win against Atlanta in the Summer League
Credit: MGN/NBA

Celtics earn first win against Atlanta in the Summer League

LAS VEGAS (BVM) – To make up for the underwhelming offseason action in the front office, the Celtics will have an exciting mix of young talent on display for this season’s NBA Summer League competition. And from their first matchup and 85-83 win against the Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics have shown promise.

Summer League comes as a much-needed opportunity for NBA youth to develop and showcase. This is no exception for Boston. Much of the Celtics’ young talent has had minimal time to grow and log significant NBA minutes.

Perhaps the most notable name from Boston’s roster is Payton Pritchard. The guard from Oregon, Pritchard immediately impacted the C’s coming off the bench as a speedy offensive spark plug. Pritchard is a fairly reliable option for any NBA team, shooting 44% from the field and 41% from behind the 3-point line.

In his first Summer League game this season, Pritchard led the charge on the offensive end with 23 points and shooting 39% from the field. President Brad Stevens and company will be watching to see if he will step up as a leader to prove he can guide the second units in Boston as a playmaker while also growing his defensive and passing abilities.

Carsen Edwards is a 2019 draftee who has struggled to prove he is deserving of consistent minutes on the Celtics. He is a speedy, volume shooter who lacks size, but his skills were highlighted in his performance against Atlanta as the second scoring option for the squad.

The double-headed monster of injury and COVID cancellations have especially limited the opportunities for a pair of Celtics 21-year-olds Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith.

A 2019 draftee, Langford has only played in 50 games over two seasons. He missed the 2019 Summer League due to rehab from a thumb injury at his lone season at Indiana, and multiple injuries and a wrist surgery kept him out for the remainder of the COVID season. Known more of a defensive option from his most recent games, Langford, now in his first Summer League game, earned 75% of his points from downtown on three for seven from long range. Romeo displayed another dimension to his game, with one of his triples giving Boston a two-point lead in a crucial last-minute possession.

Nesmith was drafted in 2020, already nursing a foot injury from his time at Vanderbilt, and without a Summer League due to the pandemic, Aaron had to learn on the fly. It took some time, but Nesmith started to turn it around after the All-Star break last season. Instead of focusing on his well-known trade of catch and shoot, he looked to bring his energy and tenacity into the fold to earn some crucial minutes in the final quarter of the season. In his game against the Hawks, he did not meet his knockdown shooting reputation, but he did show refreshing flashes of energy and effort.

Another notable name is Sam Hauser. The six-foot-eight Virginia product is a knockdown shooter who went undrafted. The Celtics immediately snatched him up and are giving him a chance in Summer League. You can never have too much shooting, and with Hauser, you get that plus size.

Boston’s Summer League squad faces off against Denver on Tuesday, August 10th at 7 p.m.