Celtics Summer League STUDS and DUDS w/ Noa Dalzell | Big 3 NBA Podcast - video Dailymotion

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A. Sherrod Blakely is joined by Noa Dalzell of Celtics Blog to discuss reflections and thoughts from the Celtics Summer League games. Who will be able to carve out a role in the Celtics rotation? Who could make the G-League Team? Surprises? Disappointments?  From Queta's promising bench presence to J.D. Davison's competition challenges, we analyze the potential rotation impact for the Boston Celtics. Join us as we dissect Drew Peterson's versatility, Jaden Springer's playmaking skills, and Jordan Walsh's mental game hurdles. Stay tuned for insights on rookies Baylor Scheierman and Anton Watson, their Maine Celtics journey, and the delicate balance between youth development and veteran acquisitions in the Celtics' quest for continued success. Don't miss out on the strategic roster discussions, Brad Stevens' perspectives, and the Celtics' roadmap from champions to contenders in the upcoming season!  0:00 - Intro 1:31 - Focus on potential Celtics players 3:02 - JD Davison's impact 7:40 - Drew Peterson's performance analysis 10:00 - Evaluating Drew's potential 12:01 - Jaden Springer's impact 14:16 - Importance of defense in NBA 19:02 - Importance of Mental Toughness 22:08 - Athleticism and Defense 25:13 - Future Potential and Competition 29:39 - Player Improvement Focus 32:17 - Training Camp Prospects 34:40 - Insights from Brad Stevens 36:36 - Jaylen's Missed Acknowledgement 38:47 - Roster Spot Dilemma 42:02 - Concerns About Big Man Rotation   CLNS Media is Powered by:   Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS  Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100!   Gametime - https://gametime.co  Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.  Elevate your style game on and off the course with the PXG Spring Summer 2024 collection. Head over to https://PXG.com/GARDENREPORT and save 10% on all apparel.  Nutrafol Men! Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com/MEN and enter the promo code GARDEN!   #celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics The CLNS Media Network is the leading provider for video/audio content. CLNS is a fully credentialed member of the media with access to all NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB teams & venues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  CLNS' rebuilt their YouTube community in less than 12 months, during a pandemic that attacked sports. Wondering how? Find out here (and support our channel) - https://www.tubebuddy.com/clnsmedia  Visit the Official Home of CLNS Sports Coverage -  https://clnsmedia.com

Transcript

00:00The Big 3 NBA Podcast is powered by the Game Time app.

00:25Welcome to another edition of the Big 3 NBA Podcast.

00:28I'm Sharb Blakely and I'm joined today, first time guest, long time friend, Ms. Noah Dalzell.

00:35Noah, what's going on?

00:38Not much, just day nine here in Las Vegas, so ready to talk some Summer League.

00:44Yes, you are the last one standing out there.

00:48The rest of the media contingent, we have bolted Vegas.

00:51That was just a little too hot for the rest of us, but you are taking it all in.

00:57Good for you.

00:58I mean, there's a ton to talk about, but I want us to just kind of really focus as

01:05we talk about Summer League, really on the guys that I think most Boston Celtics fans,

01:10and I have to say Boston Celtics because we also have the Maine Celtics, which will be

01:14kind of our jumping off point.

01:16But for the guys that may figure in some way, shape or form into what the Boston Celtics

01:21do this year as far as depth and things like that, I wanted us to just kind of really start

01:26going through just some of the guys that may play their way into a potential rotation

01:32spot.

01:33I think the first one off the back is Keita, who I thought he was the one clear potential

01:41rotation guy for the big boys, the big Celtics this year.

01:45I'm just curious, what were your thoughts and impressions of Keita in the couple of

01:49games we saw him play?

01:50Yeah, I think we saw him for two games.

01:53He looked better in the second than in the first.

01:56And but in both cases, you just see that he has the tools, I think, to be a successful

02:00NBA player.

02:01And I don't know exactly to what extent or what capacity or whether that's this upcoming

02:06year in Boston or not, but he has a good feel.

02:11He's big, he's strong, he moves well.

02:14I think the finishing around the rim is something that he's improved with.

02:18And the main thing that we have saw in Boston that he had trouble with is actually just

02:23like the schemes.

02:24And that's just experience.

02:25There's no reason to think that he can't figure those things out as he gets kind of more seasoned

02:29in the league.

02:30And he mentioned picking Al Horford's brain and talking to him throughout the year and

02:34kind of learning more.

02:35And we know that the summer league team when he was playing was purposefully trying to

02:38mix up defensive schemes to give him that practice.

02:41So I think he has everything he needs to be an off the bench big that can provide some

02:46minutes and alleviate some of the load on Al and Porzingis when he's back.

02:50And what we saw here at summer league was more of what I saw every time he was in Maine

02:53last year is that he can easily get you 20 and 12 in this setting and you can look like

02:58one of the best players on the court on any given night.

03:01Yeah.

03:02And that's the one thing I want our viewers and listeners to recognize is that Noah has

03:06probably watched more of the Maine Celtics than any human who's not on the Maine Celtics

03:11payroll.

03:12So when she talks about Cato, she's not just talking about the glimpses that we saw in

03:16Boston, but she's actually spent some time watching him grow and develop, you know, with

03:20the Maine Celtics who had a really, really good year.

03:23They were I think they got all the way to the to the championship and came up short.

03:27And Cato certainly had a prominent role in that.

03:30And another guy who, you know, the few games I caught of the main Celtics, J.D. Davidson.

03:39People forget that this guy was a five star recruit coming out of high school, did a one

03:43year stint at Alabama, turned pro, was a late second round pick.

03:48And there was definitely a guy that the Celtics from day one felt that there was certainly

03:53more potential growth than there was actually proven body of work when they selected him

03:59in the late second round a couple of years ago.

04:02What were your impressions of what he did and specifically how much did he help, if

04:08at all, his case?

04:09Because he was a guy that coming into the summer league, we really didn't know if he

04:14was going to be a Celtic coming into summer league.

04:17So just what do you think he did or maybe missed the mark on as far as, you know,

04:23positioning himself to be with the Celtics, you know, for for a little bit of time?

04:28Yeah, and I don't know if he'll be, you know, if he'll keep that two way for the rest of

04:31the season, because he's the first player in NBA history not to have three consecutive

04:36two A's with the team.

04:37And he's in a very unique situation because he's just been full time in Maine.

04:40Like that's where he's been for, you know, pretty much the entirety of the last two seasons.

04:44And I've heard from just talking to people here in Vegas that he really was trying to

04:48get a fully guaranteed contract and obviously wasn't able to get one in time.

04:52But I thought that his summer league stint was was relatively impressive.

04:56Like, you know, he looked certainly a lot better than he did last summer league when

04:59he was kind of looking like he was making kind of slow decisions with a ball and racked

05:03up a lot of turnovers.

05:04He was efficient.

05:05The team looked a lot better when he was on the floor than when he wasn't.

05:09And that's kind of the story with J.D. Davidson.

05:11The more you watch him play, the more you realize that his biggest impact is the way

05:15that he's able to kind of, you know, get things organized.

05:19And I think a lot of what Joe has talked about with Peyton Pritchard and his game management

05:23is something that J.D. has had a huge point of emphasis on is kind of learning how to

05:26manage manage the game and especially playing with so many moving pieces and guys that have

05:31known each other for five days and people in and out of Maine.

05:34So he really assumed that role.

05:36I think the same questions remain about him regarding like whether he actually has enough

05:41to be a backup point guard in the NBA and looking at the Celtics team, I don't really

05:45see where he has a pathway forward.

05:47I think defensively, he's OK.

05:49He's not a huge liability, but it's not a point of strength for him the way that it

05:52is for some of the other guards, you know, like Jaden, that are also battling for those

05:56guard minutes.

05:58So I think what we saw from him in Maine is that he looked continue.

06:01He continues to improve.

06:02He continues to do everything that they're asking of him.

06:04His shot looked a lot better.

06:06That's always been a question mark with him.

06:07If he can consistently hit threes, I think that answers a lot of the questions about

06:11him.

06:12But I don't know if there's anything he could have shown us in a five game span other than

06:16like totally, you know, going off and scoring 30 every night and leading this team to a

06:19championship or something crazy like that that would make me think like this is going

06:23to be an NBA player and it's going to, you know, he's going to be contributing to Boston

06:26in the near future.

06:27Yeah.

06:28The point that you made about his pathway to me that that more than anything else is

06:31the biggest hindrance because, you know, if there's no clear, you know, lane of, you

06:38know, that he can take that will get him on the floor with the Boston Celtics, not the

06:42main Celtics, then I'm not sure if we're ever going to really see him come close to reaching

06:47that five star recruit potential that he had coming out of high school.

06:52As you mentioned, Peyton Pritchard, that's a guy who I thought really stepped his game

06:55up this year and was like one of the low key, you know, kind of impact guys off the bench

07:00that they had this year.

07:02Then you look at Drew Holiday, best on ball defender in the NBA, two time NBA champion

07:07with two different teams.

07:09And then you got Derek White, the newly minted Olympian Derek White.

07:13And so you start looking at the bodies in front of him and it's like, what can he possibly

07:19do to knock those guys off?

07:20I mean, it seems his best path is to get on the floor via injury.

07:26And, you know, again, you start looking at some of the other guys that were kind of trying

07:31to, they stood out a little bit in summer league.

07:33You think about a guy like Drew Peterson, who in some respects is in a similar boat

07:37when you look at what Sam Houser has done and you look at what Sam is showing he's willing

07:42to do and get better at.

07:44Just your impressions of Drew and just what did you, because he's another guy that really

07:48didn't play a bunch of games.

07:49It was almost like, let's just get him out there, crack a sweat, knock a few shots down

07:53and just put him on ice.

07:55For the time we did see Drew out there, what were just some of your thoughts on how he

07:59performed?

08:01Yeah, Drew's another guy I watched a whole lot of this past year and Celtics acquired

08:05him in December from Sioux Falls.

08:07You know, he was with Miami for training camp.

08:09And then right away, you know, I asked him what his, who he kind of modeled his game

08:13after, thinking that he was like a Sam Houser type player.

08:17And he said Derek White, which was funny to me because he said that he he wants to be

08:21like an all around player, defender, rebounder, passer.

08:24And I think the thing about Drew is that he's not exceptional at anything.

08:28He's a good shooter, but he's not a Sam Houser shooter.

08:31He's a pretty good passer, but he's not like a Baylor-Shyman passer where you right away

08:36you're kind of in awe of his passing abilities.

08:38So he has to be really solid across the board to kind of earn a roster spot.

08:44And I think he's solid sometimes, but then other times you watch him and he looks a

08:48little bit too skinny and a little bit of a defensive liability.

08:51And other times, you know, his decision making is a little slow.

08:54Something I noticed from watching him, especially in the main playoff run where he

08:58had some rough, rough outings there, is that he seems to move a little bit slower than

09:02everybody else at points, like just as far as his decision making goes, like he'll hold

09:06the ball and kind of, it almost looks like his processing is a little bit slower than

09:10some of the other guys on the floor.

09:12And some of that's experience, you know, it was his first year playing at this level

09:15after a good college career.

09:17But, you know, the thing with him is that he had like, I think the last game that he

09:20played before he was done for summer league, he had like four of eight threes.

09:24And in those games, he looks really good because now he's kind of a solid all around

09:28guy who can hit threes.

09:29And then I'll have a few games where he's like one for seven from three.

09:31And then all of a sudden you're like, what is exactly is he bringing to the table that

09:34is worth, you know, really believing in this guy?

09:36So I've had moments where I've been really high on him because when he's hitting the

09:40shots and seems to be kind of out of his own head, you can see how he has flashes of

09:45just being a really solid all around player with no glaring weaknesses.

09:48And then I've had moments where I'm like, I don't know that he's great enough at

09:51anything to warrant a roster spot really anytime in the near future.

09:56And certainly here in Boston.

09:57And so I think the jury is still out on him.

09:59I think they like him and that's why they brought him back.

10:02And he seems to have a great attitude and be a good kind of team player and a hard

10:05worker. But I haven't seen enough to answer those questions around like what what

10:10exactly his role can be that it kind of makes it makes fighting for him worth it.

10:14Yeah, he's been a really difficult one for me to get a pulse for because to your

10:20point, it's not like there's a clear and undeniable, boy, he really sucks at that.

10:27He doesn't really have that in him, but I don't watch him play and think like, man,

10:31he's really awesome at this.

10:33And it's really hard to figure out what to make of him, because even though Derek

10:39White is not the Celtics best shooter, he's not I I don't think he's their best

10:44defender. I think he's very good, but I don't think he's their best defender and I

10:48don't think he's his best passer.

10:49But when you take those three particular skills and you kind of put him in his big

10:52jambalaya pot of talent, he's right up there with the best on his team.

10:57And and the knack that he has for making shots and clutch moments also adds to, you

11:03know, his impact as a player.

11:05And I don't know if Drew has something similar or some semblance of that kind of

11:11difference making element or dynamic in his game.

11:16And it's too bad because, you know, he's in a situation where you better figure out

11:21what you can do really well quickly because the guys ahead of you, they're not going

11:25anywhere. Of the guys that we talked about, Keita is the only one where you can see a

11:31legitimately clear path to get on the floor this year.

11:35Although another guy who's from that that main Celtics crew who might have done some

11:42things in summer league to maybe turn some heads, get people thinking a little bit

11:46differently. Jaden Springer, he was way better.

11:50I mean, he didn't play a bunch of games, but again, in the games that he played, he

11:53showed some things that I don't know if the Celtics necessarily thought he had in his

11:58bag or at least even even in the summer league setting.

12:01Yeah, so the thing with Jaden, Jaden wasn't in Maine this year, he played one game with

12:05them and it was a game in Atlanta where the team was also in Atlanta, so it was really

12:10convenient. You could just kind of go over there on the day off and he was dominating

12:14that game. And I remember sitting there and being like, OK, so this is the kind of

12:17player that when you think of guys that are not good enough to be NBA players but are

12:22too good for the G League, he's an example of that.

12:25And he won finals MVP of the G League, not this most recent season, but the year prior.

12:29So I think a lot of us watching Jaden, same for me, even though I knew all this, I'm

12:34sitting there being like, oh, I didn't know he had that.

12:36But then you go back and look at his track record and he's proven that at this level

12:40he's an elite player. And, you know, I said something that people were, for some

12:43reason, upset about, but I said that we know that he could score at this level.

12:46And the reality is, is that we do know that he can score at this level.

12:50The question is how that translates to Maine, I mean, to the Celtics.

12:55I really believe in Jaden Springer.

12:56And maybe, you know, sometimes I get high on these guys that are really good defenders

13:00because I think that you can defend really well, like you can figure it out in other

13:03ways if you're a hard worker, but maybe that's short-sighted.

13:06But I thought what we saw of him is that, A, the playmaking was better than I had seen

13:10previously. The scoring at that level, you know, he has a good track record, but the

13:15way that he was setting up his teammates was really, really exceptional, taking care of

13:18the ball. And then obviously the defense, he was tasked with guarding packets, who was

13:23really an NBA player at this point, probably shouldn't even even been at Summer League.

13:26And he did a really good job.

13:28And so he's a guy I would love to see if there's a way to get him on the court next year

13:33in some capacity. And it'll probably involve injuries if he does see a real pathway.

13:37I don't know that just looking at the numbers that he's going to carve out real minutes

13:41otherwise. But then also, you know, a lot of guys are playing Olympic basketball right

13:45now, you know, a finals run.

13:47Brad talked about this a little bit towards the end of the year there and his media

13:50availabilities is that it's going to be, you know, they have to be creative here with rest

13:53and load management and kind of the fact that these guys are not going to have a break at

13:57all the entire year. So in that sense, maybe Jaden Springer does take a crack at things

14:02and actually get some real minutes out there.

14:03And I think you will forget before he was traded to Boston, he had just entered the

14:07Philadelphia rotation and was doing a really good job guarding guys like Steph Curry and

14:11Luka Doncic, kind of showing that he belongs.

14:14Yeah. And defense is what's going to get you in the court.

14:17I mean, coaches say it sounds like coach speak, but you just look at the guys that, you

14:22know, kind of come out of nowhere and all of a sudden they're in the rotation more times

14:26than not, it's because of what they do defensively.

14:28I mean, here in Boston, you know, Ray Allen is a legend.

14:31And yet as his defense began to kind of peter off, they went with this young kid named

14:37Avery Bradley, who was could not score really, other than layups and cuts to the

14:41basket. It was a great screen setter.

14:44It was a decent mid-range catch and shoot guy, but he wasn't Ray Allen.

14:49And but he was in that starting lineup because of what he did defensively.

14:52And Jaden, I think, again, he showed glimpses of being an elite defender.

14:57But, you know, the knock on him, you know, when I've talked to scouts about Jaden, his

15:01consistency, he has shown flashes of doing all the things that you would want, you

15:07know, that kind of that undersized combo guard to do.

15:10He just hasn't done them consistently enough.

15:12And we saw again in summer, we saw glimpses of what he can do when he's getting pretty

15:18good minutes. But to your point, Noah, is there a way that we can see that with the

15:24big boys? Can we can we see that when we see what it looks like on the JV squad in

15:29May? But what about the varsity crew?

15:31Can you do that with the varsity guys?

15:34And as this has really been a happy, happy, joy, joy conversation so far, which is why

15:39we need to make that quick left and talk about one guy who was not that great in

15:46summer league. And I'm talking about a good friend, Jordan Walsh, who I am still I

15:50still have my Jordan Walsh stock.

15:52I am not selling it.

15:53I'm keeping it. We just we just hit a little bit of turbulence in the market.

15:58It's OK. It will correct itself over time.

16:01But right now, he did not look good.

16:03His last the fourth game he played, I thought was his best game.

16:08The first three. Again, what are some of your takeaways when you think about what he

16:13did this summer? Yeah, sure.

16:16Did you play basketball before?

16:17Before being media?

16:19So I think when I watch Jordan, I want I'm watching a classic case.

16:23And like I felt this before, I want to play basketball.

16:25And also, you know, he played another sport.

16:27I'm sure it resonates as well.

16:28But this is a mental issue that we're watching.

16:31That's what I see, at least like he has been so in his head through these four games

16:36and even in the last game, it was better and it got better as the game went on.

16:40But the way he's reacting to adversity on the court and whether that's two missed

16:44shots or losing the ball or getting scored on, it reminds me a little bit of like

16:49young Jalen, but but worse, young Jalen Brown.

16:52But in a sense of like he he's overcompensating for a mistake that is not, you know,

16:58a bad a bad decision, but like a shot doesn't go in.

17:01Now he's like, let me go one on four to correct that.

17:04Or, you know, I missed the three.

17:06Let me make sure I make this right now.

17:07He's airballing one and he's frustrated and it's on his face and he looks like a kid

17:12because he is. And I don't know that what I saw from him that was concerning so much

17:17this week was basketball, because we watched him play enough basketball to know that that

17:21is not this level of basketball, the level that we saw this past week.

17:25But the mental side is real.

17:26And to me, that's what really stood out from the summer league performance.

17:30And we've seen it happen to all different kinds of players, right?

17:33Like Jason Tatum has had moments like this in his career where it's like, how is this

17:37the same guy that scored, you know, 50 versus the 76ers?

17:40It looks like he literally doesn't even want the ball right now.

17:42Or Sam Houser went from almost breaking the three point record to a couple weeks later.

17:46He broke the record for most missed threes or something like that.

17:50Right. So this is what happens.

17:51And I think as fans, people kind of overreact or media are just kind of watching this.

17:56And they're like, OK, he sucks like he has no future.

17:59And in reality, we're watching him be at a low right now.

18:02I don't know. I haven't watched enough of his high school or college.

18:05You know, he's had something like this, I would imagine probably not.

18:09But right now, it's like he needs to just kind of snap out of what is going on mentally with him

18:14and get back to doing the things that made him a really effective G League player.

18:17And I don't know if those things are enough to be a good NBA player.

18:20But what we're watching right now is a guy who is totally in his head, I think,

18:24and is just not able to break out of it.

18:26And what he has to do and what DK McClay mentioned to me, which really stood out,

18:30is he has to continue competing.

18:32I asked him, like, how would you evaluate Jordan's performance?

18:35And he said, we really just need to see him continue competing.

18:38And I was thinking, that's not a good sign to hear your coach say,

18:42I need our guaranteed player on a four-year deal who has the most,

18:47the biggest contract of anybody on this team right now.

18:49We need him to compete.

18:51Obviously, he needs to compete, right?

18:52So that's, to me, what's been standing out is the mental side.

18:55And I think it's fixable because he just turned 20.

18:57And he's clearly an emotional kid.

18:59And he's a hard worker and all that.

19:01But I think if we're taking away so much about the basketball,

19:04it's a little short-sighted from just one week of really kind of below his standard play.

19:09Yeah, I mean, the mental side of the game is the one part that I think most fans,

19:13and unfortunately, too large a segment of the media just don't really get.

19:18It's so important and just valuable to players who are in that top tier.

19:24I mean, the one thing that they typically have in common

19:27is that there's just this level of mental toughness that they play with

19:31and more importantly, can play through adversity.

19:35That doesn't mean they're always going to come out on top.

19:36That doesn't mean they're always going to win.

19:39But when they don't win, it won't just,

19:42it won't be because that there was something lacking in their mental toughness.

19:45It'll be because that other team played better or that guy was,

19:47it was just his night and not yours.

19:50But Jordan, he's got to really, I think,

19:52strengthen that part of his game up the mental side of it and deal with adversity.

19:56Because when you watch him out there playing,

19:58I mean, he's one of the most athletic guys of the guys out there in Summer League,

20:02particularly what he's able to do defensively.

20:05And he needs to get back to his roots.

20:07I know that he wanted to come in Summer League and reach into the bag and say,

20:10look, guys, I can score.

20:11I can knock down shots.

20:13That's not your game.

20:15Clearly, that is not your game.

20:16That doesn't mean you can't evolve into being that kind of player.

20:19But for right now, he really needs to stick to the stuff

20:22that's going to put food on the table.

20:24You are a 3D guy and you need to embrace that and take open shots when they're there.

20:31But understand what you need to do to help this team win games

20:35and be the best version of that guy.

20:39Before we move on, I wanted to just really delve into the rookies.

20:44We haven't really talked about them.

20:45And both of those guys, I think, will be spending a considerable amount of time up in Maine.

20:50And it's not because of necessarily anything that they've done wrong

20:54or skilled, but it's just the numbers game.

20:57And you've had a chance to watch Baylor, Antoine, excuse me,

21:01Antoine Watson, both of those guys played good minutes in the summer.

21:05I want to start with Baylor first.

21:08How do you see his game translating to the NBA?

21:12And the Celtics are obviously part of that.

21:14But specifically, looking at just in a very broad sense,

21:18how does his game look at the next level?

21:22Yeah, I think he's going to make it.

21:24I'm really excited about both him and Antoine and the fact that I'll get to watch a lot of

21:27them in Maine.

21:28And again, I don't think they're going to spend much time with the parent club.

21:31But the thing with Baylor that stands out so far is the passing is really, really good.

21:35And that was in his notes.

21:37But I'll be honest, I didn't watch a lot of him in college.

21:40And so this is really my first impression of watching him in real life and also being

21:44so close to the court where we're seated for summer league.

21:46I feel like you get a different vantage point than you do on TV or up high where I normally

21:49sit.

21:51And the passing is really impressive.

21:53The shooting is obviously something that is a strength of his and he's had his ups and

21:57downs.

21:57But he mentioned it yesterday when I talked to him after the game.

21:59He's not concerned about whether the shots are falling right now because he knows that

22:02they will fall and that he's a shooter.

22:04And so he's kind of more thinking about other things.

22:06And that's my impression of him as well right now is that that doesn't really matter as

22:09much.

22:10And so the big question with him is whether that athleticism defensive gap can be made

22:15up.

22:15And I think that it can, because thinking about early days, Sam Houser, I don't know

22:21that he's far behind him.

22:23And again, just because Sam Houser did it doesn't mean that everybody can do it.

22:26But I think with the right developmental staff around him and with hard work and with kind

22:31of getting in better shape, he seems a little bit winded to me just watching him play.

22:35Everybody seems a little winded, but maybe he a little bit more than most.

22:37So he's going to have to get in better shape and he's going to have to get quicker and

22:41stronger.

22:42And I think he'll do those things because he has enough going for him that I think that

22:47piece is there's a gap, but it can be made up.

22:49And the fact that he's literally in his first week as a pro right now, and already you can

22:53see flashes of like a real NBA player is encouraging.

22:56So I would bet that he makes it in this league.

22:59And I don't know if that ends up being a valuable role player for Boston or not.

23:02You never know how these things shake up, but he has enough things like kind of how

23:05we were talking about Drew, where I'm not sure with Drew Peterson, if he has enough

23:09to warrant him, warrant the investment and warrant him being out there with Baylor, I

23:12do see those flashes and they're the same age.

23:14So even though it's Baylor's first year and Drew's, it feels like he's been around during

23:19the same, effectively in the same boat here, both, you know, played full college careers

23:22and both are now trying to kind of make it as a pro, but Baylor just has a lot that stands

23:26out about his game and about his feel and decision-making and things like that.

23:30Yeah.

23:31And Baylor's game, you know, we, you know, the big, as you pointed out, the big knock

23:35on him coming out was just foot speed, lateral quickness, those types of things.

23:39Wasn't great off the charts, but there was another guy that, you know, about a decade

23:43or so ago came out with a similar profile in terms of foot speed and things like that.

23:48And his name was Clay Thompson and Clay turned out to be a pretty damn good defender.

23:53And to me, the thing about Baylor that really jumped out to me is just the basketball IQ.

24:01It's one of those intangibles that you can't necessarily statistically point to, but your

24:06eye test will tell you when it's there.

24:08The thing about Baylor I found was that he was pretty much where he was supposed to be

24:13almost all the time defensively.

24:14And that doesn't mean that he's going to lock guys up.

24:17That doesn't mean he's always going to stay in front of them, but it won't be him being

24:21out of place because he didn't know what he was supposed to be, or he had a brain cramp

24:25or he just forgot that, you know, I should switch out on this guy.

24:29And instead, I'm going to just stay with this guy on the block and let this guy shoot a

24:33wide open mid-range jump shot.

24:35He's smart enough to know when he needs to move.

24:38It's just a matter of can his body do what the mind is telling the body to do.

24:43But it's really, I think, exciting that the Celtics have a guy that is smart and they

24:52have a lot of smart guys.

24:53But when you have a guy that you can develop and you don't have to necessarily worry about

24:58them figuring out just the basketball IQ type stuff that you can just worry about them getting

25:03stronger, getting more athletic, better conditioning, the type of things that when you package that

25:09with a smart, high basketball IQ talent, now all of a sudden you've got a guy that's

25:13competing for minutes off your bench.

25:15And if Sam Hauser, you know, this year has a good year, hits that free agent market,

25:21he's going to get paid.

25:23And the Celtics will not, I don't anticipate, be willing to go that far to keep Sam, particularly

25:30if you got Baylor, you got Drew Peterson, right, who are, you know, they haven't really

25:34had a chance to show what they could do.

25:36And Baylor, certainly, you know, it's still early.

25:40But if you had to put one of those guys ahead of the other, you'd probably put Baylor ahead

25:44of Drew at this point.

25:46Obviously, as we've seen throughout the ends of time with the Boston Celtic and every other

25:51NBA team, things change.

25:53They change quickly.

25:54You know, Marcus Smart at one point was the undisputed starting point guard, and then

25:58he gets hurt.

25:59And this little guy that Danny Ainge trades for, named Isaiah Thomas, comes in, plays

26:04well.

26:05Next thing you know, Marcus is no longer starting.

26:08Isaiah is a two-time All-Star.

26:09So things can change dramatically in this league.

26:13There's absolutely no doubt about that.

26:15Before we go on, I wonder, actually, I wouldn't know what to think about this.

26:23When you look at Baylor, you look at Anton, both of those guys, you know, they're not

26:26going to start or anything like that.

26:29What would you like to see from them building off of the summer league?

26:33And before you answer that question, I want to just take this time and let's hear from

26:37one of our sponsors.

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28:18So, Noah, the question I asked you right before the break.

28:22Who would you like to see from Baylor and Antoine kind of build off of this?

28:27And what are the things that those guys need to do to build off of some of the positives

28:30that they certainly have had so far this summer?

28:34Yeah, I think we were talking about this other night, Sherrod, about how if you had Anton's

28:39defense and Baylor's offense, you have a really good player and then you're not a player that

28:44you're able to draft, right?

28:46And so that's kind of it, right?

28:48So you want to see, can Anton become a guy that's not an offensive liability and that

28:54is a guy that can actually hit the open shot and has a relatively versatile offensive game?

28:59And I think he has that capacity.

29:01It's not like this is a guy that we know he can't shoot, so that's never going to happen.

29:05It just hasn't been his role historically as to be whole of much of a scorer and much

29:10of a shooter.

29:10And he seemed pretty happy about getting the green light to chuck up 9-3s the other night,

29:15right?

29:15Right.

29:16I do think that, yeah, I do think that he's going to kind of be challenged on the offensive

29:22end and there's going to be an adjustment there, but if he can make up that gap, and

29:26again, I don't think it's something that's not feasible.

29:28I feel kind of similarly by both of them.

29:30On the end of the court that they're weaker on, there's a gap, but it doesn't feel

29:34insurmountable.

29:36And so it's, can Baylor Shireman become an average defender?

29:40That's the real question.

29:41Can he become quicker?

29:42Can he become kind of more in line with some of the other average defenders that we've

29:47seen improve from that kind of lower foot speed and to actually become very playable

29:51players?

29:52And so they each have their end of the floor that I'll be watching kind of their improvement

29:56and progress on.

29:57The other thing with Baylor that I'll say is that we're branding him as a shooter because

30:02he is one, but Sam Hauser is an elite shooter.

30:05And I think a lot of times when we get these white guys that can shoot, there's this like,

30:09oh, that's the new Sam Hauser.

30:10But it's not the new Sam Hauser because Sam Hauser has never shot below 40% from three

30:14in a single season in his entire career.

30:16High school, college, pro, that's like, there are very few guys that have had that kind

30:21of shooting record.

30:22And so Drew Peterson's not going to come in and shoot like that.

30:25Neither is Baylor Shireman.

30:26So you want to see like what kind of shooter Baylor actually is at this level.

30:29And, you know, it's deeper threes.

30:30You have to have a quicker release.

30:32There are things that are going to make it a little bit harder.

30:34There's going to be less attention on him than there was in college.

30:37But he, you know, those factors that, you know, that extra foot back and, you know,

30:40that that extra half second, sometimes that's the difference between being a 42% three-point

30:45shooter and a 32%.

30:47And if you're a 32% three-point shooter, you no longer have a spot here.

30:51Right.

30:51So that's what I'll be curious about as well is just like, can he actually be that shooter

30:55that we're all envisioning when we talk about his future?

30:58Yeah, absolutely.

30:59You know, and as they near the end of summer league, you know, you've got the G leaguers,

31:03you've got the guys they drafted, but there's still some other guys who don't fall into

31:07one of those nice and tidy buckets that, you know, we've got a chance to watch, you know,

31:12Ron Harper Jr., who reportedly signed an exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics.

31:17You got Tatum's old state championship winning teammate, Tyler Cook, who did some really

31:23real good, solid cosplayer at Iowa.

31:26And then we've got our good friend Jalen House, who brings a lot of energy to the game.

31:32He likes to talk smack out there, and I love that about him.

31:36I absolutely love that about him.

31:38And if you ever wondered whether that's Eddie's son, that was the moment when I realized,

31:42yes, that is Eddie's son.

31:44Good player.

31:45And, you know, Jameis Ramsey is another one I thought that did some really interesting

31:49things.

31:49But the interesting thing, what I'm curious your thoughts on, who among those guys, or

31:55maybe someone else that we haven't talked about yet, but who has done enough in your eyes that

32:01you want to see more of them in training camp?

32:03You want to see what they can do, you know, when you're playing with the Tatums, Browns,

32:08Derek White, Drew Hollidays of the world.

32:10Is there one of those guys that we just mentioned, or someone we haven't talked about, who's

32:14on the summer league team that you'd like to see more of in training camp?

32:18Yeah, I mean, I want to see more of Jalen House just because he's fun.

32:22So I want to see more of him.

32:24Like, like you said, you know, watching that game yesterday, that game was not the most

32:27thrilling basketball game I've ever watched.

32:29But every time he was involved in the action, I found myself locking back in.

32:32So he's someone that it's fun to watch.

32:34I don't know if defensively that he can make up that size disadvantage.

32:39I mean, there are so few guys in my lifetime that have been able to do that.

32:43And he's even smaller than them, seemingly.

32:44I mean, yes, he'll bulk up.

32:46But I think he was going to be a really good player wherever he does play, whether that's

32:50overseas or in the G League.

32:51Like, I think he'll be really good because he's clearly, he's polished in a lot of ways.

32:55And he really impressed me.

32:57I don't know that I see an NBA future for him.

32:59So maybe he's on my list of, like, guys I'd love to see in Maine just for fun.

33:03And I'm sure he'll have a long, great basketball career wherever he plays.

33:06And he sort of alluded to that the other night, too.

33:08He said, you know, I, you know, I just don't want to be playing basketball.

33:11Like, he just said that, you know, I don't think that he has to be in the NBA necessarily.

33:15And then Jemiah Ramsey had showed flashes of, like, scoring brilliance.

33:20But I don't love watching guys in that environment where, like, his job is to come off the bench

33:25and try to score a little bit to turn some heads because you don't get to really watch

33:30him as an all-around player.

33:31And you don't get to really envision what he would look like on an NBA team.

33:34So he didn't show me enough to make me think, like, oh, I can see him.

33:37I can see this role for him.

33:39I can see him doing these little things because he was just, like, a microwave.

33:42And he was good at it.

33:43And he was efficient during summer league.

33:46So my prediction will be that if there is a guy that they pull for that last two-way,

33:50or if you end up waving one of the existing two-ways and grabbing an additional player,

33:55it's probably going to be somebody from a different summer league team.

33:57And I think this is what I always forget watching summer league is that, you know,

34:00the Celtics scouting department and everybody, they're watching their guys,

34:04but they're also watching everybody.

34:05Because in a week, it won't really matter what jersey they were wearing.

34:09And Drew Peterson is an example.

34:10He's a guy that had a really good performance against the main Celtics last summer.

34:13And then obviously, they picked him up a few months later when he became available.

34:17So I could see them kind of...

34:19I've been watching a lot of other games.

34:20So maybe when they do pick a player, I'll be like, oh, I actually watched him on that

34:24last weekend in Vegas when nobody else was here and saw him score 30.

34:27But that's what I expect to happen is that it's actually not one of those guys.

34:32Because nobody really, really stood out from the group that you mentioned,

34:35at least in the sample that we've had so far.

34:37Okay.

34:37So Noah, our good friend, Brad, executive of the year, Stevens.

34:43He graced us with his presence, gave us a little bit of time at summer league.

34:48What were some of your just kind of more memorable takeaways from our time with Brad?

34:53You know, in Vegas?

34:56Yeah, I think the thing that stood out to me the most was I asked him about O'Shea

35:00and a potential reunion there.

35:01And he didn't say no.

35:03But I walked away thinking, we're not going to see O'Shea in green any longer.

35:09Because he said, you know, we might need that spot for a big, effectively,

35:13because he referenced the long recovery ahead of Porzingis.

35:16He also said, O'Shea might want more minutes.

35:19So it sounded like he was coming up with a bunch of reasons why it's probably not going to happen.

35:23That was one takeaway for me.

35:25And then I also, this was a really small thing.

35:27But Bobby asked him about the Jalen-Derek White situation.

35:31And he said, you know, Jalen's a great player.

35:35Obviously, he's good enough to be on any team, any Olympic team at any point,

35:38which we all know is true.

35:39But he also snuck in there.

35:41And he mentioned, he flagged that Jalen brought up the fact that he called Derek White.

35:47And I think Brad really wanted to highlight that.

35:49And this is just, this is my own interpretation.

35:51So this is, I want to, that's my opinion, not what he said.

35:54But I do think by the way he said that, that Brad was not thrilled with Jalen,

35:59the way Jalen handled it and like the Derek White component.

36:01And he was really glad that he clarified the Derek White piece.

36:05Because I'm sure from the Celtics front office standpoint,

36:07that whole saga, like two weeks after winning the championship

36:09was a little bit of like a bummer that that happened.

36:12And you want to make sure that Derek doesn't feel slighted by his teammate

36:15or anything like that.

36:16And all of a sudden now the world is all out to get, you know,

36:19criticizing Derek every time there's a post of him on team.

36:22Or the NBA accounts, like this should be Jalen Brown.

36:24So the way that he kind of snuck that in there,

36:26I felt like he was glad that Jalen had the opportunity to speak here in Vegas,

36:30that he clarified that he called and congratulated Derek and that they're all good.

36:34And he made sure to note that to us again.

36:36So I thought that that was interesting that he really flagged that.

36:38But other than that, I think it was the same,

36:40same stuff from Brad that we normally hear around,

36:42just being grateful for the guys that he has,

36:44being grateful about the extensions, kind of all of that.

36:47Yeah. Yeah.

36:48And it was definitely, you know, Brad messaging to the rest of the world that,

36:52hey, everyone, we're okay.

36:56We're still Kumbaya.

36:57We love each other.

36:58We're champions.

36:59There's no, there's nothing to see here.

37:01And that may be true, but, you know, Brad recognized the same thing.

37:05I think a lot of Celtics fans recognize.

37:07And that is, yeah, you can feel snubbed, but damn,

37:12give your boy a shout out and say congrats.

37:15And that was the thing that was missing in Jalen's

37:18initial discourse about Nike and being snubbed was that

37:22there was no public acknowledgement that your teammate,

37:27who is probably the most popular guy on the team,

37:30if you were to poll Celtics fans, I think Derek White would win

37:34in a landslide over everyone, Tatum included.

37:37That he, you just, it just, it felt very much like

37:43Jalen was so caught up in his own anger and disappointment

37:46and frustration about not making a team that he missed

37:50one of the most obvious things he should have done

37:53when he went public with his feelings.

37:54And that's give Derek his props.

37:56I mean, this is a dude that didn't even have a division

37:59one scholarship offer coming out of high school,

38:01who is now a freaking Olympian.

38:03Are you kidding me?

38:05That's like a, one of those made for TV movies

38:08that someone cooks up in a Hollywood studio.

38:11And people are like, no, we're not going to do this

38:13because that's not realistic.

38:15There's no way that could ever happen.

38:16There's no way a guy could go from being undrafted

38:20or excuse me, to go from having no scholarship offers

38:23to division ones and all of a sudden being an Olympian.

38:26That's, there's no way that could happen.

38:28And so, yeah, that was Brad.

38:30I think Brad was in, I think very much in tune

38:33with most of Celtics nation about how Jalen

38:38didn't handle that as well as he should have.

38:40But the one point that you did bring up

38:42and that's going to bring us to our final questioners

38:46of the day, and we're going to play a little game,

38:49little game called pick and roll.

38:50You pick a position and you roll with it

38:52and explain why you're picking that position.

38:55Now, Brad, he alluded to the fact

38:57that they're probably going to keep

38:58that 15th roster spot open.

39:01And he kind of alluded to that.

39:04You just never know what they're going to need.

39:06You look at the roster, it seems pretty obvious

39:07that they're going to add, it's probably going to be a big.

39:10So pick and roll.

39:12Do you go youth and continue to develop

39:15that next wave of Celtics who aren't probably

39:17going to play now, but they may help you down the road?

39:20Or do you go for an impact big who could potentially

39:23come in and give you 10, 15, 20 minutes a night,

39:27regardless of whether it's Al, Porzingis, whoever,

39:30but an established veteran who can play right now?

39:35Yeah, that's a good question.

39:36I think I go with a more veteran big

39:39because I really like the young project big

39:41that we have on the roster.

39:42And I don't think we need another one personally.

39:45But I also think that from what it sounds like,

39:47I feel like every time we hear about this Porzingis injury,

39:49it sounds like the recovery is going to be

39:50a little bit longer.

39:51Like, I feel like they add an extra really long

39:54every time we hear about it.

39:55So I think we're going to miss,

39:56we're not going to see Porzingis

39:58for the first half of the season or something like that.

40:00And I'm just thinking about the fact

40:01that Al can play back-to-backs.

40:03Xavier Tillman also, I don't think can handle

40:05significant minutes and he has his own knee stuff as well.

40:09And so he's not a guy you want to put a heavy load on.

40:12You're really relying on Luke and Nemi.

40:14And I really like both of those guys,

40:16but they both have weaknesses in their game.

40:19And not to mention the fact that all of a sudden,

40:20Luke has a hamstring strain,

40:21which he had a couple of this year,

40:23or it was a calf strain or something like that.

40:24And he misses some time.

40:26Next thing you know, you have a big load

40:28on a guy that's pretty unproven.

40:30So I like the idea of getting a more veteran big,

40:33so long as it's not going to be somebody

40:35that is like demands minutes

40:36and is going to become a locker room issue

40:38if he doesn't get them.

40:39And I remember Andre Drummond was a name

40:41that was kind of bouncing around during the trade,

40:43you know, near the trade deadline.

40:44And he's not, you know,

40:46he's a guy that has a complicated track record

40:48in locker rooms.

40:48I wouldn't want to bring someone in

40:49that all of a sudden kind of disrupt the flow.

40:51But if you can get a more experienced guy

40:53that's comfortable,

40:54potentially maybe not playing at all,

40:56I think that's what you're going for.

40:58Even if it's not somebody that has much of a ceiling

41:00or will only be here for a year

41:01and you know, doesn't have a lot of upside.

41:04Yeah, it has to be the right fit for your culture.

41:07And, you know, you look at like,

41:09as you touched on with Tillman,

41:12very few 25-year-olds will get traded to a team

41:16that they know they're not going to play much at all

41:19and be okay with that.

41:20Like actually say, I'm just going to,

41:23you know, stay ready.

41:25He's one of the stay ready crew members.

41:27And then to top it off,

41:31you play sparingly,

41:32you win a championship,

41:34and then you re-sign for essentially a role

41:36that's not going to be that dramatically different

41:38than the one that you had

41:39when you weren't playing that much.

41:41For Zingas' injury,

41:42obviously there's an opportunity to get in earlier.

41:44But to your point, Noah,

41:45he's got a,

41:46there's a certain amount of load management

41:48that he has to undergo as well.

41:50So it'll be interesting to see

41:52what the Celtics do with the big situation

41:54because it's definitely,

41:55if you had to look at an area of weakness slash concern

41:59with the Celtics going into the season,

42:01it has to be their big man rotation.

42:04It's very unsettled now.

42:06And, you know,

42:07the X factor that so many of us talked about

42:10before the season

42:10that would get them over the top

42:11and win a championship for Zingas

42:13is not going to be there at the start of the season.

42:16If he's back by the all-star break,

42:19I would be moderately surprised by that

42:21because I do think that

42:24this injury is going to take longer

42:25for him to get back on the court

42:27than I think their initial diagnosis.

42:29And a part of that I think is because

42:31they're going to be super, super careful with him.

42:33I think there's going to be a point where

42:35he is going to go through all the tests,

42:37all the physical stuff to get back on the floor

42:39and they're just going to hold them out a little bit longer

42:41just to make sure that they are,

42:45that he's ready to play

42:46and be able to play at a high level

42:48when he gets on the floor.

42:50So, yeah, yeah.

42:53It'll be interesting to see how the Celtics handle that

42:55and all those different challenges

42:57that come with being a defending NBA champion,

42:59which we will absolutely be delving into much more

43:01as we roll through the summer,

43:03into the fall, start a training camp

43:05and obviously the regular season

43:07with the 2024 Boston Celtics.

43:11Banner 18 having Boston Celtics

43:15look to defend their championship.

43:17Noah, this was good.

43:19We should do this again.

43:20We should absolutely do this again.

43:21Absolutely.

43:23Yeah, anytime.

43:24Noah DeZell from Celtics blog

43:26and a regular, regular, regular contributor

43:29to CLNS Media Network in a variety of roles.

43:33And again, thank you for your time, Noah.

43:36And also before we get out of here,

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44:00for $20 off your first purchase.

44:02Terms apply.

44:03That's creating an account.

44:04Use the code CLNS

44:05and get $20 off your first purchase.

44:07Terms apply.

44:09That is it for this episode

44:11of the Big 3 MBA podcast.

44:13For Noah DeZell,

44:15this is H. Rob Blakely.

44:17Thank you for checking us out.

44:19Take care, folks.

Celtics Summer League STUDS and DUDS w/ Noa Dalzell | Big 3 NBA Podcast

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