We’re heading into the Boston Celtics‘ second Summer League game, with the Milwaukee Bucks being the next opponent. After a tough loss against the Miami Heat on Saturday, Boston’s young hopefuls will have a point to prove, as they look to leave their mark and potentially earn a training camp invite or contract for the coming season.
Unlike the regular season, every individual on a Summer League roster has their own agenda. Sure, they’re going to operate as a unit on the floor and play team-orientated basketball, but the mindset is more geared towards a G-League mentality, rather than the NBA, where most players have multiple years of their future secured.
With that in mind, here are three things to look for in Monday’s game against the Bucks.
1. Can Sam Hauser find his range?
Things didn’t go as planned for Sam Hauser against the Miami Heat. The sophomore shooter’s shot wasn’t falling. Every movement seemed like it had been sped up. And there was no rhythm to his play.
Unlike most players on Boston’s Summer League roster, Hauser already has a contract in place for the upcoming season – but in a setting like this, where everybody is hungry, that can be both and good and bad thing.
Heading into Monday’s game, the Virginia product will need to rediscover his poise, as he looks to prove that he can be the bench shooter Boston’s roster sorely needs. Nobody is asking Hauser to be a playmaker or plus defender — it’s pretty clear he’s a single-skill shooter at this early juncture of his career, and that’s fine.
Still, if the second-year wing can find his range, and prove he can score off movement, as well as off the catch, then his stock could begin to rise, and isn’t that why a second-year player competes in Vegas?
2. JD Davison’s control around the rim
All things considered, JD Davison gave a fair account of himself against the Heat. The young guard looked poised as the primary ball-handler, controlled the flow of the offense, and orchestrated pick-and-rolls admirably.
“I thought for such a young kid, playing in his first game, he had a really nice floor game to him. He moved the ball well, was able to get downhill and find his teammates. And I thought he had a nice pace and control of to his game offensively,” Summer League head coach Ben Sullivan told CelticsBlog’s Bobby Manning following the game.
Unfortunately, there was one glaring flaw in Davison’s debut game: his finishing around the rim. For such an…
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