Banner Town Breakdown: Celtics vs. Rockets Scrimmage (July 28, 2020)
The morning before Boston’s game against the Houston Rockets, I wrote about some things I hoped to see in the team’s final scrimmage. For the most part, I was very pleased at what I saw. Here’s your Banner Town Breakdown for the Celtics vs. Rockets Scrimmage on July 28, 2020.
The way I intend to write these breakdowns is with a short summary paragraph to start, followed by my thoughts, who I was impressed with, and what impact the game would have on the future.
The Celtics ended up going with what seemed like a Summer League roster to start the game, with the starters and important bench players getting the day off. The list of inactives included these players - Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Daniel Theis, Marcus Smart, and Enes Kanter. Brad Stevens put out a starting lineup of Brad Wanamaker, Carsen Edwards, Romeo Langord, Semi Ojeleye, and Robert Williams. They actually managed to keep it a close game, but with the Rockets playing their entire roster, it was just a matter of time before they broke away and opened the game up with a huge lead. The Celtics big men did a great job of using their height against the small ball Rockets, but James Harden was just too much for the younger Celtics to handle. Standout performers included James Harden (35 points) for the Rockets, as well as Carsen Edwards (19 points) and Grant Williams (15 points) for the Celtics. The final score ended up being 137-112 in favor of the Houston Rockets.
Starting off with Carsen Edwards, I was super impressed with how he played in this one. In the Celtics’ first scrimmage against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Edwards looked stiff on the floor, and shot poorly from the field. It seemed as though he was still in his head like it seemed he was before the season was suspended. However, in the last two scrimmages he’s played he’s looked pretty solid. He was the Celtics’ leading scorer against the Rockets with 19 points, and did so while shooting 8-18 from the field. His three point shooting (3-10) was less efficient, but what was very impressive was his ability to drive the ball.
At only 5’11” he’s constantly one of the shortest guys on the floor, and yet still managed to be super effective whilst driving to the rim. Edwards even managed to have what I believe to be the highlight of the game when he dunked over James Harden; something not many people could have seen coming from a guy like Edwards. Hopefully he can continue to improve his efficiency in the future, however I don’t see Brad Stevens going to Edwards for too many backup guard minutes in the playoffs. If anything I think fellow rookie Tremont Waters, who had a quiet 12 points in the game against the Rockets, should see an increase in playing time.
Grant Williams looked like a veteran against Houston (15 points and 9 rebounds), breaking out a bunch of moves that I’ve personally never seen from him. One I was particularly impressed by was his turnaround mid range shot. Williams found himself in a couple of tough spots late in the shot clock against the Rockets and still managed to do a couple moves in the high post and get a shot off. He faded away from the defender and drained the shots. On top of that move, he showed off a gorgeous behind the back pass to Javonte Green in the corner. Williams has also looked much more confident shooting threes throughout these scrimmages, a shot which he will need to make consistently to earn ample playing time in the playoffs.
Speaking of ample time in the playoffs, Semi Ojeleye should be getting just that. He was playing a completely different player against Houston. It was just new move after new move from him and I for one was very taken aback by it. He finished the game with 12 points on 4-8 shooting, including 2-3 from behind the arc. I’ve said this over and over again, but if Semi Ojeleye can consistently hit his three pointers, then the Celtics have no reason not to play him as their seventh or eighth man off the bench.
Ojeleye is an elite defender, and anyone who’s watched him play over the past few years should know that, but the question has always been his ability to consistently hit shots. Well in these three scrimmages, he’s done just that. Not to mention his newly found driving ability he showed off in the game against the Rockets. Who knew he had a hanging reverse layup in his arsenal? Not me. I really hope Stevens gives Ojeleye lots of minutes in the playoffs, especially in a potential matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Last but not least, we have Tacko Fall. I wanted some Tacko Tuesday in my life and Brad Stevens delivered and then some. Fall finished the game with 6 points, going 3-6 from the field, and he looked like an absolute giant on the floor against the smaller Rockets. He was mainly guarded by Jeff Green (6’8”) who couldn’t do much against the 7’5” behemoth. If Fall had even a slightly more polished post game, he could have dropped 20 in that matchup.
Other notable performers include Robert Williams, Tremont Waters and Javonte Green. Williams looked pretty solid on offense, but he could have finished a couple more of his post moves. His defense was solid, per usual. Waters continued a string of solid performances which could earn him some extra playing time during the eight seeding games, as well as the playoffs. He even hit a couple impressive threes, which he’s been trying to make more consistently. What always impresses me about Waters is his ball handling. He’s just so shifty with the ball in his hands, and runs the offense beautifully. Lastly, Green looked like a new and improved three point shooter against Houston. He’s a solid hustle player and defender, so if he starts consistently hitting threes, the Celtics have that much more depth on their bench.
That concludes your Banner Town Breakdown! The Celtics play their next game on Friday, July 31 against the Milwaukee Bucks at 6:30 PM.
