Post by FLCeltsFan on Jul 9, 2017 0:01:23 GMT -5
vs 
Boston Celtics (1-0) vs Portland Trailblazers (1-0)
Sunday, July 9, 2017
8:30 PM
Las Vegas Summer League Game 2
ESPN 2
Thomas and Mack Center
Celtics Summer League Roster
45 Kadeem Allen
52 Rosco Allen
26 Jabari Bird
7 Jaylen Brown
38 Perrin Buford
9 Demetrius Jackson
63 Landen Lucas
51 Abdel Nader
37 Semi Ojeleye
28 Terran Petteway
40 Scoochie Smith
11 Jayson Tatum
60 Trevor Thompson
46 Scott Wood
54 Ante Zizic
Possible Starting Lineup
Demetrius Jackson, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, Ante Zizic
Players to Watch
Jayson Tatum - The Celtics first round pick, [HASH]3 overall, will continue to have the spotlight on him throughout his first Summer League. In Utah, Tatum averaged 18.7 points on 46.8% shooting along with 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals. He starred once again against the Lakers with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Demetrius Jackson - After sitting out the final two games in Utah, Jackson was back on the court against the Lakers. He finished with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Most importantly, the Celtics are 2-0 with Jackson and 0-2 without him.
Jaylen Brown - Jaylen was a man among boys in his first game against the Sixers with 29 points and 13 rebounds. He has come down to earth somewhat since then, though but has still played well. Against the Lakers he had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Semi Ojeleye - Ojeleye was projected to be drafted in the 20's but slid to the Celtics at 37. He struggled somewhat in Utah, but came on strong in his first game in Vegas with 19 points including 5-9 from beyond the arc with 3 rebounds.
Trailblazers Summer League Roster
33 Zach Collins
50 Caleb Swanigan
5 Pat Connaughton
10 Jake Layman
37 Jordan Adams
34 Keith Benson
26 Markel Brown
44 Antonius Cleveland
24 DeAndre Daniels
2 Jorge Gutierrez
28 RJ Hunter
31 Nick Johnson
9 Patrick Miller
16 Josh Scott
Possible Starting Lineup
Pat Connaughton, RJ Hunter, Jake Layman, Caleb Swanigan, Zach Collins
Players to Watch
RJ Hunter - Hunter was drafted [HASH]28 by the Celtics and was signed by the Bulls after being waived by the Celtics. He was signed by the Long Island Nets in January to finish the season. He scored 12 points in the Blazers' opener against the Jazz.
Caleb Swanigan - Swanigan was the 26th pick by the Blazers in the 2017 draft. He finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds in the Blazers' opener.
Zach Collins - Collins was the 10th pick in the 2017 draft by the Sacramento Kings. He was traded on draft night to the Blazers. He finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds against the Jazz.
Jake Layman - Layman was the 47th pick in 2016 by the Magic and traded on draft night to the Blazers. He spent time between the D-League and the Blazers in his rookie season. He finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals against the Jazz.
Game Notes
Both the Celtics and the Trailblazers will be playing in their second game in Las Vegas and both are playing in back to back games. Both teams are undefeated in Las Vegas. The Celtics won their opener over the Lakers while the Blazers won their opener against the Jazz.
RJ Hunter, a former first round pick of the Celtics, is playing for the Portland Trailblazers. He was signed by the Chicago Bulls after being waived by the Celtics but then was waived by the Bulls midway through last season. He finished the season playing for the Long Island Nets of the D-League.
Demetrius Jackson was back playing for the Celtics in their first game in Vegas after missing the previous 2 games. His status with the Celtics is still up in the air. His contract is partially guaranteed for the season and will be fully guaranteed if kept on the roster after July 15th. He is a good defender and has done a decent job of running the offense for the Summer League team.
Keys to the Game
Chemistry - Both of these teams have been together for a limited time, but the Celtics have played 4 games to try to build some chemistry as a team while the Blazers have played just 1 game.
Defense - Defense is always a key to winning, whether in Summer League, regular season or especially in the playoffs. The Celtics need to play tough defense to give themselves a chance to win.
Point Guard Play - The Celtics play much better with Jackson playing the point. Hopefully he will play again in this game and give the offense a boost.
7-11 - The Celtics need their dynamic duo to play well. Tatum has played very well in every game so far. Brown started off strong and then has come down to earth a bit in the last two games he played in. Hopefully he comes on strong again in this game.
