LAS VEGAS- When the Celtics’ summer league squad wiped the floor with their counterparts from Phoenix on Monday by a score of 82 to 53, it was difficult to tell whether or not it had anything to do with the superiority of the Celtic team or the vengeance of the refs. A mind-boggling 41 personal fouls were called…in the first half. For the game, there were 79 called and people all the way back at the MGM Grand could have permanent hearing damage from the constant scream of the whistles.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers, on his best behavior, said of the young, aspiring officials, “they’re still working on their game and I think it’s great. One guy, Matt [Boland], he worked last year in our league and now he’s reffing this and I think that’s great. He’s like Perk and Al.”
Under the watchful eyes of Danny Ainge, Chris Wallace, Rivers as well as Ainge’s brain guru Jon Niednagel, the Celtics thrashed the a Suns summer league team bereft of almost any players representing the varsity, save Leandro Barbosa and Dijon Thompson. The Green and White led from coast to coast and increased their lead of 8 at the end of one quarter to 19 at the half and 23 by the start of the fourth quarter. Celtic sixth-man extraordinaire, Ricky Davis, came by with his son and watched the game with the Celtics, um, braintrust. He said he was “in town for a few days to check out the guys.”
After three games at the Reebok Vegas Summer League, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Rivers is going to have to find room in next year’s rotation for second year small forward Justin Reed. Reed is not the flashiest player on the summer squad (that title would have to go to either Tony Allen or rookie phenom Gerald Green), but he is easily the most consistent. The stat sheet will say that he had 1 block and 4 rebounds to go with his 17 points, but in Vegas, the stat sheet does, in fact, lie, and Reed has also been the C’s best defender.
A modest Reed said of his play, “I had a lot of mental breakdowns, but as long as you have good teammates, they help you. When you have great teammates, they make a lot things easy for me.”
Tony Allen had a bounce back game after submitting a meager 6 points and 1 rebound when the Celtics played the Mavs during Friday’s afternoon game. Allen finished with 16 points and was back to his aggressive, frenetic self that made him a starter halfway through his rookie campaign. Rookie Ryan Gomes had his best game so far, submitting 14 points and 11 rebounds while displaying his uncanny nose for the ball and high basketball IQ.
Gomes summarized his play so far in the summer league as follows: “I think I’m doing well. Just trying to run the floor, play defense, get rebounds. You know, do the little things.” When asked about his knack for gobbling up so many loose rebounds, Gomes simplified things by saying, “I just try to go after every ball.”
Green had a strong game, mixing his high flying drives with accurate outside shooting, scoring 13 points and going 2 for 3 from outside the arc. Point guard Delonte West was again on his stat-hating game with a quiet 2 points and 3 assists, but the team looked fluid with him at the helm. Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins struggled, with Jefferson chipping in 6 point and 3 boards and Perkins adding 2 points and 2 rebounds in 15 foul plagued minutes.