The Celtics look to end on a high note as they play their final summer league game against the Orlando Magic.
This is the fifth and final game for both the Celtics and Magic. The Magic played last Thursday while the Celtics are in back-to-back games. The Celtics have only won one game, over Lakers. The Magic have lost all 4 games they have played so far.
The Celtics are coached by assistant coach Tony Dobbins, who has been an assistant with the Celtics since 2020, under Brad Stevens, Ime Udoka and Joe Mazzulla. He served as the video coordinator for the Celtics during the 2019–20 season. The Magic are coached by Dylan Murphy. Murphy was Orlando’s basketball operations analyst from 2018-20. He has been an assistant coach there for the past 3 seasons. He will coach their G-League team next season.
As with any summer league, it is difficult to predict a starting lineup as coaches look to try different lineups and combinations of players and they want to get an idea of what each player brings to the table. I’ve listed the starting lineup for each team from their first Summer League game. For the most part, evaluating players to see which ones might fit the roster is more important to these coaches than winning games.
Celtics roster
JD Davison #20
Kamar Baldwin #26
Jordan Walsh #27
Jay Scrubb #29
Mychal Mulder #37
Justin Bean #38
Vincent Valerio-Bodin #41
Sam Griesel #45
Olek Balcerowski #50
Udoka Azubuike #51
Reggie Kisonlal #55
Justin Champagne #99
Delano Banton #43
Starters last game
PG: JDDavison
SG: Delano Banton
SF: Justin Champagne
PF: Jordan Walsh
C: Olek Balcerowski
Chief advisor
Tony Dobbins
Players to watch
Jordan Walsh
Walsh was the Celtics’ 38th pick in the 2023 draft. He is 6’7″ with a 7’3″ wingspan. He averaged 7.1 ppg for Arkansas last season on 43% shooting. He can defend 1-5 and with and is selfless and hardworking. He just signed a 4-year, $7.6 million contract with the Celtics. Over the first 4 games, he averaged 17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals.
Jay Scrubb
Scrubb was the 55th pick of the Brooklyn Nets in 2020. He has played for the LA Clippers, Agua Caliente Clippers, Orlando Magic and Lakeland Magic over the past 3 seasons. Through the first 4 games, he averaged 16.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Delano Banton
Banton was the 46th pick in the 2021 draft by Toronto Raptors. He played 2 years for the Raptors and just signed a 2-year contract with the Celtics. He averaged 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. game with the Raptors last season while shooting 42.3% overall, 29.4% from 3 and 70.8% from the line. He missed the first two Summer League games with a finger injury, but averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the final two.
Magic Roster
Anthony Black
Caleb Houston
Kevon Harris
Jett Howard
Campbell Fabrics
JC Butler
Amauri Hardy
Oh this Toney
DJWilson
Tyler Hall
Quinndary Wetherspoon
Drake Jeffries
Elijah Hughes
Dexter Dennis
Robert Baker II
Malcolm Hill
Montez Mathis
Jamal Bey
Malik Ellison
Davion Warren
Kai Sotto
Starters last game
PG: Campbell Fabrics
SG: Quinndary Weatherspoon
SF: Oh that Toney
PF: Dexter Dennis
C: DJ Wilson
Chief advisor
Dylan Murphy
Players to watch
Caleb Houston
Houston was the 32nd pick in the 2022 draft by the Magic. He played for Orlando in last year’s Summer League. He is averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists for Orlando so far.
Jett Howard
Howard was the 11th pick in the 2023 draft by the Orlando Magic. He is the son of former NBA player Juwan Howard. He is averaging 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.03 steals per game for the Magic in the Summer League.
Anthony Black
Black was the 6th pick in the 2023 draft by the Orlando Magic. Black is 6-foot-7 and right now can already play three positions. He is Black is a high basketball IQ, highly versatile player that you can plug into pretty much any kind of lineup. He is averaging 11 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. match.
Keys to the game
Shooting – The Celtics will be looking for players who can shoot from the outside and who can also finish at the basket. They will also look for players who can support the wings and point guard spots. The Celtics scoring has been up and down, but at times they have struggled to score. Hopefully someone will step up in this game and have a good scoring game.
Defense – The Celtics have put a premium on playing defense in the past, and they will look for which Summer Celtics fit that mold. JD Davison has already said he plans to show he can be a dog on the defensive end, and Jordan Walsh is a very good defender as well. The players will have to show they can play tough defense if they hope to earn a spot on the Celtics or a two-way contract.
Watch the ball – The Celtics average 19.3 turnovers per game. game, while the Magic average just 17.0 turnovers per game. game. The Celtics need to do a better job of taking care of the ball.
Return – Rebounding is always important. The Celtics were out rebounded 38-22 in their game against the Heat. They did much better in the second game, outscoring the Wizards 43-31. They outshot the Lakers 52-39. Celtics out returned Knicks 36-31. The Celtics need to continue to crash the boards if they want to win this game.
The X-Factors
It’s Summer League – While teams want to win, every single one of these teams is pretty much cobbled together with undrafted players, tight ends and G-League players. They have had limited practice time for the most part and so it is hard to tell how each team will play and which teams will dominate. One thing for sure is that all players are trying to get noticed and earn a spot on a roster and then we may see some players surprise us.
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