The Boston Celtics have played only three NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas. But with the team in the middle of a two-day break, it\u2019s time for an annual tradition: overreacting to a tiny sample of exhibition basketball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are five over-caffeinated takeaways from Boston\u2019s first week in Vegas:\u00a0<\/p>\n
1. Jordan Walsh getting ejected was the best thing that could have happened to him.<\/p>\n
Look, getting booted early<\/a> from your best game of the summer is less than ideal. And nearly taking out Boston’s entire braintrust while yeeting an opponent into the first row was risky, too. <\/p>\n But Monday\u2019s ejection was a reminder for the 21-year-old Walsh of the sort of intensity that can keep him on the floor during real games.<\/p>\n Walsh isn\u2019t dominating Summer League in the way you might hope a Year 3 player would, but we have to remind ourselves he\u2019s still the second-youngest player on Boston’s summer roster. He\u2019s been at his best when getting physical. Walsh has ventured into the post for some bully ball and shown good ability finishing through contact on drives. <\/p>\n After missing his first 22 3-point attempts last year, he\u2019s more consistently knocked down shots from distance this time around, shooting 35.7 percent on 4.7 3-point attempts per game this summer.<\/p>\n If Walsh can harness the sort of intensity that Pelle Larsson summoned from him Monday night, then we think he can carve out a more consistent role. It\u2019s the least surprising thing in the world that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was a fan of Walsh getting tossed<\/a>. He\u2019d probably be an even bigger fan of Walsh playing with more consistency — and controlled aggression — during the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n 2. Baylor Scheierman\u2019s TD pass from the floor was a road map to consistent time.<\/p>\n Scheierman\u2019s 3-point shooting hasn\u2019t been great in Vegas (21.4 percent on 9.3 attempts per game). But much like Walsh, we think Scheierman\u2019s best basketball has come when he\u2019s simply playing hard and letting his basketball IQ take over.<\/p>\n There was one sequence in the first half against Miami<\/a> where Scheierman dove to the floor, then showed off the arm that threw for 3,942 yards and 59 touchdowns as a senior quarterback at Aurora High School in Nebraska<\/a> (watch below). Scheierman is averaging 7.0 assists per game in Vegas and continues to showcase his playmaking abilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Not that we didn\u2019t know Scheierman’s potential as a passer already. The 24-year-old had a couple of Rajon Rondo-esque dimes late in\u00a0his rookie season. <\/p>\n If the shot is going to be streaky, then Scheierman needs to bring value in other areas. We\u2019d like to see him gamble less on defense and just let those natural instincts guide him. His court vision and ability to deliver on-target passes might be his biggest strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Hugo Gonzalez needs consistent minutes in his rookie season.<\/p>\n Mazzulla is an admitted rookie hater. He told Scheierman (and the since-departed Anton Watson) as much during their first NBA seasons. But in a season where Boston\u2019s depth is depleted and expectations will be tempered, rookie Hugo Gonzalez could really benefit from learning on the job.<\/p>\n Yes, Gonzalez is only 19. But he\u2019s been a pro in Spain for more than a half decade. He spent all of last season surrounded by former NBA veterans. His two appearances at Summer League have shown there will be plenty of ups and downs. Gonzalez getting a tough whistle in his second Summer League game prepped him for some of those impending frustrations.<\/p>\n But we like how hard Gonzalez plays. He crashes the glass relentlessly from the perimeter, and will basically launch himself into an opponent that tries to cut on the other end of the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFull game highlights from rookie Hugo Gonzalez’s Summer League debut with the Boston Celtics vs. the Memphis Grizzlies.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n