Celtics

Anton Watson shines as Celtics beat Hornets in Las Vegas: 7 takeaways

Baylor Scheierman couldn’t find the range from three for the second straight game.

By Tom Westerholm

July 18, 2024

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The Celtics rallied to beat the Hornets 89-84 at the Las Vegas Summer League on Wednesday, improving to 2-1 in their Summer League slate. 

Here are some takeaways. 

1. Of all the Celtics’ prospects, Anton Watson has felt the most like a future rotation piece so far, and Wednesday’s win was the first game that backed that up statistically. Watson scored a team-high 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting, and he launched nine 3-pointers, knocking down three of them. He added five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

The 3-pointers were an encouraging sign – Watson came into the league with decent small-sample-size numbers, but the Celtics are not a small-sample-size 3-point shooting team. The organization encouraged him to let his shot fly, and he has done so with enthusiasm.  Perhaps best of all, Watson’s shot looks easy and comfortable – especially from the corners. 

Defensively, Watson’s instincts are as advertised. He has a good sense of where to be within the play developing around him. He’s also strong – a grown man at 23 who plays like he’s closer to NBA-ready than several of his Summer League teammates. 

This Celtics’ Summer League team is all about the margins. They, of course, are not hoping to find a player better than Derrick White or Jrue Holiday to move into the starting lineup. They aren’t even really looking to supplant Sam Hauser or Payton Pritchard. Rather, they’re hoping to find prospects who can fill out the end of a roster and – best case scenario – perhaps start to fill in the spots behind their rotation players when some inevitably are priced out of Boston. 

After all, this perfect iteration of a basketball team can only last so long under the new CBA. Nobody expects Watson to be a Horford replacement, but if he could effectively back up Horford’s replacement, that would be a wildly successful use of a second-round pick. 

2. Baylor Scheierman couldn’t find the range from three for the second straight game, finishing 1-for-8. When he hits shots, he looks like the best shooter in the world – spotting up and swiveling his shoulders into place before burying a 3-pointer that barely moves the net. 

After a hot start in the first game, however, Scheierman has cooled off and is looking to find the range again. Glass half full: His defense looks a little better than advertised, and he’s an excellent rebounder, which are both things that should supplement his scoring. 

Glass half-empty, of course, is that the shooting is the main thing. Still, Scheierman has plenty of time to break out of his slump in Las Vegas and set a good tone heading into training camp.

3. JD Davison, who went 4-for-6 with eight points and four assists, is a somewhat polarizing player. 

Detractors note his turnovers and his lack of consistent 3-point shooting in Maine. He has, however, mastered the art of the pick-and-roll lob, and he shows plenty of potential as a drive-and-kick guard. He has shot the 3 well in Las Vegas, and his athleticism was never in question. 

Still, Davison’s path to the Celtics’ rotation is dimly lit at best  – if he shows a lot of progress this season, could he slot into a Payton Pritchard-esque role as a back-up guard if Pritchard is moved up into the rotation by a trade? 

But Davison, who is in his third two-way season with the Celtics, also hasn’t had many opportunities to make a case for himself elsewhere. This season is crucial for the 21-year-old, who needs to both impress and play within the Celtics’ system enough to give himself a chance.

4. Filed under “Players Who Presumably Won’t Make the Celtics But Seem Pretty Good:” Jahmi’us Ramsey, who scored 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Ramsey has NBA-level physical traits, and he can score in a variety of ways. He also dished out five assists and snuck up to absolutely demolish one Charlotte 3-point attempt. 

Ramsey doesn’t make a ton of sense as a roster flier, but he looks like he could help the right team.

5. Jordan Walsh makes plays on the defensive end that pop, but he looks like he’s trying to do too much offensively. He could probably earn himself some spot minutes this season by being a hyper-competitive defender while attempting to develop into a valuable 3-and-D role player, but that’s far down the road. For now, seeing Walsh force a defensive stop on two or three straight possessions is more likely to convince the Celtics to give him a shot. 

6. Jaelen House (Eddie’s son!) could be a fun addition to the Maine Celtics if he needs somewhere to play. He shot just 2-for-8 from the floor Wednesday, but he was hyper-competitive defensively against opposing ball-handlers. 

7. In case we weren’t clear, don’t expect the Celtics to fill their last roster spot with a Summer League player – the team carried 14 roster spots deep into the season last year before signing Neemias Queta to a longer deal, and Brad Stevens all but confirmed to reporters that the team would do the same this year. 

“We’ll see how the next few months play themselves with regard to people’s availability,” Stevens said. “Obviously Kristaps [Porzingis] is going to have a long rehab process ahead of him and we have to determine what’s the best need for our team in that 15th spot.”

The Celtics return to action at 4:30 p.m. against the Mavericks.