Summer League: Celtics 87, Jazz 56

That’s right folks, the first summer league game is in the books and it is a W.  Before I go through some minor observations I made using the choppy online video feed and the box score, let me first nonsequitor into the world of Orlando Summer League for a few hundred words.

I got to say I was stoked to see that Celtics.com provided a link to watch the game for free.  However, my elation was soon dashed when I was forced to suffer through the first 3 minutes of the guys the Magic got to commentate.  If you haven’t listened to or watched an Orlando Summer League game than you may not know about Dante and Galante (Pictured Below).

After only a few minutes, I had to look them up because I really thought they were interns that would soon be fired.  They were annoying, irreverent, and irrelevant.  The two biggest qualms I had with their broadcast was their lack of actually calling the game and how really unfunny they were. A few minutes into the game, and I kid you not, I get a text from my buddy Dev that read: “I don’t know if you’re watching the summer league game, but these commentators are so [censored]ing annoying.”

For the duration of the game Celtics fans were subjected terrible wannabe-Seth Rogan-esque dialogue and jokes and Will Farrell quotes.  I equated it to meeting your friend’s College Buddy- when you first meet him, he’s funny, outgoing and an hour later you’re saying to yourself, “Ok guy, I saw that movie, you’re not funny.”  They also mocked meeting Rajon Rondo, sarcastically saying that he was a “delight” to talk to, trashed the Red Sox, and reminded fans of how the Celtics were beat by the Magic in the playoffs.  Now I won’t get into why you can’t gloat over that win, but I will get into why you can’t trash the Red Sox and Rocco Baldelli:

Number two in the ESPN Power Rankings and those numbers are for the Sox second utility outfielder?  Can you see why I thought these were interns?

But they weren’t.  They were just unabashed Magic fans, not NBA or basketball fans, just Magic fans.  The whole schtick was to get on people’s nerves.  If you don’t believe me, check out their promo video here.  The closest comparison I could draw between these guys and someone in the same vein that represents the Celtics is Tommy Heinsohn.  Except that’s not really a fair comparison because while Tommy is also a unabashed Celtics fan and acts like Kendrick Perkins whenever a Celtics player gets called for a foul, he also loves the game and is a former player and coach.  The only thing these guys have going for them is a potential podium finish in a Hedo Turkoglu look-a-like contest (can’t take credit for that one, someone emailed it to them; hilarious).

What bothered me the most about the broadcast, aside from being Rick Rolled at half time, was their irreverence.  They continuously made fun of players trying really hard to make a team or at least get their name out there.  In a time where guys like Mikki Moore and Chris Andersen can get NBA contracts why wouldn’t a player who has made it to Summer League feel like they have a chance.  Last summer I worked at Tufts University and working out in their gym was a guy named C.J. Vick.  He played F/C in college for a smaller school and because of his slight build and an over all raw game, he didn’t get a lot of looks from the NBA.  But he continued to work hard and develop his game.  He developed guard skills and put on a little more weight and after some time in Europe, he earned an NBDL Contract last summer. He was proud, and he should have been.

The same should go for these guys playing for their careers in Summer League.  They don’t need two hacks making fun of on bad pass or a missed shot (although the players will probably never even hear these two guys).

Aside from being annoying and irreverent, the boradcast wasn’t all unfunny.  Things got hilarious when they read some of the emails they were getting out loud.  Some of my favorites included:

“My dog is even getting annoyed by you guys and he only speaks Spanish.”

and when referring to a time where they vowed not to speak for thirty-seconds:

“The cameras panned to you for that thirty-seconds of silence and you should be ashamed.”

Great stuff.  Please listeners, if you are funny, keep emailing, I have to watch so I can write about the game and you make it much more enjoyable.

With that said, oh yeah, there was a game played yesterday.

Some bright spots: The score suggests a great game by the Celtics Summer League guys but unfortunately, they don’t deserve all the credit.  The Jazz played really poorly.

• That said, J.R. Giddens played the entire game with endless energy.  Every one-on-one move he made, he was a step quicker than anyone on the floor easily getting to the basket a few times for some athletic finishes.

• Giddens and Bill Walker also showed their improved range by each hitting a three.  Both threes were off the dribble and both only attempted one which also shows me that they’re not just chucking up bombs.

• Speaking of bomb chuckers, Nick Fazekas and Chris Lofton each connected on fifty percent of the threes they took and Lofton looked very fluid (Fazekas looked stiff and unathletic).

• In the first half, Gabe Pruitt looked like the most polished vet, taking care of the ball and making correct decisions.  He drove when he should have, he passed when he should have and he took good shots.

• Lester Hudson, showed off his offensive arsenal by showing a fearless attitude and a sweet stroke.
• Kevin Rogers was a beast defensively and had a great midrange jumper.

• Bryan Mullins also worked extremely hard and was very quick on his feet.  He reminded me of JJ Barea.

Some dim spots: Robert Swift was slower than Michael Sweetney and Sweetney looked bigger than ‘Tractor’ Traylor, which is disappointing because I want both of these guys to be good so desperately.  I remember watching Michael Sweetney at Georgetown and just being dominant (some of my other favorite college players of all time include Craig Smith, Lonnie Baxter, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, and DeJuan Blair; as you can see I have a soft spot for huge/ undersized power forwards).

• Bill Walker’s 14 points were very quiet and I can’t decide whether this is a good thing.  As a basketball fan, I want to see some thunderous dunks and facials, but as a Celtics fans I want to see a quiet contributor doing the right things.
• Nick Fazekas, also a favorite college player of mine (I also liked Adam Haluska and Mike Gansey in case you’re wondering) looked just a slow as Robert Swift.
• Coby Karl didn’t play even after some years in the league, which leads me to wonder if he’s any good or just riding connections.

We’ll see if any of these players play any differently in the rest of the games, but for right now, this is what I saw.  The following are quick references of the box score and David Thorpe’s game Tweets:

Box Score:

Tweets:

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