Boston Celtics (2-2) vs Philadelphia 76ers (3-1) Las Vegas Summer League Game #5 7/21/24

The Celtics will face their division foe in their 5th game at the Las Vegas Summer League. The 76ers played in the Salt Lake City Summer League, coming away with a 1-2 record there. They have a 3-1 record so far in Las Vegas. These two teams last met in Summer League in 2021 when the Celtics won 100-80. In that year, Romeo Langford played for the Celtics and Jaden Springer played for the 76ers.

As always in Summer League, it’s very hard to predict who will start as coaches try to mix and match players and to experiment with different lineups. After being the Celtics best player against the Heat, Jaden Springer sat out next 3 games. After being the Celtics best player against the Lakers, Neemias Queta did not dress for the next 2 games. In their last game, Davison, Peterson, Queta, Ramsey and Springer all sat out.

The Celtics have fielded similar starting lineups in their first 3 games with Davison, Scheierman, and Walsh starting all 3 games. Springer started against the heat and Peterson started against the Lakers. Queta started the first two games. In their 4th game, they started Scheierman, Walsh, and Watson along with House and Tillie. The 76ers have used the same starting line up of Dowtin, McCain, Council, Edwards and Bona in all 4 of their games so far.

D.J. MacLeay is coaching the Celtics Summer League team. The Celtics hired MacLeay in 2021 as a player enhancement coach on Ime Udoka’s staff. In July 2022 he was promoted to assistant coach. He stayed with the Celtics as an assistant after Udoka left. Assistant coach Matt Brase is coaching the 76ers. He has been an assistant with Philadelphia since 2023 but has been an assistant with for various G League teams since 2008. He was the coach of the 2013 GLeague champions. He is also the head coach of Haiti’s National team.

Boston Celtics Roster
Tyler Cook
JD Davison
Tristan Enaruna
Ron Harper, Jr
Jaelen House
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta
Jahmi’us Ramsey
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Killian Tillie
Jordan Walsh
Anton Watson

Head Coach
D.J. MacLeay

Starters Last Game
Jaelen House
Baylor Scheierman
Jordan Walsh
Anton Watson
Killian Tillie

Players to Watch

Anton Watson
Once again, we should keep an eye on Anton Watson. Watson was the 54th pick in the draft and should at least get a 2 way contract but has played well enough for the Celtics to sign him to the 15th roster spot. He rarely makes mistakes and is usually in the right place at the right time, especially on defense. He is a good rebounder, plays good defense and hustles. Against the Mavericks he finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks while shooting 45.5% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.

Baylor Scheierman
Scheierman was the Celtics 30th pick in this year’s draft. He is known as a shooter but his performance in the first 3 games proves that he is a versatile player with great court vision. He struggled with his shot in a couple of games, but picked up his defense and played hard in other areas. One of the highlights of the game game against LA was when he dove into the 2nd row to save a ball from going out of bounds. That kind of hustle should earn him playing time. He finished the game against Dallas with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 62.5% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.

Jaelen House
Jaelen is the son of Celtics champion and commentator Eddie House. Jaelen House went undrafted in this year’s draft, despite a strong senior season at New Mexico. His quickness and his ability to create shots make him fun to watch. in his first start for the Summer Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists while shooting 36.8% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc.

Philadelphia 76ers Roster
Jeff Dowtin
Ricky Council IV
David Jones
Justin Edwards
Jared McCain
RJ Hampton
Keve Aluma
Darius Days
Adem Bona
Tony Bradley
Romeo Langford
Justin Powell
Max Fiedler
Judah Mintz
Jordan Tucker
Jaylen Sims

Head Coach
Matt Brase

Starters Last Game
Jeff Dowtin
Jared McCain
Ricky Council IV
Justin Edwards
Adem Bona

Players to Watch

Ricky Council IV
Council went undrafted in 2023 but was signed by the 76ers to a 2 way contract and played with their GLeague team last season. In April, he was signed to a regular contract. His his last game, he finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc.

Jeff Dowtin
Jeff Dowtin went undrafted in 2020 and since then has played for Orlando, Golden State, Milwaukee, Toronto and Philadelphia on their GLeague teams. In his last game for the 76ers in Summer League, he finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 37.5% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc.

David Jones
Jones went undrafted out of Memphis and the 76ers have signed him to a 2 way contract. With Memphis, he shot 38% from deep on 6.5 attempts per night. In the 76ers last game, he came off the bench to finish with 15 poionts, 6 rebounds and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc.

Keys to the Game
Defense – Just as defense is the key to every game in the regular season and in the playoffs, it is also the key to winning in the Summer League. In their first game in Las Vegas, the Celtics allowed the Heat to shoot 61.5% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. Against the Lakers, they clamped down on defense and held the Lakers to 36.4% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc. They held the undefeated Hornets to 43% from the field and 28% on threes. They allowed the Mavericks to shoot 50.7% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc. The pattern is clear, play defense and win, slack off on defense and lose.

Rebound – Along with defense, rebounding is always a key to winning. The Celtics out-rebounded the Heat 35-29 in their first game. The Celtics out-rebounded the Lakers 38-35. They were out-rebounded 37-39 against the Hornets and out-rebounded the Mavericks 39-36. The Celtics need to continue to crash the boards in this game if they want to get a win.

Improvement – In Summer League, improvement and evaluation are more important than winning. Both coaches are looking for improvement from returning players and they are evaluating all of the players on the roster for possible spots on the roster or 2 way contracts. The Celtics saw improvement in several players in their first 3 games and hopefully will see even more improvement in this game. Jordan Walsh has struggled with his shot in Summer League so far and it would be good to see him have a good game in this one.

X-Factors
Chemistry and Experience
The 76ers have played 3 more games than the Celtics as they played in Salt Lake City. The 76ers have 1 player with 6 years experience, 2 players with 4 years experience (including former Celtic, Romeo Langford), 2 players with 1 year experience and 11 rookies. The Celtics have 1 player with 3 years experience, 4 players with 2 years experience, 1 player with 1 year experience and 7 rookies.