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Celtics Summer League Retrospective

It looks like Glen Davis holds the promise of being the guy I hope he'll be, Gerald Green is still learning how to play basketball (but concentrating on the right thing: defense), Brandon Wallace could be a little like Tayshaun Prince, and Leon Powe is a better player than I've given him credit for.
I think the Celtics are going to be much better on D next year than they have been for a long time.
Here's a big quote from Sean Grande's wrap up of the summer blog (go to Celtics.com to get the whole thing):
...A very strong week for Rajon Rondo, particularly on defense and on-court leadership. As it stands on July 14, an awful lot could be asked of Rajon this winter. Finding that next level isn't an option, it's going to be a requirement...The out-of-nowhere emergence of Brandon Wallce, so impressive away from the ball, and long and active, that he lived the Summer League dream, signing his a two-year NBA contract next to a box of Lay's Potato Chips downstairs in the media room...The spectacular arrival of Posh and Becks, resplendent amid the hundreds of paparazi Oh wait, that was in Los Angeles, scratch that. (Ladies, be honest with me for a second, he may be the Sexiest Man Alive or whatever, but tell me that voice doesn't kill it for you. It has to, right?)...The late-week emergence of Glen Davis was impressive (12.0ppg, 9.8rpg for the week, 17.4 rebounds/48 minutes). Almost as if he moved very quickly along the learning curve, cutting down his fouls-per-minute dramatically over the final two. He was the best player on the floor in the finale this afternoon (6 blocks in addition to a 19-14 double-double). And he looks more and more like one of those guys. The guys who've figured out how to play in the post despite being undersized.
Leon Powe showed once again how much heart is the great equalizer in the paint, Malik Rose has made a lot of money in this league with that game. And neither has the offensive skill set Glen Davis does...Gabe Pruitt's best half may have come last night against Milwaukee. With Rondo on the sidelines, he struggled "commanding" the team in the first half, which is what Armond Hill was looking for. But a strong second half, quarterbacking a come-from-behind-win and punctuating it with the baseline drive and jam that made Sportscenter...Of course, there will be questions about Gerald Green. The reality is, there's an expectation as a third-year player here in Vegas, the numbers will come easly, especially for an offensive prodigy like Gerald, and obviously they didn't. 29.8% from the floor will raise some chatroom eyebrows I have little doubt. But, and stop me if you've heard this one before, but he's still just 21...What you want to see from "vets" in summer league, is what I talked about here the other day, the feel that they're varsity players playing against the JV. That's an indication of the leap, which means that maybe Leon Powe's desert fortnight may be the best news of all. The C's leading scorer this week, Leon's one of the great reminders that the draft is a snapshot of the horse race, but there are so many ways to improve at this level, if you bring your mind and heart.


Complete change of subject: I took a long bike ride today, and later went for a similarly long walk, so even though neither one of those activities rates highly as a workout, I think I did a good job of burning some calories in a low-key way.

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