After the Celtics knocked off the Grizzlies 113-87 on Thursday, Memphis was able to turn the tables, winning Saturday’s matchup in the NBA Summer League Quarterfinals 94-88.
Here are three takeaways from Boston’s Summer League loss:
Tremont Waters
Waters played in Saturday’s game despite news of his father passing on Thursday.
Everything about Carsen Edwards
By and large, Robert Williams has done what was expected of him at Summer League. Tacko Fall has been better than expected. Grant Williams and Tremont Waters have played well. But Edwards has been the most impressive Celtics player in Las Vegas.
His persistence on the offensive end is why the Celtics were in Saturday’s game up until Javonte Green’s costly turnover. The result of the game isn’t the focus; it’s that Edwards didn’t give up on what’s really a meaningless game.
At the same time, the major concern I had with Edwards coming in was his defense. He’s shown his offensive skills are as advertised, maybe even a little better — and he’s clearly a volume shooter. On the defensive end, though, it seems like he’s constantly getting beat off the dribble too often. Edwards’ height puts him at a disadvantage as it is, but if he can’t keep opponents in front of him, that will limit how much he can play.
Grant Williams’ touch around the rim
There was a play in Thursday’s win over Memphis where Williams made a quick move in the paint and got a good look at the basket, but his shot went way too high off the glass and completely missed the rim. He did the same thing off of a spin move on the block in Saturday’s game.
Yet there were a couple plays later in the game where he finished in the middle of the paint, even though his shots were heavily contested.
Williams still has plenty of time to work on things before the season starts, but it’s something worth addressing.