2010 Summer League Post Ups

Friday, July 9 - Nets vs. Celtics

Final: Nets 86, Celtics 68: Box Score

The Celtics hung around in the third period thanks to Harangody, who used a solid quarter to surpass Derrick Favors for the game-high in points and rebounds. He scored eight in the quarter to bring his total to 18, while his rebound total has jumped up to eight.

His performance, along with a strong showing from poised point guard Rodney Green (eight points in the quarter), helped the C's cut the lead to 11 after three.

With so many players missing from Boston's regular roster from the past four days, other players were bound to get new opportunities. One of those guys is Ryan Wittman, who played sparingly through the first four games. With extended minutes, he finally found his stroke in the third and fourth quarters. His eight points in the half were a high for the week, but they weren't enough to help the Celtics overcome a nearly-full New Jersey roster. Favors picked up his game again in the fourth and upped his numbers to 23 points and 11 boards, which both finised as game highs. The battle between he and Harangody down low was certainly the emphasis of this contest.

In the end, though, New Jersey's fresher legs held true and the Nets were able to pull out an 86-68 victory. The loss left the Celtics with a 1-4 record on the week.

First Half: Nets 44, Celtics 30

Many say that the real summer league games take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Orlando, and they're probably right. On Monday, players are still learning their teammates' tendencies and getting used to their team's schemes. On Friday, rosters look a shell of themselves, as many players take off early to participate on other squads in the Las Vegas league.

Boston was hit and hit hard by the Vegas league, as the C's took the court today with only seven players, and not a single power forward other than Luke Harangody. Everyone's going to play big minutes today, many of which will be out of position.

The first quarter was relatively sluggish for Boston, as they shot the ball poorly and scored only 13 points. New Jersey managed to shoot 50 percent and took a 17-13 lead into the second period.

The second period was all about Derrick Favors, who was chosen as the No. 3 pick in this year's draft by the Nets. He was absolutely dominant, making everything from hook shots to thunderous dunks while helping the Nets open up a 44-30 lead heading into halftime. Favors scored 13 points in the quarter, which is by far the game high, and also has a game-high five boards.

Luke Harangody has team-highs of 10 points and four rebounds for the C's, while Oliver Lafayette has a game-high five assists.

- Marc D'Amico

Thursday, July 8 - Pacers vs. Celtics

Final: Pacers 86, Celtics 85: Box Score

The Celtics' offense slowed down in the third, notching only 11 points, but due to the huge halftime lead they could afford to miss a few shots -- especially when they continued to force the Pacers into misses, too.

Harangody was the only Celtic to score more than two points in the period, notching six, and Boston was outscored 19-11 in the quarter. But Indiana needed 22 shots to get those 19 points, as they continued their shooting woes and made only six of those attempts.

The pace of the game changed in the fourth, though, as the Pacers implemented a full court press after every made basket and half court traps when the C's got the ball after a miss. That pressure forced Boston into six turnovers in the first 4:24 of the final quarter, allowing the Pacers to slowly trim the lead down and make this a game.

A lead that had once ballooned to 27 points was cut all the way down to two on separate occasions in the final minutes of the game. The Celtics called timeout after Magnum Rolle nailed a jumper from the left elbow with 1:06 that brought the score to 83-81, but the Celtics inexplicably were forced into a five-second violation on the inbound play.

Luckily, at the other end, their defense held true and Oliver Lafayette forced Paul George into a turnover, which led to two free throws from Jaycee Carroll to put the C's ahead by four with 51.8 seconds left on the clock.

On the ensuing Indiana possession, George made a driving layup to slice the lead in half. And his work wasn't done there. Oliver Lafayette took the ball up court for Boston and, amidst a pressure-packed Indiana defense, committed the Celtics' 25th turnover of the game. The Pacers advanced the ball past half court and called timeout with 8.7 seconds remaining.

Out of the timeout, Indiana got the ball in to George in the left corner and he drove along the baseline for a the biggest play of the game, a conventional three-point play off of a layup in the paint with 4.7 seconds left on the clock. Those points put the Pacers ahead 86-85, and without a timeout left in the holster, Boston was unable to advance the ball and get a shot off before the buzzer.

First Half: Pacers 31, Celtics 58

After blowing out the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday afternoon, the Boston Celtics picked up right where they left off today against the Indiana Pacers.

Luke Harangody showed no ill-effects from his stitched up left cheek, as he came out firing in the first quarter and recorded game-highs of nine points and three rebounds in the period. The big man out of Notre Dame is really showing a polished offensive game this week, and it was on full display in the first. He hit everything from turnaround, fade-away jumpers to 25-foot 3-pointers. The C's certainly have to be happy with what they're seeing.

The Celtics were in control at both ends, shooting 63.2 percent from the floor while limiting the Pacers to only 30.8 percent shooting.

In the second quarter, the sharpshooting combo of Oliver Lafayette and Jaycee Carroll took over to help the C's open up a 27-point halftime lead. Lafayette already has four steals (three in the second quarter alone) and nine points. Carroll put the pressure on the Pacers and wound up making six of his seven free throw attempts in the quarter, bringing his point total to 11.

Look for Harangody to check back into the game and get some solid minutes in the second half after playing only one minute in the second quarter.

- Marc D'Amico

Wednesday, July 7 - Bobcats vs. Celtics

Final: Bobcats 71, Celtics 92: Box Score

The third quarter was the DeShawn Sims and Ryan Thompson show, as the two scored 11 and nine points, respectively, in the period while Luke Harangody and the regular perimeter players rested on the bench. The two players combined to score Boston's first 14 points of the third quarter.

Harangody, who left the game with 1:08 remaining in the second quarter, did not return to the game until the 5:11 mark of the fourth quarter after being nailed under his left eye by Alexis Ajinca while hustling for a rebound. Harangody, who's certainly not one to shy away from physical play, returned to the game with a patch on that left cheek and scored one more basket, leaving his point total at 12 in 20:22 of playing time.

Boston rested most of its other regulars in the third period as well, as Matt Janning and Jaycee Carroll did not play in the second half until only 1:50 remained in the third period. When those regulars did return, with the lead hovering in the mid-20s, they were able to push it all the way up to as many as 30 while cruising on to the 23-point win.

Janning scored a game-high 20 points off the bench, and Sims was right behind him with 18. Boston finished with the game with the top three scorers, as no Bobcat finished with more than 12 points and Charlotte shot only 37.5 percent as a team. The C's, however, scored with ease from start to finish and shot a blistering 53.8 percent from the field and scored at least 20 points in each of the four quarters.

First Half: Bobcats 28, Celtics 44

More of the same in the first half of Boston's third game of the Orlando Pro Summer League. Tony Gaffney was the recipient of the opening tip for the third time in three games -- and finished it with a slam dunk this time -- and the Celtics dominated the first half, much like the first two games of their week.

The first quarter was all about Celtics basketball. The C's played with efficient offense and swarming defense, leading to a 21-10 lead after the first.

Semih Erden and Luke Harangody were Boston's best players, with Erden crashing the glass for four early rebounds and Harangody splashing two 3s en route to his game-high eight points in the first.

Charlotte shot only 18.8 percent in the first (3-of-16) and did not have a single player make more than one field goal.

The second quarter, however, was all about Matt Janning. He dropped 10 points in the second on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and also upped his rebound total to six, which is tied with Erden for the game-high.

The only negative that came from the first 20 minutes of this game is the fact that Harangody was nailed under his left eye as he attempted to poke away a rebound from Alexis Ajinca. As he popped up off of the floor, blood began to flow from that area and he was forced to head back to the locker room for treatment. He hasn't been seen since, and the assumption is that he's getting stitches to the gash as we speak.

- Marc D'Amico

Tuesday, July 6 - 76ers vs. Celtics

Final: 76ers 86, Celtics 69: Box Score

After both teams scored at least 20 points in the third period (21 for Philadelphia, 20 for Boston) -- the first time that occurred in tonight's game -- the 76ers took a 60-53 lead into the fourth quarter. Neither team could continue that scoring in the early moments of the fourth, but Philadelphia eventually found its stride and ran away with the win.

Both teams came out and began the fourth quarter with great defensive intensity, as the teams totaled just nine points over the first 5:38 of the period. While the C's continued to struggle for the remainder of the quarter, Philadelphia found its rhythm behind the play of Marreese Speights, who notched eight points and two boards in the fourth.

Meanwhile, the Celtics simply couldn't put the ball in the basket. Ryan Wittman, who scored all of his six points in the final period, was the only Celtic to make more than one basket in the fourth. Boston finished the game shooting only 41.9 percent from the field and went 1-of-11 from downtown.

While the C's did lose by a wide margin, there were some positives to pull from this game. Luke Harangody had another strong performance despite not shooting the ball very well. He tied for the team-high with 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting, but the best news of the day was that he dominated the glass with a game-high 12 rebounds.

In addition to his solid play, Boston continued to play sound defense for the majority of the game, as Philadelphia hovered in the low-40s in shooting percentage until they caught fire down the stretch.

Standing at 0-2 on the week, the C's will search for their first win of their summer league at 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon against the Charlotte Bobcats.

First Half: 76ers 39, Celtics 33

The Celtics jumped out to another early lead this afternoon for the second time in as many games during their brief summer league experience in Orlando. Tony Gaffney put in his most productive minutes of the week thus far and helped Boston to a 15-3 lead over the 76ers early in the first quarter.

Just a day ago, Boston did the same against Oklahoma City, but eventually allowed the Thunder to crawl back into the game in the second half. Today, though, that big lead dissipated quickly.

After Philadelphia called a timeout when Boston built that 15-3 lead, the Sixers came out with a quick 6-0 spurt to cut the lead down to four, which was the deficit when the buzzer sounded for the first quarter.

The Sixers' momentum carried over into the second quarter, as they began the second on a 12-2 run (taking their overall run to 20-4) that gave them a six-point lead. Philadelphia was able to bump that lead up to nine on two separate occasions, including once in the final 25 seconds, but Luke Harangody's and-one layup cut that deficit to six heading into halftime.

Both teams have had very balanced scoring, as Boston has four players with at least five points, led by Harangody's game-high nine, while Philadelphia has seven players with at least four points. Harangody also has a game-high nine rebounds at halftime.

- Marc D'Amico

Monday, July 5 - Celtics vs. Oklahoma City

Final - Celtics 82, Oklahoma City 87: Box Score | Photos

With the help of 32 second-half free throws and the emergence of Byron Mullens and James Harden, Oklahoma City pulled off a shocking 87-82 comeback win over Boston in the Celtics' opening game of the 2010 summer league.

Boston led by 15 points at halftime and by nine heading into the fourth, but the Thunder were able to find their rhythm in the final period and make a solid run behind Mullens and Harden. The pair of Thunder players, who were both on Oklahoma City's roster last season, combined to score 37 of their team's 55 points in the second half. The majority of those points came from the free-throw line, where Mullens made 12 of his second-half attempts and Harden made 11 of his 12. Mullens finished 12-of-15 from the line, while Harden shot 15-of-18.

The C's were able to jump out to an early lead with strong perimeter play by Oliver Lafayette, Jaycee Carroll and Luke Harangody in the first half, but Harangody was the only one who was able to carry that play over into the second half. Lafayette and Carroll combined to score 21 points in the first half, but only six in the second half. Harangody scored 11 in the first half and 12 in the second half, finishing with a 9-of-13 shooting performance.

Game 2 of Boston's summer league schedule is on tap for 5 p.m. Tuesday evening against Evan Turner and the Philadelphia 76ers.

First Half: Celtics 47, Thunder 32

The Celtics opened up their summer league with a great first half, opening up a 47-32 lead heading into halftime and pushing the lead to 18 at one point.

Not surprisingly, Boston has done most of its damage on the perimeter, where they clearly have most of their talent. Oliver Layafette has been the Celtics' best player, as expected, and has taken over the game in numerous aspects. The veteran -- at least by summer league standards -- racked up 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and also grabbed three boards and dished out three assists.

His backcourt buddy, Jaycee Carroll, isn't shying away, either. He scored nine points in the first half and has put up a game-high nine shot attempts, making four.

The most surprising performance in the first half came from Luke Harangody, who scored 11 points. But it wasn't the 11 points that were surprising -- it was how he got them. Boston's second-round pick scored all 11 points on jumpers, including 3-of-3 from downtown. Two of those 3s came from the right corner, and the third came from the right wing with only 1.6 seconds remaining in the half.

And while the C's dominated offensively, the coaching staff should be just as pleased with the defense. Oklahoma City scrounged up only 32 points in the half and is shooting less than 40 percent as a team. Eric Maynor and D.J. White both have nine points and one rebound, but if they don't get some help, I don't see the C's squandering this lead.

- Marc D'Amico

Celtics sign Semih Erden

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed center Semih Erden. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Erden, a 7-foot, 240-pound center, was selected by the Celtics with the 60th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. The native of Gaziosmanpasa, Turkey was a starter for Fenerbahce Ulker this past season when they won the Turkish League championship and averaged 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Erden shot an impressive 62.4 percent from the field during the 42 Turkish League games that he played in last season. Erden will be competing for Turkey in the upcoming 2010 FIBA World Championships to be played in his native country.

Erden will be a member of Boston's summer league roster this week in Orlando.

Sunday, July 4 - Practice

Celtics use scrimmage as final prep for games

The Boston Celtics' summer league team held an inter-squad scrimmage for two hours this morning, which was their last day of preparation before games begin Monday afternoon at the RDV Sportsplex in Orlando. Celtics.com caught up with coach Austin Ainge, as well as Luke Harangody and former Northeastern star Matt Janning, after the session came to a close.

Saturday, July 3 - Practice

Harangody shines, Erden arrives

For the first time in a long time, members of the Boston Celtics' summer league squad woke up today staring in the face of a two-a-day practice schedule. One of those practices, which took place from 10 a.m. until noon, is already in the books, while the second is scheduled to go down from 5-7 p.m.

The morning session was all about draft picks, two of them to be precise. With Avery Bradley, Boston's first round pick this season (No. 19 overall), unable to play this summer due to an ankle injury, Luke Harangody is the only pick from this year's draft who is on Boston's roster. However, a former draft pick showed up today for his first appearance as a Celtic in 2010.

Boston used the 60th and final pick of the 2008 draft on Semih Erden, a 7-foot center out of Turkey who was only 21 years old at the time. Erden has spent the past two seasons overseas, but finally arrived in Orlando in time to be at practice after a 17-hour travel day. The C's are currently waiting for paperwork to go through the NBA offices to make Erden eligible to participate in practices and games, and they expect that to happen before the team's first game at 5 p.m. Monday evening.

So that leaves Harangody as the only Celtics draft pick who participated in practice today. And simply put, it was obvious.

Harangody displayed all of the skills he has grown a reputation for, including an incredibly high basketball IQ, a nice outside touch and a high level of confidence. He struggled a bit on Day 1, when he was faced with a day of travel along with attempting to learn the Celtics' offensive and defensive schemes on the fly, but looked very comfortable at both ends this morning.

"I felt better; I felt like yesterday I was just trying to soak everything in and I was rushing a little bit," Harangody said as he packed away his practice gear and got ready for the bus ride back to the hotel. "But today I kind of just relaxed more and just kind of played the game and I felt kind of like myself out there."

He was consistently the best player on the court, nailing quick-release jumpers from up to 22 feet on a regular basis, and he even dropped in a Rajon Rondo-esque running floater in the paint. While his offense stood out, Harangody wasn't afraid to admit that he needs his play at the other end to catch his coaches' eyes.

"Yeah, I do (need to improve defensively), you know, because that's obviously one of the big question marks about me coming into this draft, you know, whether I can guard out there," said Harangody. "So, you know, I'm coming out here with myself like, as in college I was so much focused on the offensive end, not so much anymore. I need to concentrate so much more on the defensive end, too."

He'll have another shot to concentrate on those skills tonight when players and coaches board the bus again at 4:45 p.m. for the trek back to Rollins College and practice No. 2. Austin Ainge mentioned to Celtics.com that tonight's session should be relatively light to allow the players to rest up a bit before an inter-squad scrimmage tomorrow morning.

Friday, July 2 - Arrival in Orlando

Summer Celtics run through first practice

Day 1 of the Boston Celtics' 2010 Summer League is in the books, as the players -- well, most of the players -- met each other for the first time today and took the court as one.

Tony Gaffney and Oliver Lafayette are the only players who have any experience with the C's, as they were both on the roster for the tail-end of the season and throughout the playoffs. The other nine players who were on the court today at Rollins College, however, were basically fresh faces to one another.

After greeting each other at the hotel and taking a 25-minute ride to Rollins, the team geared up and went through its first practice together, covering everything from NBA rules, to offensive and defensive schemes to transition basketball. Watching from the sideline for all of the two hours allowed us to leave with a few important takeaways heading into Day 2.

First off, these guys are making new relationships, and that fact is clearly evident on the court. If you watch the actual Celtics throughout the season, you'll notice that each and every player knows when his teammate will be where on basically every play of the game. Without knowing each other's tendencies (and barely knowing each other in general), the Summer Celtics are far from playing like a cohesive unit right now.

Today was what we like to call an "overload" day, where the players were crushed with new terms, new schemes and even new dimensions on the court, such as the NBA 3-point line. They are learning on the fly, so some sloppiness is to be expected. Overall, though, they handled the first day well and proved that they have the mental capacity to make the necessary adjustments.

"We have a smart group," said Ainge. "We've got -- we're maybe not the most athletic, but we're very skilled and very smart."

Speaking of Ainge, he was another takeaway. We were unsure who would assume the head coaching duties heading into the weekend, and tonight gave us a great indication that he will be the one. Last July, Mike Longabardi was the lead man on the sidelines but today he was more of a defensive coordinator, as he led the team through its defensive drills. Ainge, however, directed the entire practice and looks like he'll be making the calls when games begin on Monday.

But back to the side of the ball that Longabardi was instructing -- the defensive end. That's where the C's hang their hat. There may not be a more defensively-minded organization in the entire NBA, so you can imagine that the defensive portion of practice was pretty intense.

Players like Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins continually note that the Celtics are successful defensively because they communicate, and that's something the bigs on this summer roster will need to get used to throughout the next week. Tonight, players such as second round draft pick Luke Harangody were reminded constantly by the coaching staff that they cannot simply execute the correct defensive moves; they must notify their teammates of the defensive move they are going to make. The bigs struggled at times in being vocal tonight, but that's something we're sure they'll get used to throughout the weekend.

One player who did stand out at the defensive end was Matt Janning, a lanky, 6-foot-4 guard out of Northeastern. He really seemed to have a fantastic feel on the defensive end tonight and was singled out by the coaching staff on a couple of occasions for his crisp rotations and anticipation on help defense. If he keeps that up, he'll surely leave an impression on these coaches when Boston's staff heads back north next week.

That's it for Day 1. Be sure to check back in tomorrow for another update from the first practice Boston's two Saturday practices.

- Marc D'Amico

Celtics.com's Marc D'Amico is en route to Orlando to cover the 2010 Summer Celtics. Look for Post Ups, Tweets and more as D'Amico keeps you posted on the team in Orlando.

- Peter Stringer

The games are closed to the public, so the setting is very informal. But they will be streamed on NBA.com for your viewing pleasure.