Celtics wrap up Summer League with 101-80 win over Hawks

See you in a couple of weeks, Boston basketball.

The Celtics wrapped up Summer League with a 101-80 over a previously undefeated Atlanta Hawks team. Boston was led by 18 points from Isaiah Wong. Jalen Bridges and Benjamin Gregg chipped in with 16 and 13 respectively.

Throughout the five-game exhibition schedule in Sin City, Summer C’s head coach Matt Reynolds has stressed playing up into the ball and flooding passing lanes, pressing three-quarters court, and trapping off of picks. The Celtics forced 15 turnovers for 24 points and with a nod to Mazzulla Ball, Boston hit 17-of-49 from three-point land.

It was a strong 4-1 showing for the rookie head coach. Make sure to check out CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell’s feature on Reynolds. Here’s a snippet on the former video coordinator:

In Reynold’s debut game as Summer League head coach — a 92-78 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies — more than 20 of his friends and family sat in the Las Vegas stands.

“It kind of became a must-win game,” he told me later in the week.

Reynolds, who as an assistant typicallly has an iPad in his hands on the bench, didn’t know what kind of a head coach he would be. In his debut, he found himself surprised at just how loud and communicative he was on the sidelines.

“I was yelling a lot,” Reynolds said. “I definitely caught myself being like – I’m really loud right now… sometimes, that’s what the game calls for.”

It’s expected that second round picks Amari Williams and Max Shulga will join the Celtics on two-way contracts (along with Miles Norris) and spend most of their time in Maine. In their final minutes on the Strip, we again got a good sense of what they’ll be working on with the G-League affiliate.

Williams again flashed that passing potential with some nifty work above the break. That’s clearly a big part of his basketball instincts and could serve as a skill that the big club can lean in to, but unless he can improve on the other parts of his game, he’ll most likely not be a factor in Boston until 2026 or 2027. He finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists against the Hawks.

Norris, however, continues to be an intriguing option for next season. He joined the team late last year and has all the tools to become an NBA role player right away. His three-point shooting (2-of-7 against Atlanta, 36.7% in college) combined with his size should complement the Jays perfectly.

For Hugo Gonzalez, you can see a need to refine all the raw talent: his handle isn’t there to be an on-ball creator, but he’s got the physical tools and footwork to do it eventually; his three-point shooting is inconsistent, but the form is there; his tenacity as a defender is unquestionable, but consistency over thirty minutes a game and not just in flashes will be key. He finished with 8 points, 2 stocks, and a +22.

Gonzalez didn’t shoot well in his fourth game (1-for-7 from behind the arc), but his defensive activity and transition play stood out:

Summer League veterans Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh sat out the Summer League finale in favor of letting some of the younger and unaffiliated players to get their final minutes before they look to find opportunities on other teams or abroad.

The team will now not play another game until training camp and their preseason opener on October 8th in Memphis.