Boston Celtics Summer League skills we will see this season

I had a youth basketball coach that always used a saying that’s stuck with me these 20+ years later. Like the new Superman movie, it was a twist on a classic (at least from what I can tell, I’ve not seen Superman). I can still hear her raspy voice, “practice makes permanent.” Repetition imprints the act you are repeating.

Summer League is a lot of things. It’s magical, silly, and nobody is quite sure how it started, kind of like Camelot. The essence of Summer League, other than an excuse for NBA personnel to go to Vegas for two weeks, is that it’s practice. It’s a chance for these guys to try some new things or turn a budding skill permanent. It’s a unique context: real games, some semblance of the parent club’s system, with the NBA world watching.

This Summer League, we got to see several Summer Celtics making some things permanent, or at least we hope. In this Part 1, we will take a look at Baylor Scheierman’s passing jump and explore the charming mania of Hugo Gonzalez.

Baylor plays pool

Pool is a game of angles, skill, and accuracy. Fitting the ball in tight spaces necessarily requires the appropriate set-up. The shot before the shot. Baylor brought his pool cue to Vegas.

The passing chops have always been evident for Baylor, who I will continually refer to by his first name because I find “Scheierman” difficult to type. Even in his limited minutes as a rookie, Baylor had some highlight passes off quick reads, seeing the pass before the ball got to him. The shot before the shot.

He’s taken it to a new level in Summer League. Baylor’s previous passing proclivity has generally been at the conclusion of someone else’s possession. In other words, he’s taken advantage of a rotating defense that someone else, Tatum/Jaylen/White, has compromised. This is not the case the past two weeks.

Do I think Baylor will be running a dozen pick and rolls a game during the season like he’s doing in Summer League? No. But I do think he’s going to have the ball in his hands a lot more, especially coming off of screens or in handoff actions, and the recognition he’s shown this Summer bodes well.

Here’s an example. This is a bit of a broken play, so Baylor and Lofton get into a handoff/pitch back.

Baylor does two things that I love. First, he immediately changes direction once he gets the ball and let’s Lofton rescreen. That creates a ton of space for him. Second, he hits the pocket pass before the dropping big can get back over to Lofton. Golden has no chance, he’s expecting Baylor to take another dribble so he’s still backing up. He doesn’t; wide open middy.

Here he is coming off an action we will probably see a lot from him this year: Chicago (pin-down into a handoff). I like this style of action for him because it gets him and the defense moving and lets him make decisions.

Again, Baylor shows off the ability to manipulate the defense. Ware is in drop here with Lofton rolling. To bait Ware and open the pass, Baylor pump-fakes. It’s simple, smart, and effective. He connects on the pass and looks like an open corner 3 until Lofton fires it out of bounds.

The way he steps up to the table, sees the angles, and plans his shot (or pass) makes him a unique piece in the Cs’ wing room. I expect we will be seeing plenty more examples when the games start to matter again.

Hugo has the aux cord

TJ McConnell once almost said “playing hard is a skill [baby].” I added the “baby” because I think it sounds cooler that way. TJ is right, keeping your energy level high through an entire game, and, more importantly, channeling that energy productively is a talent. If there is one thing Hugo Gonzalez does at an NBA level right now, it is playing hard.

The second part of that equation sometimes gives Gonzalez some problems. He doesn’t always channel that energy productively. His volume is perpetually at 11. It is existential musical consumption, the perfect song at the perfect time. Enough to bring a tear to your eye. But, it might come with a busted ear drum. Luckily, in Boston we like our music loud (metaphorically, practically I like a moderate volume because I’m middle aged).

Hugo started out the Celtics’ Summer League with a bucket off an offensive rebound courtesy of his maniacal workrate.

Look at where he is when that shot goes up!

He’s the furthest player from the hoop!

Perhaps the cleanest Celtics scheme fit for Hugo’s skillset is Joe’s proclivity for corner crashes. It’s how White and Pritchard often come up with their offensive boards, swooping in from the blindside. I expect we will see a lot of swooping from Gonzalez.

But playing hard manifests itself in lots of ways. The Celtics, at times, had a tendency to go through the motions last year. The only motion Hugo knows is violence. He explodes in and out of cuts.

He wants to set screens. He wants to keep the ball moving. Everything he does is determined, even if it isn’t always effective.

Defensively, Hugo was a bit all over the place; attacking ball-handlers and pulling himself out of position. Stunting at drivers just a bit deep, leaving an open shooter or a back cut. Fouling. Lots of fouling. He might still be fouling.

But you know what? I don’t care. I know Hugo Gonzalez cares. A lot. He absolutely needs to dial the energy back some, but I would much rather have to turn someone down a bit then try to motivate someone that doesn’t want to be there. Hugo definitely wants to be there.