NBA Summer League 2014: Chris Babb vastly improves in latest outing
By Brian Spaen
The Boston Celtics improved to 2-1 in NBA Summer League action, and Chris Babb finally had a productive day while clocking a lot of minutes.
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Babb finished his day with 10 points, reaching double digits for the first time in one game. He played for a total of 26 minutes and also recorded 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 fouls, and 1 turnover.
The former Cyclone strayed away from just launching shots from downtown. In complete contrast from his other two games, he attacked the basket. Babb only shot twice from the perimeter (missing both) and went 5-of-6 from the field inside the arc.
It may not be a wild improvement from the box score, but for the first time this summer you could easily tell Babb was in the game. He was more involved, and one his best baskets was the end when saved an airball and put it back up for a score. That was his only two points in the other half
Six different players reached double figures for the Celtics. Olynyk led the way with 16 points but he also played for nearly the entire game (36:42).
For an NBA Summer League game, it was pretty damn exciting. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half and the Celtics led 52-50. Boston took control in the third quarter when both teams tended to dip in shooting, especially Detroit.
However, the Pistons kept firing in the fourth quarter and nearly made up a double-digit deficit late in the period. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made some clutch shots for Detroit and finished with a team-high 26 points in the losing effort.
Boston wraps things up in regular play tomorrow when they take on Orlando at 4:00 PM Central time. The game will be broadcast on NBATV. After all the action is done on Thursday night, we’ll find out when the Celtics will play on Friday.
With the point system, there’s a chance that the Celtics can make the championship game, but they’ll need to win the game and win at least a quarter. They also need to hope for Memphis to struggle on Thursday.