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Friday, July 20, 2012

Shorthanded Celtics Drop Their First Game In Las Vegas, To Jimmer & The Kings

Apparently, there are bigger things in the NBA than a summer league game in mid-July. Shocking, I know. Especially when the Boston Celtics are the only insane team to appear in both Orlando and Las Vegas this summer.

With the Courtney Lee deal going down before tip-off, the Celts were down three players as JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore and Sean Williams packed up and left for Houston (their new NBA home). With nine players, the C's (2-1) hung around for longer than expected (tied 38-38 at halftime) before losing 91-82 to the Kings (2-3) tonight at the Thomas and Mack Center.

In their final summer league contest, Jimmer Fredette led Sacramento with 19 points (9 for 10 on free throws) and five assists. Rookie Thomas Robinson was a beast on the boards with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Tony Mitchell scored 13 points, Yancy Gates had 11 points and Dominique Johnson added 10.

Speaking with the NBA TV commentators during the first half, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers admitted that Boston's brass loves Dionte Christmas (19 points) so it looks like he'll get an invite to their training camp in the fall. Jamar Smith and Craig Brackins both notched 14 points while Jonathan Gibson (another guy singled out by Rivers) had 12 points. Jared Sullinger grabbed 10 rebounds.

Boston has two games left in the summer: Saturday (10:30 p.m. vs. 2-1 Milwaukee) and Sunday (6:00 p.m. vs. 1-2 Clippers). Expect them to add a few healthy bodies since I doubt they can go through another 40 minutes with nine players. If Danny Ainge is reading this, I'm available and I'd love a business trip to Vegas.










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