This Isn't The NBA Summer League Anymore, Celtics Make First 2 Cuts Of The 2012-13 Roster

So far, I have avoided the Celtics' preseason games since they make NFL preseason games feel as exciting as the Super Bowl. An 82-game NBA regular season plus the playoffs is way more than enough. Today, Boston made its first two roster moves since they began training camp: they released guards Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith.

If you didn't watch any of the NBA Summer Leagues this past summer and you're not a college basketball junkie (i'm guilty in both cases), then you probably don't even know who those guys are. They both played very well for Boston, especially Christmas whose minimum deal was half-guaranteed for $236,000 this season. I'm convinced from that and his time at Temple that Christmas can play in the NBA but he would never get minutes here so this probably isn't the worst thing to happen. As for Smith, he seems like D-League material to me.

By getting rid of these guys, the Celtics are down to 16 players on their roster. That means, they'll need to release one more player and they still have non-guaranteed camp invites left in swingman Micah Downs and forward Rob Kurz. I remember both from college and there is no chance either will be on the C's, sorry.

What I bet happens is that rookie guard Kris Joseph makes the team (today's moves really solidified his place) while Boston will sign some veteran in the next two weeks that gets released by another NBA team. It's hard to believe it but Celtics' regular season opener is two weeks from tonight, in Miami against the defending champions-the team that beat Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Keyon Dooling Abruptly Retires & The Celtics Sign Darko Milicic To Veteran's Minimum

I didn't expect to be talking about the Celtics whatsoever today but they made two minor moves that are worth mentioning: guard Keyon Dooling retired after 12 years in the NBA (1 in Boston) and center Darko Milicic was signed to a veteran's minimum deal.

That means the Celtics have 13 guys guaranteed under contract heading into training camp, meaning one spot is up for grabs with guards Jamar Smith, Dionte Christmas and rookie Kris Joseph expected to be vying for it. Dooling leaving helps all those guys immensely, it gives them better odds of making it.

Dooling wanted to spend more time with his family which is understandable and you have to respect his decision since he was at the end of the line. The weird thing was that the Celts signed him to a veteran's minimum deal in July. It sounds like a cliche but his value at this point was about mostly off the court contributions, rather than games. Even in the short time he was here, you could sense that he was a great leader that everybody respected. Boston will need someone else to step up and be watchful of Rajon Rondo next season, who is always liable to be a pill.

Milicic is famously known as one of the biggest busts in the last decade of the NBA. The No. 2 pick by the Pistons in the 2003 draft, ahead of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh among others, the native of Yugoslavia has never done anything remotely close to justify that spot. This will be his sixth NBA team in 10 years (Pistons, Magic, Grizzlies, Timberwolves-twice and Knicks).

Obviously with that deal, there is no risk on Milicic and he actually provides a decent backup for a position that basically didn't exist last season for the C's: center. Kevin Garnett played there most of the year and stiff Jason Collins was also signed this offseason to provide more bodies (and fouls). For his career, Darko has averaged 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in 18.5 minutes.

Since Nenad Krstic's brief spell in Boston two seasons ago, the Celtics have lacked a big goofy European. If nothing else, Darko should fit the bill well in that regard.

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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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Different City But Same Team & Same Result

The Boston Celtics are staking their claim as the best team in the 2012 NBA Summer League. After going 4-1 in Orlando last week, they begin their stay in Las Vegas with a one-sided 87-69 blowout of the Atlanta Hawks this afternoon at Cox Pavilion.

The C's (1-0) led from start to finish and had five players score in double figures. Rookies Kris Joseph and Jared Sullinger (7 rebounds) helped Boston cruise to victory with 14 points while Dionte Christmas and Jonathan Gibson scored 11 and Jamar Smith had 10.

Rookie Fab Melo had his best game of the summer (which isn't saying much) with seven points and five rebounds and E'Twaun Moore added nine points.

Atlanta (1-2) fielded a team with basically no NBA experience so its no wonder they got walloped. Rookies Mike Scott (6 rebounds) and John Jenkins paced the Hawks with 12 points while Keith Benson put up 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Boston rolled since they shot 5.7% better from the field (41.8-36.1), hit seven more 3-pointers (9-2) and made seven more free throws (22-15).

The Celtics led 23-16 after one quarter and 49-31 at halftime. Boston were up by as many as 23 points as their chemistry forged last week in Orlando started to take over. The Hawks cut it to 10 in the third quarter but still trailed 67-52 heading into the fourth.

Boston plays Chicago (0-0) tomorrow night (10 p.m., NBA TV).

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The Dream Is Over: Celtics' Unbeaten Summer League Run Goes Down In Flames

After three very solid games in a row to start the 2012 Orlando Summer League, the Celtics laid an egg this afternoon against the Pistons.

Detroit (3-1) led the whole way and coasted to an easy 93-79 victory over Boston (3-1) to hand them their first loss of the week or summer if you will. All you need to know about how one-sided it was: the Pistons shot 12.5% better (48.6-36.1) and dished out 14 more assists (23-9).

Here come the excuses: the Celtics gave their main starters a bit of a break so the bench guys started. Not that it mattered since the Pistons were on fire all game long; credit to Boston for cutting it to seven in the fourth but they were never really in it.

Former Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight looked like Rajon Rondo with a game-high 19 points and 14 assists. Austin Daye had 15 points and eight rebounds, Khris Middleton scored 12 points and UConn product Andre Drummoned added 10 points and eight rebounds.

The two real bright spots for the C's were JaJuan Johnson (17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks), who had his best performance of the week and Kris Joseph (17 points, 11 rebounds), who continues to open eyes. Jamar Smith had 13 points, Jared Sullinger struggled from the field (2-for-9) but still managed 11 points and seven rebounds while Dionte Christmas scored his customary 10 points.

Boston closes out its week in Orlando with a matchup against the host Magic (2-2) tomorrow morning (10 a.m., NBA TV). After that, the C's will fly to Las Vegas as they are also participating in NBA Summer League in Sin City. Their first game there is on Monday night vs. Atlanta (6 p.m., NBA TV).

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Celtics Keeping Rolling In Orlando Summer League, Too Bad The Wins Are Meaningless

The beauty of NBA Summer Leagues is that provided you have a working DVR, you can watch your favorite team play a bunch of games in a short period of time. The results don't mean much and the rosters are made up of many has-beens, never weres and never will-bes but still, there is a reason to pay attention. You could be seeing the next great rookie or guy that comes out of nowhere like Jeremy Lin.

Boston (3-0) is the only unbeaten team left in Orlando as they knocked off Indiana (2-1) 85-77 this afternoon. It's unusual to see a Summer League team, which are usually thrown together at the last minute, have chemistry but the C's appear to work well together.

Six Celtics scored in double-figures led by Jared Sullinger (16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) and E'Twaun Moore (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists). Kris Joseph (12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) continues to be the most pleasant surprise for the Green and Dionte Christmas (10 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) has a good chance to make some NBA team while Jamar Smith (12 points) and JaJuan Johnson (11 points, 5 rebounds) both provided a lift off the bench.

The Pacers were a two-man team with Lance Stephenson (19 points, 7 turnovers) hogging the ball and Miles Plumlee (18 points, 8 rebounds) cleaning up inside despite his goofy hairdo.

There was plenty to like about Boston's effort since they basically outworked Indiana in every category which must have drove Larry Bird (sitting courtside) crazy. The Celtics shot 11% better from the field (51.6-40.6), grabbed six more rebounds (37-31), handed out twice as many assists (16-8), made one more steal (10-9) and two more blocks (7-5).

It was tight the whole way but the Celts outscored the Pacers in every quarter. Boston led 18-15 after one quarter and 36-31 at halftime. The C's edged the Pacers 19-18 in the third then both teams exploded in the fourth (30-28 Boston).

Once again, Boston gets the early start (11 a.m., NBA TV) as they face Detroit (2-1) tomorrow afternoon. Look out for UConn big man Andre Drummond on the Pistons, who has the potential to be great in the NBA or a complete bust. Nobody really knows which is part of what makes the Connecticut native so intriguing.

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