After all three 2025 draft picks played over 20 minutes in their Summer League debuts, Celtics Summer League head coach Matt Reynolds instilled a lot of trust in the trio, who each played a part in a 92-78 win over the Memphis Grizzlies Friday afternoon.
First round pick Hugo González played a team-high 28 minutes, while second round selections Max Shulga and Amari Williams each made 21-minute starting appearances.
Experimenting with a faster pace and high pick-up points on the defensive end, the Celtics brought an electricity to Cox Pavilion in UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, starting with a first impression from González that showcased a little bit of everything the young wing has to offer.
“Hugo and the whole team were just pressuring relentlessly the whole game,” Reynolds said. “That was an excellent tone that he and our backcourt set throughout the course of the game.”
Right off the bat, González made his presence felt, crashing the glass on Boston’s opening possession and finishing on a putback while racing back down the floor to jump in front of a baseline cut for an immediate Grizzlies turnover.
González had his struggles finishing around the rim, shooting 1-of-7 on attempts inside the arc, but his confidence from the 3-point line was a promising indicator of a young talent being emboldened to take the open shots available to him, even if the game’s pace was a little unfamiliar to him.
“It was hard to catch up with the pace,” González said. “In Europe, the game is a lot of times a little bit slower and you’re trying to have the possession until the end. Here, if you’ve got a shot, you’ve got to take it so that’s actually making the game really up and down. You’ve got to catch up with that if you want to play so I’m just trying to adapt.
“I’m pretty lucky that I’ve got a staff that is pushing me right now to get better and to perform really good. They’re giving me confidence to shoot whenever I’m open or whenever I think that I am in a good situation, so I think that’s the main thing.”
That encouragement extended to his struggles as well, including an instance where González missed three consecutive free throws late in the opening quarter, prompting Reynolds to yell from the sidelines for the rookie to keep his head up.
Outside of his 12 points, González left his fingerprints all over the game, dishing out five assists, initiating offense through the pick-and-roll, and battling on the defensive end as a screen-navigating, ball-hounding menace that had two blocks, one steal and two deflections.
In 21 minutes, Shulga presented a steady hand as one of the team’s few traditional lead guards. Despite Memphis’ intense ball pressure, Shulga was rarely bothered running the point, ending the game with a clean sheet of zero turnovers, three assists and five points. One of those assists came off the efforts of a fantastic defensive sequence where Shulga closed off a driving lane, deflected a pass and passed the ball back and forth with Williams to set up an easy dunk for the Kentucky big man.
Shulga attempted just four shots, but two showcased the craftiness of the VCU product. Midway through the third quarter, Shulga wrapped around a Williams screen, stopped on a dime, and took the bump as he uncorked a deep shot that banked in with the foul. Early in the fourth, he dashed down the floor on a fastbreak, took more contact and flicked up a left-handed finish for another bucket through the whistle.
“I trust him a lot,” Reynolds said of Shulga. “I think he does everything pretty well, he’s very solid, you know what you’re getting with him, and I think he’s only going to improve as the course of Summer League and the rest of his career moves on.”
Williams also did a little bit of everything in his first Celtics appearance, scoring on all three of his shot attempts with 3-of-4 shooting from the line (9 points) and two blocks. Williams, already known as a playmaking hub, served up a beautiful skip pass assist on a Miles Norris 3-pointer late in the first quarter.
Williams was challenged down in the paint, mostly facing off against 6-foot-11, 240-pound center Armando Bacot, who finished 7-of-13 from the field for 14 points to go with six rebounds. Bacot was able to muscle his way past Williams on a few occasions, but Williams was able to get one strong post-up on the block against Bacot that he finished with a left-handed turnaround hook shot.
As far as first impressions go, all three draft picks found ways to impact the game, starting things off on a solid note for the Summer League Celtics, who play their second game of the weekend on Sunday against the Knicks.
