A Report on Celts vs Portland - Summer League Game

[HMURDOCH@aol.com]

In answer to John Lyell's request ;-), here's a quick report on Sunday's FILA 
Summer League game at Long Beach between the Celtics and Portland Trailblazer 
squads.

For those not familiar with Cal State Long Beach, the games are held in a big 
blue pyramid. What can I say, it's California.  Clean, good seating, nice 
arena.

The roster for the Celts :  #12 Bruce Bowen, #28 Kevin Ollie, #30 Wayne 
Turner, #34 Paul Pierce, #36 Adrian Griffin, #40 Tony Battie, #42 Bryant 
Smith, #44 Eric Riley, #46 Derrick Battie, #50 Kris Clack, #52 Vitally 
Potapenko, #54 Antoine Hyman.

The only Trailblazer I recognized was Kelvin Cato at center.  Bonzi Wells was 
listed, but I didn't hear his name referred to by the announcers during the 
game, and he may not have played.

For a good part of the first period, there were literally more fouls called 
than points on the board.  The refs seemed to go to extremes on calling hand 
checking fouls.  This may be part of the plan to try to increase scoring this 
coming season.  At one point in the first couple of minutes, there were 8 
fouls called and 3 points scored (by both teams).  Fortunately, the players 
adjusted or the refs ran out of breath, and couldn't blow their whistles 
later in the game.  Also fortunately, summer league rules allowed a player to 
stay in with more than six fouls or no one would have been left.  At the end 
of the first period, the score was Portland 26, Celts 22.

Tony Battie had a great long distance high flying dunk, Pierce had a block, 
and a nice pass to Eric Riley for another dunk.  Adrian Griffin had a couple 
of nice drives to the basket for scores.

At the end of the half, it was Portland 44, Celts 37.

Chris Clack hadn't distinguished himself particularly in the first half, but 
had a brief one or two minute period in the 3rd quarter in which he : 1. made 
a steal in Portland's end and made a nice up-the-court pass to a breaking 
Tony Battie for a dunk.  2. On the very next Celts possession, made another 
pass up court for a Paul Pierce layup.  3. On the next Portland possession, 
he took a charge for a Portland offensive foul.  4. On the next Celts 
possession he made a basket.  Great little stretch !

In the 4th quarter, Clack also had an assist to Tony Battie for the basket 
that tied the score at 84, with about 5 min. left in the game (the Celts had 
gotten behind at one point in the game by 13 points or so).  And at about 
2:50 left, Bruce Bowen made a 3-pointer !  With the score at Celts 94, 
Portland 91 and 21 seconds left, Portland missed a shot and Paul Pierce 
grabbed the rebound.  Pierce was fouled with about 11 seconds left and hit 
one FT to make it 95-91.  Tony Battie got fouled in the remaining seconds and 
made another FT, and the score ended up Celts 96, Portland 91.

Tony Battie finished with 19 points, Paul Pierce 16, Vitally 12, and the more 
aggressive Bruce Bowen had 10 points.
These numbers are somewhat dependant on my memory after the game, so don't 
take them as gospel.

This game tonight shouldn't be mistaken for a real game, given all the new 
players and lack of practice etc.  But it was fun to watch, and the players 
were putting out a lot of effort.  Getting good seats was easy, and you could 
sit close enough to actually see some of the Celtics players in person, which 
made it worth attending.

Players :

As noted, Bruce Bowen seemed to be displaying more aggression on offense, and 
was his usual active self on defense.  He got a hand whenever he scored, from 
the small crowd here at his former school.
Kevin Ollie : probably got more time at Point Guard than anyone else, and 
didn't look too bad, but didn't stand out especially either.
Wayne Turner : also played point a fair amount and also didn't attract much 
attention to himself.  Did seem active on defense, as did most of the 
would-be new Celts.
Paul Pierce : was one of the few players for the Celts (along with TB and 
Bruce) that seemed to have his rhythm and game going.  Played well.
Adrian Griffin : had some good moves to the basket, and was pretty active on 
defense.  Was second only to Derrick Battie in the muscle definition ratings.
Tony Battie : My vote for player of the game for the Celts.  Looked ready to 
play perhaps more than anyone else on the team.  Was shooting, running and 
dunking in high style.  Very impressive.  Note to Pitino : Don't Trade This 
Player !
Bryant Smith : Listed as having played at Auburn.  Didn't look lost on the 
floor, but also didn't stand out.
Eric Riley : Played reasonably well, but didn't have to play against top 
competition either.  Then again, neither did anyone else.
Derrick Battie : As mentioned above, looked like he spent more time in the 
weight rooms than anyone else on the Celts squad.  Had a Batman tattoo on his 
arm to match his brother's.  Also can jump.
Kris Clack : Broad shoulders - would be called a 'wide-body' if he were a 
forward or center.  Quiet game except for the stretch in the 3rd reported 
above.  Active on defense.
Vitally Potapenko : Was practicing spin moves, hooks, up-and-unders, etc in 
practice before the game.  Made a few in the game too.  Still shoots well, 
still looses the handle in heavy traffic occasionally.  But played pretty 
well.  Looked like probably the strongest player in the game.  Active on 
defense, picked up a lot of fouls (as did many others).
Antoine Hyman :  Another player I hadn't heard about (not that that means 
anything).  Listed as having played at "Keuka College".  6' 10", 235lbs.  
Another of the many who played well enough to not attract much attention but 
didn't do anything very exceptional.  But then, this was the first game for 
many of these players playing for this team, and for that matter, at the NBA 
level.

Players listed on the roster that I didn't see play : Walter McCarty and 
Marion Garnett.

Portland players of note : Roberto Burgensen G (Boise State) - scored a lot 
of points - as did Monty Buckley G/F (Cal).

Tomorrow's game is against the Toronto Raptors squad.

Hank Murdoch