Flavor of the Week: Brandon Wallace

After watching last night’s game, everyone is talking about one guy on the Celtics’ roster. No, it wasn’t Rajon Rondo. It wasn’t Gerald Green either. Leon Powe played great, but not much mention about him. It was undrafted Brandon Wallace who is receiving all the talk around the water coolers this morning. This 6′9″ “center” from South Carolina went undrafted, but shined with the Celtics last night. Here are his numbers from South Carolina:

Wallace is a very long and athletic player with a mindset for defense and rebounding, two things the Celtics could definitely use. He played his entire collegiate career at the center position, but at only 6′9″ and barely over 200 pounds, everyone knew that wouldn’t bode well for his future in the NBA.

The Celtics decided to bring him in for the summer league and run him at the four spot, and he played OK. Then, Doc Rivers thought there was a way to get more out of this kid.

“We may have gotten really lucky here,” said Rivers. “We thought he might be able to be an active 4, but then seeing him in our league with all the strength I was thinking he won’t survive at that spot. Then at the (Thursday) morning coaches meeting, I said, ‘Guys, I think he’s a 3. Let’s just throw him at the 3 and see what happens.’ And he looked phenomenal. It’s amazing.”

Last night, he looked very active on the glass and defensive end of the floor. His jump shot is not what you are looking for from your small forward, but with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, there aren’t enough shots to go around, especially for Brandon Wallace. His freak athleticism is something the Celtics desperately can use, especially from a player with a sort of big man mentality.

Wallace looks to be perfect for an uptempo style of play. If he’s on the floor with Rondo and Gerald, these three could be very exciting to watch on the fast break. I must say, I didn’t get as excited about this kid as many others did, but he is looking like something the Celtics roster could use as a 12th man. But let us all remember, this is just the first summer league game. Let’s see how this all plays out over the next two weeks and then we’ll know if this kid is worthy of a roster spot.

Pruitt Makes Allan Ray Expendable

After the acquisition of Ray Allen, I figured that Allan Ray’s days were to be numbered soon enough. Then we drafted Gabe Pruitt, a 1st round talent with some point guard experience and legit NBA range, and that pretty much was the nail in the coffin for Allan Ray.

Allan Ray was a college superstar while playing at Villanova, but he was the typical scoring guard that is not tall enough to cut it at shooting guard in the NBA. He also didn’t play any point guard, so that is not even close to an option for the Boston Celtics right now.

Watching the game last night, Allan Ray was struggling with his shot, just like last year’s summer league action. Although he was one of the three Celtics with double-digit scoring (11 points), he only shot three for ten from the field, and many of the misses were wide open looks that he must knock down. Last year it took Allan Ray until the last couple of summer league games to turn it on and earn a spot, but I think he knows that there is much more pressure on him to perform this year as his services may not be needed.

Gabe Pruitt, although he didn’t receive much playing time, showed that he has got an NBA ready jumper. He came in right away and launched a three from the right wing and converted even while receiving a hip check from the defender (no call for the rookie, though).  Pruitt went three for six from the field, hitting one three-pointer and finishing with seven total points. The negatives were Pruitt’s zero rebounds, zero assists, five fouls (in 17 minutes) and two turnovers (one which should have been a lob to Gerald Green for a dunk). It is the kid’s first NBA action, so let’s see how he responds throughout the rest of the summer league.

Although Pruitt showed last night that he is definitely not ready to step in and be a backup point guard, he put on display his jumpshot which will be enough to number Allan Ray’s days as a Boston Celtic. Pruitt brings better size at 6′4″ and at least a little experience running a team’s offense. Pruitt will make this team, but I’m sure Ray will catch on to another team in the NBA.