Passing marks at guard
LAS VEGAS -- Sebastian Telfair sees the Las Vegas summer league as the perfect place to bond with new teammates Ryan Gomes, Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Allan Ray, and especially fellow point guard Rajon Rondo. Telfair knows 10 days devoted to the summer league will be invaluable when the season starts.
He has started to catalog where and how his teammates want passes. After a few misses yesterday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center, Telfair vowed better ``communication with the eyes" of the big men as summer league progresses.
``When you're on a new team with a new system with new guys, everything is different," said Telfair. ``You want to be around these guys and jell with them. They play different. They practice different. They talk different. I want to be around so I can pick up a lot of those things, so I can blend in with them right away."
During a break, Telfair figures the team bonding will continue off the court with a movie screening. Maybe ``Superman Returns." Maybe ``Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." A little action/adventure everyone can enjoy.
But before any trip to a movie theater, the Celtics staged their own action/adventure for the summer league crowd, pulling out a 91-85 victory over Dallas in the final minutes. Playing almost the entire game as interchangeable point guards, Telfair and Rondo provided much of the action and adventure. What the pair lacked in size, the 6-foot Telfair and 6-1 Rondo made up for with speed, aggressive defense, well-executed pick and rolls and solid, sometimes spectacular, passing.
Executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge liked what he saw, as did assistant coach Tony Brown, who paced the sideline. Doc Rivers is expected today.
``They both played really well," said Ainge. ``It was indicative of how they've been playing in [practice]. Rondo does some spectacular defensive things, getting loose balls and steals. And you see the communication ability and the basketball IQ of Sebastian. Not that Sebastian doesn't play `D' and Rondo doesn't play offense. Rondo made some spectacular passes, too. They're both good players."
In addition to scoring 17 points (5 for 10), Telfair led the Celtics with six assists in 36 minutes. Rondo finished with 8 points (4 for 7), 4 assists, and 4 steals in 36 minutes. Gomes led the Celtics with 29 points and nine rebounds, and Jefferson (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Ray (10 points) also reached double figures. Everyone who received playing time with Telfair and Rondo benefited from their fast-paced play.
``Obviously, they're going to help us as far as advancing the ball up the floor and getting easy baskets," said Brown. ``It's a kind of speed and quickness we haven't had the past couple years. Hopefully, we can take advantage of that. Last year, we didn't do that. They play well off each other. It's a little difficult for both guys because they're used to having the ball in their hands, but with our offense, it's interchangeable. I'm sure we'll probably toy with playing smalls together a lot this coming season."
While there were a few glitches, like the handful of times Rondo and Telfair went for the ball, the point guards looked comfortable in their roles. Rondo allowed Telfair to get open from the 3-point arc, where he went 3 for 5. Gomes observed that the combination made the offense more unpredictable and more difficult for the Dallas defense to guard.
``It was pretty easy," said Rondo. ``It was never one of us saying, `Let me do it, let me do it.' We're both looking to pass first. Whoever is the closest man is going to get the ball out and we run. We're almost similar in getting the ball up the floor with our quickness and creating a shot for the open guy. [Sebastian] told me what to look for and what kind of decisions I can make on this level."
Added Telfair: ``In my past summer leagues here, I pretty much proved that, if I wanted to, I can dominate in assists and scoring. But now, I'm here to jell with my team. I'm still going to play hard. I'm still going to get my numbers and get my guys involved in the game."
