Celtics Set To Face Kings In Las Vegas Summer League Championship Game On Tuesday
BOSTON (CBS) -- A Boston team will be playing for a title on Tuesday night. The Celtics will take on the Sacramento Kings in the Las Vegas Summer League championship game, a tilt that will tip off at 9 p.m. ET at Thomas and Mack Arena.
It's not exactly "Banner 18," which has been the Celtics' goal for over a decade. And while "Banner 17.5" certainly doesn't have the same ring to it, the Summer Celtics have provided fans with a lot of fun basketball over the last week.
The Celtics have gone undefeated during their Summer League schedule so far, sporting a 4-0 record while outscoring opponents by an average of 21 points over those victories. That ridiculous point differential is why the team has earned their spot in the title game on Tuesday night.
Boston has been led by point guard Payton Pritchard (averaging 20.3 points off 51.4 percent shooting over his three games) and Aaron Nesmith (18.8 points per game off 51.7 percent shooting), with plenty of support from Carsen Edwards (13.5 points per game) and Bruno Fernando (9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game), plus a few highlight dunks from Romeo Langford.
Pritchard's time in the Summer League appeared to be over when he left the team to play in a Portland, Oregon Pro-Am over the weekend, where he dropped a ridiculous 92 points. But Prichard tweeted Monday morning that he would be back in Vegas for Tuesday's title game.
Back in Vegas on Tuesday for summer league chip! https://t.co/Ns0bJWvYEl
— Payton Pritchard (@paytonpritch3) August 16, 2021
However, Celtics Summer League coach Joe Mazzulla, Pritchard's status for Tuesday's game remains up in the air.
"I know everyone saw what he tweeted and we're in discussions about whether it makes sense for him to come back," Mazzulla said after Monday's practice in Las Vegas. "We're still communicating and working through that. As a coach obviously you want him there. I think we'll know more in the morning."
The Kings should present the Summer Celtics with a pretty good challenge, as Sacramento is also 4-0 and outscored their opposition by an average of 14 points. The Kings are led by Davion Mitchell, the No. 9 overall pick in 2021, who is averaging 11.3 points and 5.5 assists in his summer action. Jahmi-us Ramsey is leading all Sacramento scorers at 16.2 points per game.