The Celtics improved their summer league record to 2-1, as they absolutely walloped the Chinese National Team with a 28 point victory (80-52). Due to China’s relatively soft front line, which all likes to play the perimeter, the Celtics were able to dominate the glass, outrebounding China 43-28. Leon Powe and Glen “Big Baby” Davis did most of the work on the glass, combining for 23 rebounds.

Aside from the tough inside play, Boston played very aggressively on the defensive end, forcing 26 turnovers and not letting them get anything easily. While Rajon Rondo sticks out defensively every night, guys like Leon Powe and Brandon Wallace also did a tremendous job. The activity of Wallace is very appealing, and while the average fan may not notice or appreciate what he does, he has a legitimate shot at making the final roster.

Leon Powe certainly was “The Show” tonight, scoring 23 points on just 9 shot attempts, grabbing 12 rebounds, and working significantly harder than anybody else on the floor. With that work ethic, production on the glass, mixed with the extra intangibles he brings, it’s going to be tough for Doc Rivers to keep him on the bench.

Powe’s tag-team partner, Glen Davis, had a rough night. While he was great on the glass, he was extremely frustrated out there all night long, picking up some ticky-tack fouls and turning the ball over. Hopefully “Big Baby” can put together a good game on Friday night, because he wasn’t a happy camper against China.

Rajon Rondo got off to a beautiful start, attacking the basket and being very aggressive offensively. We have seen so many times where Rondo has completely passed up wide open opportunities, but he did a pretty good job in this contest. He took much better care of the ball than he did Monday night vs. San Antonio, and once again he harassed the opposing guards.

Gerald Green had a horrid offensive night. He couldn’t knock down a perimeter jumper to save his life, he looked frustrated, and he never got a chance to get anything going. Despite his struggles and frustrations, the one promising thing about Green in this game was that he still played very solid defense. He was extremely active defensively throughout the night. If there’s one thing you want to see from Gerald throughout summer league action, it’s just that.

China’s newest star, Yi Jianlian, had another unimpressive outing. Jianlian clearly is an outstanding athlete and has a ton of raw talent, but he isn’t showing it in summer league action. Jianlian struggled mightily on the defensive end, committed eight fouls, and due to the strong defense of Leon Powe, he was unable to get many shots off. The ironic thing about all of this? It is believed that if Danny Ainge would have held on to the fifth pick in June’s draft, Jianlian would have been the selection. You can’t base your opinion on anybody based on summer league play, but he certainly has a lot of deficiencies he needs to improve on.

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Celtics Player Stat Lines

• Leon Powe: 23 points, 12 rebounds, 7-9 FG, 9-12 FT
• Rajon Rondo: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 5-10 FG, 2-4 FT
• Glen Davis: 10 points, 11 rebounds, 8 fouls, 3-5 FG, 4-6 FT
• Gerald Green: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 2-10 FG, 0-3 3FG, 6-10 FT
• Brandon Wallace: 2 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1-2 FG
• Lance Allred: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2-7 FG, 1-2 FT
• Andreas Glyniadakis: 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 2-5 FG, 1-1 FT
• Gabe Pruitt: 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG
• Pat Carroll: 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1-4 FG, 2-2 FT
• Allan Ray: 3 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1-4 FG, 1-3 3FG
• Sergio Sanchez: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 6 min
• Eric Hicks: 0-2 FG, 4 min
• Torin Francis: DNP

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