Gabe Pruitt could REEEEALLLLLY help the Celtics out by emerging as a capable back up to Rajon Rondo. And the Orlando Summer League is pretty much his last chance to be that guy. And he seems to be taking advantage of it.
The problem is... we've seen this out of Gabe before. I'm starting to wonder if he's the NBA's version of the AAAA player in baseball. You know... the guy who is way too good for the AAA, but not good enough for the Majors? He's usually pretty good in the summer league games. And he's often good in the pre-season. But then something happens in the regular season.
Making things worse is his DUI last season.
“It happened at a time when I was getting quality minutes, and then we got Stephon and I took a back seat,” he said. “It all kind of limited me. So now I’m taking it careful and cautious. This is a real big summer for me. I’m just doing what I need to do.
“The only thing I feel I’m doing wrong now is that I’m rushing my shot, but overall it’s been good.”
The thing to remember about Gabe is that he's young. He just turned 23 in April. He's been in the league 2 years. All of us, myself included, get caught up sometimes in wanting guys to just waltz into the league and be ready right away. That rarely happens. And when you're Gabe Pruitt, walking into a situation where you're guaranteed to be no better than a back up, it's even harder because you don't get any game action.
We'll know in a few weeks if Gabe's done enough to get one more chance with the C's. Personally... I'd like to see him get that chance. Are we really better off with Tyronn Lue... or another veteran minimum PG? I'm not sure about that.
I think Gabe Pruitt has the skills to do the job... and I think the real problem is in his head.
I've said it before. Gabe's got all the skills. He can shoot, he can pass, he can drive, and he can jump and dunk over people every once in a while. I'm hoping that for him, the 3rd year is a charm.
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