ORLANDO, Fla.In Boston's summer league win over Oklahoma City on Monday, Dionte Christmas led the Celtics in rebounds.
In Tuesday's 82-73 win over Brooklyn, Christmas led the Celtics in assists.
The 6-foot-5 wing came into camp with the reputation of being a spot-on shooter. But in the first two games, he's proving that his game is about more than just scoring.
"I know coming into training camp, the Boston Celtics, they have Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett, Rondo, guys like that," Christmas said. "So my object coming out here is to show those guys I can do everything."
The transition to being a more well-rounded player has been aided by his time overseas in Greece and in Turkey.
"The last two years overseas, I really had to be that guy to do everything," Christmas said.
Since leaving Temple as one of the top players out of the Atlantic-10, Christmas has played in Israel, the Czech Republic and Greece.
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"I really had to be that guy to do everything," Christmas said. "That was the good thing about going overseas."
That versatility was on display in Tuesday's come-from-behind win that improved the C's summer league record to 2-0.
Christmas had a handful of shot opportunities that he passed on because teammateJonathan Gibson had it going offensively. Gibson led all scorers with 17 points, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Boston also got strong performances from E'Twaun Moore (15 points) and Jared Sullinger (eight points, 12 rebounds).
"Me, I'm just trying to fill in the gaps," said Christmas, who had 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting. "I want to be a person that can rebound, passjust do everything for this team."
That includes playing defense, which is an absolute must if you want to see meaningful minutes for the Celtics under Doc Rivers.
No need to tell Christmas.
He knows that, more than anything else, will bode well for his chances of sticking with the Celtics.
"I know they need some defenders," Christmas said. "Those guys are getting old. And I would take a lot of slack off those guys if I were to make this team."
C's assistant coach Tyronn Lue knows that Christmas' strength has always been in his ability to score in bunches.
While at Temple, Christmas averaged no less than 19.5 points per game in each of his last three seasons with the Owls.
But thus far, he has caught the attention of the C's coaching staff with his effort defensively.
"I just like the way he competes on defense," said Lue, who is coaching the C's summer league team. "If you get beat, but you're working hard and trying, that's all you can say. He does a good job of that. He's a good player."
But it remains to be seen if it'll be enough for him to stick around with the Celtics through the summer and into training camp.
"It's still early," Christmas said. "They've shown a lot of interest. Hopefully I can get an invite (to training camp); hopefully I can get more than that."