LAS VEGAS — It was here two years ago that Boston Celtics assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry gave draftee Guerschon Yabusele the “Dancing Bear” nickname. But the 6-foot-7 Frenchman is looking a bit more like Yogi Bear these days, the result of perhaps a little extra time with picnic baskets.

A stout Yabusele still managed 16 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of the Celtics’ 95-89 win in their Vegas Summer League opener over the weekend, but maneuvering his larger frame was a factor in seven fouls (players have 10 personals to work with here – quick, someone call Greg Kite).

Yabusele acknowledged he’d like to lose some weight after pushing fairly close to the 300 range, and the Celtics have let it be known they’ll need to see less of Yabu if he wishes to see more of the court in the coming season.

“I know that we have the people in place to help him with that,” said Celtics assistant coach Jay Larranaga, who’s leading Boston’s entry here. “I thought he was pretty good (Friday night), but I think everybody can always improve their conditioning. I think taking ownership of your career is important.

“Basketball’s a game of speed, so he needs to be as fast as he can possibly be, and that’s true for every guy on our team. There’s a lot of fast guards that he’s going to have to be able to guard on switches.”

The value of Yabusele to the Celtics is that he has more than enough size to play inside, but he can also step out and hit perimeter shots. But the key to competing for a place in the rotation will be defense and the ability to move.

“I’m probably going to lose a couple of pounds,” he said after the Celtics’ morning workout Saturday. “I’ve already lost some. I feel good now, but I still feel like if I lose a little bit more I will still be great, so I’m really working on that.

“It’s better for me to have less, because I’m going to be running and jumping and defending a little bit better. I’m going to be less tired. I’m just trying to lose a couple of pounds and feel good with my body. I’m just trying to have a positive summer league and give everything for the next season.”

As for how his offseason is going – and with things like this event and workout requirements, is it really an offseason? – Yabusele said, “Pretty good. I’ve had some pretty busy months before I got to summer league. I’ve been working a lot on my game, working a lot on my body, lifting, just trying to lose weight and just be in shape and do what I can do.”

His plan for achieving his desired shape is fairly basic.

“It’s not really diet,” he said. “I had a chef for like a whole month. It was amazing. You don’t have to eat smaller portions, just eat good food. I just started losing weight like that.

“For example, if he’s going to cook me a steak, you’re probably not going to put butter on it and all the stuff. You’re just going to do it plain with some green stuff.”

Yabusele was doing a fairly good job maintaining his weight when he began the year with the Celtics, but he ran into trouble with his winter stints in Maine with the Red Claws.

His G League coach, Brandon Bailey, explained that, while the organization is planning to do more to help players with their dietary needs going forward, they’ve been pretty much left to their own devices. That means eating out, which often means a less than healthy approach to satisfying hunger.

But Yabusele isn’t letting himself off the hook so easily.

“We’re all pros at this point, so I have to be able to bring my own food and figure it out and do my stuff,” he said. “So I’m not going to put it on eating out.”

And he is well aware by now that if can take care of his body, the rest will be more apt to take care of itself.

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