Welcome to Boston, Anfernee Simons!

[Celts17Pride]

Simons has been doing well because Mazzulla has been limiting his minutes. That’s fine if Simons is willing to accept that.

[31to6]

I'm not an advanced stats guru, but trying to take a quick look, Simons ranks:
5th among Celtics who actually play (ditching Ron Harper Jr) in +/- so far: https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612738/onoffcourt-traditional?dir=D&sort=PLUS_MINUS
1. Queta +7.3
2. White +5.4
3. Pritchard +5.1
4. Walsh +4.7
5. Simons +3.2
6. Jaylen +2.9
7. Hauser +2.7
8. Minott +2.5
9 tie. Hugo +2.4
9 tie. Baylor +2.4

For DEFENSIVE RATING among Celtics rotation players, Simons is 8th, ahead of only Jaylen, Hauser, Garza, and Tillman:
https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612738/players-advanced?dir=A&sort=DEF_RATING

FWIW, Simons' DEFENSIVE RATING is two points *better* than that of Zubac, and Simons' defensive rating is #303 out of 495 players this season (sorry I don't know how to filter out the guys who have played few games or few minutes):
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/advanced?dir=A&sort=DEF_RATING
Mitchell Robinson is #302 and Dillon Brooks is #312

TAKEAWAY: Yes, Simons seems to have made progress defensively, from pretty much worst in the league to just somewhat below average, but flirting with average.

I was in Simon's camp before this season. And I still recognize his talent. but not as much now.not Because he has played good or bad. But rather the idea of playing jordan walsh minott and Hugo more. None of the younger trio can provide the same instant offense as Simons, but their all around game, defensive, length and energy with still adequate shooting and scoring I think would provide boston with a much better overall unit.

the rangy energy wings are great, no argument from me there!

The part of Simons' game that I was uncertain about, and have been disappointed with, is his ability to play point. I know he had an assist % in the upper 20s in PDX sometimes, which somewhat surprised me, but after watching him it's clear that there's no value in his ball handling and distributing beyond generally fitting in with the team.

Using him as a microwave scorer CAN be of value though, and I think they've found a role that mostly works for that. Some nights it'll help -- many nights it'll take a back seat to more rangy wing time, and that's all good from my perspective, for now.

[ryan in Maine]

I like Simons. It looks like he might be getting into his new role after some initial awkwardness. Hope he keeps improving as an all around player with us. It's certainly been interesting watching a #1 or #2 option learn a bench role that comes with the additional expectations of a champion.

[celticgreenie]

I like Simons. It looks like he might be getting into his new role after some initial awkwardness. Hope he keeps improving as an all around player with us. It's certainly been interesting watching a #1 or #2 option learn a bench role that comes with the additional expectations of a champion.

I like your patience with Simons. If he makes it past the trade deadline I think he'll absolutely feast once JT comes back, and even win us a game or two in the playoffs. I still have nightmares about the Knicks series, and those scoring droughts. He's a bit of a professional scorer like Paul Pierce. I love Pritchard but I have doubts if his crafty midrange game will translate come playoff time with higher defensive intensity and better defenders. I have less doubt with Simons as he has a quicker release, and some extra height with more athleticism. And even better news, Joe was praising his defense after last night's game.

[jfs1000d]

We should just keep him. Maybe we can resign him over the summer.


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[celticgreenie]

We should just keep him. Maybe we can resign him over the summer.


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I would definitely be open to resigning Simons at the right price. Also order of operations is important. If and when Brad makes his trade deadline deals, then sometime afterwards announcing a Simons extension would make sense so as to not hurt the team's ability to trade other players. I remember Jrue Holiday signing an extension on April 10th.

[ryan in Maine]

I like Simons. It looks like he might be getting into his new role after some initial awkwardness. Hope he keeps improving as an all around player with us. It's certainly been interesting watching a #1 or #2 option learn a bench role that comes with the additional expectations of a champion.

I like your patience with Simons. If he makes it past the trade deadline I think he'll absolutely feast once JT comes back, and even win us a game or two in the playoffs. I still have nightmares about the Knicks series, and those scoring droughts. He's a bit of a professional scorer like Paul Pierce. I love Pritchard but I have doubts if his crafty midrange game will translate come playoff time with higher defensive intensity and better defenders. I have less doubt with Simons as he has a quicker release, and some extra height with more athleticism. And even better news, Joe was praising his defense after last night's game.

I'm a big fan of natural scorers, and in Simon's case, he played himself into the league off that talent. He filled in admirably for Lillard when given the assignment. I also think he's an underrated passer and ballhandler. He did it the hard way.

I can't deny his limitations or the bad habits he's developed (from lack of playing championship basketball), but I like him a lot. I also have a soft spot for guards who are closer to my size than NBA size lol. I can't help but pull for these guys hard. I do get snippy with other posters who hate on him without just cause.

I'm actually really impressed with Pritchard as a top scoring option and ballhandler. He certainly proved me wrong when I was preoccupied with his long ball. And his midrange game is definitely one of his more impressive feats imo. My main concern is that, sometimes, it looks like he has to work really, really hard to get buckets. It's a seriously grind ass way to play, but he's managing well so far. You're right that'll tighten up in the playoffs. We'll have to see if he can continue opening up the paint so reliably. I sure hope so.

And Pritchard's emergence makes it easier to redefine Simons as a player and offer him the MLE (which I suspect is our plan unless a solid trade falls into place).

I'd like to see them both on the court with JT. JT is still getting better as a passer every season, and I think Pritchard and Simons could be a crazy get buckets quick lineup with JT's gravity.

[Fierce1]

I like Simons.
But there's no point in keeping him if Joe keeps him on the bench.

If Joe can give Simons significant playing time, like what he got against Utah, I like the idea of keeping Simons.

Simons is instant offense.
He's also a good passer and ball handler.

So it's just about fitting in with Mazzulla-Ball.