Welcome to Boston, Baylor Scheierman!

[165bows]

Little did Brad know that he drafted Kevin Love.

Read on Twitter

(I initially wanted to write Jokic but that might have been too much.)

He had another quick outlet pass in that game that directly created a score as well.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Mid season Baylor Scheierman check-in. He has currently played 25 G-League games, 11 in the tip off torunament and 14 in the regular season so I'll use that as my cut off points.

First 11 G-League games : 18.2 pts, 6.5 rbs, 3.2 asts, 0.9 stls, 1.6 tovs (33.3% three point percentage on 9.3 attempts)
Last 14 G-League games : 20.4 pts, 6.2 rbs, 5.1 asts, 1.5 stls, 2.6 tovs (40.8% three point percentage on 10.1 attempts)

If advanced stats are more your things:
First 11 G-League games : 21.2 USG%, 59.8 TS%, 14.6 AST%, 9.3 REB%
Last 14 G-League games : 23.3 USG%, 62.2 TS%, 23.6 AST%, 8.8 REB%

He seems to be trending in the right direction. The shooting in particular has really come around.

Obviously the competition level is much lower in the G-League but here are some NBA comps for what he has been doing lately:
23+ USG%, 62+ TS%, 23+ AST%
Darius Garland
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Nikola Jokić
And that's it

Even if we compare to his season long stats, there's not a lot of names that can do it at the NBA level:
22+ USG%, 61+ TS%, 19+ AST%
Darius Garland
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Nikola Jokić
Zach LaVine
Damian Lillard
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Kevin Durant

Let's drop the usage requirement because I very much doubt he would be able to handle that kind of workload at the NBA level. Guys with 61+ TS%, 19+ AST% not already listed are:
Josh Hart
Ty Jerome
Domantas Sabonis
Jimmy Butler
Kelly Olynyk
Khris Middleton

The point is that his combo of efficiency and playmaking is pretty rare and intriguing. I don't hate Ty Jerome as stylistic comparison by the way.

[31to6]

Never been particularly on his bandwagon, but starting to get more comfortable with his size, strength, skill and dare I say it (his key to being a NBA player) maybe decent mobility.

[phincsfan]

Pretty telling that Stevens cut ties with Anton this early. Keeping JD for 3 seasons must be because of his age. If that's the case, could Rico be on the move in the near future? Take an L, trade for a pick in the 30's and part ways with that contract?

[redslastlaugh]

I’m not ready to give up on Baylor. But he’s off to a pretty bad start for a 1st round pick. His WS/48 is negative (-0.43) and of the 15 picks after him (#31-45) there are 10 players who’ve logged >100 min with a positive WS.

31. Jonathan Mogbo
32. Kyle Filipowski
34. Tyler Kolak
35. Johnny Furphy
38. Ajay Mitchell
39. Jaylen Wells
40. Oso Ighodaro
41. Adem Bona
44. Pelle Larsen
45. Jamal Shead

10 out of the next 15 drafted guys atleast 100 minutes & been better than Sheierman. Two guys (Tyler Smith, Bobi Klintman) have not yet played 100 minutes. And two guys (Juan Nunez, nikola Djurisic) have not come over from Europe.

Not great for Baylor, but I’m NOT ready to give up yet tho

Pretty telling that Stevens cut ties with Anton this early. Keeping JD for 3 seasons must be because of his age. If that's the case, could Rico be on the move in the near future? Take an L, trade for a pick in the 30's and part ways with that contract?

[brackdan70]

I’m not ready to give up on Baylor. But he’s off to a pretty bad start for a 1st round pick. His WS/48 is negative (-0.43) and of the 15 picks after him (#31-45) there are 10 players who’ve logged >100 min with a positive WS.

31. Jonathan Mogbo
32. Kyle Filipowski
34. Tyler Kolak
35. Johnny Furphy
38. Ajay Mitchell
39. Jaylen Wells
40. Oso Ighodaro
41. Adem Bona
44. Pelle Larsen
45. Jamal Shead

10 out of the next 15 drafted guys atleast 100 minutes & been better than Sheierman. Two guys (Tyler Smith, Bobi Klintman) have not yet played 100 minutes. And two guys (Juan Nunez, nikola Djurisic) have not come over from Europe.

Not great for Baylor, but I’m NOT ready to give up yet tho

Pretty telling that Stevens cut ties with Anton this early. Keeping JD for 3 seasons must be because of his age. If that's the case, could Rico be on the move in the near future? Take an L, trade for a pick in the 30's and part ways with that contract?

It looks like a swing and a miss by Brad…especially at his age. That said part of the PT is being on a stacked team.

[redslastlaugh]

Yea, the age factor seems particularly concerning. Some rookies have started poor and turned it around. I remember Avery Bradley being atrocious his rookie year. But Avery was 19 or 20 yrs not 24. But… I’m not jumping ship just yet

[31to6]

I don’t see why cutting bait with Watson makes us feel they’re likely to do so with Baylor. I didn’t expect him to do anything in Boston this season, but he’s playing well in Maine and fitting in fine in his few minutes here and there with the big club.

To my mind this season is about calibrating and improving his body for the NBA. Maybe it works out, maybe not — but so far I haven’t seen or heard anything about him being off track.

Would I rather have Jamal Shead right now? Sure, but it’s a crapshoot and he’s playing for a crap team.

As for Watson, maybe he did or said something stupid. Who knows? We’re not privy to what goes on behind the scenes.

[phincsfan]

I don’t see why cutting bait with Watson makes us feel they’re likely to do so with Baylor. I didn’t expect him to do anything in Boston this season, but he’s playing well in Maine and fitting in fine in his few minutes here and there with the big club.

To my mind this season is about calibrating and improving his body for the NBA. Maybe it works out, maybe not — but so far I haven’t seen or heard anything about him being off track.

Would I rather have Jamal Shead right now? Sure, but it’s a crapshoot and he’s playing for a crap team.

As for Watson, maybe he did or said something stupid. Who knows? We’re not privy to what goes on behind the scenes.

It's a business and Rico has a pretty penny guaranteed for these two years. He's going to be 25 years old at the start of next season so there's not much wiggle room for him. If he was dominating in Maine then I would say he's pretty safe, but he's not. His stats are similar to Drew, but Drew is 2mil cheaper and if he signs a regular contract he'll still be cheaper than Rico.

I think his best bet to carve out a spot in the league is to be a facilitator. He's a smart player, he's got good size, he's an athlete, he's tough but at the same time he's slow. He needs minutes and I'm sure he wants minutes because his career is not guaranteed. If he's playing in New Orleans or Brooklyn he'll get 20+ minutes a night. He'll make mistakes, his team will lose because of the roster but he'll gain experience and exposure. With that experience his team options would most likely get picked up each season and he would have eventually signed another contract.

DA gave Springer a chance because of his age and his defensive ability. Rico doesn't really have either of those.

[Dogen]

One of the most emotionally satisfying plays of the season for me. Baylor chases down Bona, ends up sliding into the stands after knocking the ball off Bona, then the entire bench clears to show appreciation for the hustle. Plays like this with the team's response can be an indicator that we'll start to see more Scheierman before the playoffs. Dude is finding both his spots, and his role.

Watch on YouTube

[Hal14]

Pretty telling that Stevens cut ties with Anton this early. Keeping JD for 3 seasons must be because of his age. If that's the case, could Rico be on the move in the near future? Take an L, trade for a pick in the 30's and part ways with that contract?

Eh..maybe it's because of the age difference. But Peterson is old and he's still here. Queta was a 24 yr old when we signed him to a 2-way contract and he's still here. Hauser was age 24 on a 2-way contract for us. Pritchard was age 23 as a rookie for us.

I think there's more to it than that.

Who knows, maybe there was an off court issue with Anton..maybe he wasn't working hard enough..maybe the 3 pt shot wasn't where they wanted it to be..and nothing else in his game was really that great to compensate for the limited 3 pt shot, especially considering his age..

Shooting seems to be pretty important to Brad/Joe.

Sure, JD isn't much of a shooter and he's still here. But JD also doesn't really play, except for garbage time..and is only on a 2-way, not a standard contract. Sure, JD is younger than Watson. But he's also been here 3 years so he is more familiar with our systems and schemes..so therefore Joe trusts JD more and is more likely to put him into a real game. Watson just got here, has less time with our system..the less tenure you have, the shorter the leash..especially if you aren't really progressing much or showing much tangible skill that can be used on an NBA floor.

JD at least can handle the ball, run the offense, run PnR, be a solid facilitator/distributor type of floor general, push the pace.his playmaking is at an NBA level.

I'm not sure Watson does anything an NBA level at the moment. Possibly the defense..but his rim protection isn't great so he has to be really good defending in space and switching but I'm not sure he's *that* good at that stuff..he might be better off going to play overseas..who knows, maybe he ends up like Yabusele..goes overseas, gets better, stronger, improves the shooting and is able to make it in the NBA a few yrs later..

[Hal14]

Yea, the age factor seems particularly concerning. Some rookies have started poor and turned it around. I remember Avery Bradley being atrocious his rookie year. But Avery was 19 or 20 yrs not 24. But… I’m not jumping ship just yet

Derrick White, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Royce O'Neal, PJ Tucker, Simone Fontecchio, Torrey Craig, Fred Vanvleet, Duncan Robinson, Sam Hauser, Joe Ingles, Haywood Highsmith, Duop Reath, Jay Huff, Scottie Pippen Jr, etc.

All of these guys were 22+ when drafted - or went undrafted. And all of them barely played at all as a rookie..played mostly in G league as a rookie. Or they weren't even a rookie at all until they were like age 25-27..

[KamikazeK]

One of the most emotionally satisfying plays of the season for me. Baylor chases down Bona, ends up sliding into the stands after knocking the ball off Bona, then the entire bench clears to show appreciation for the hustle. Plays like this with the team's response can be an indicator that we'll start to see more Scheierman before the playoffs. Dude is finding both his spots, and his role.

Watch on YouTube

It's really great to see some signs of life from him. Hopefully it keeps up!

[Gant]

Pretty telling that Stevens cut ties with Anton this early. Keeping JD for 3 seasons must be because of his age. If that's the case, could Rico be on the move in the near future? Take an L, trade for a pick in the 30's and part ways with that contract?

I'm not sure Watson does anything an NBA level at the moment. Possibly the defense..but his rim protection isn't great so he has to be really good defending in space and switching but I'm not sure he's *that* good at that stuff..he might be better off going to play overseas..who knows, maybe he ends up like Yabusele..goes overseas, gets better, stronger, improves the shooting and is able to make it in the NBA a few yrs later..

The reason Anton Watson got cut is he isn't good enough and wasn't getting better. He was an average player in Maine and never improved. Davison, Scheierman, and Peterson have all grown their games and shown the organization something. Watson didn't.

Gary Washburn in the Globe:

Because the Celtics have so many high salaried players and they live in the restricted second apron, it’s critical to find players who are inexpensive and useful. Mazzulla plays the main guys so many minutes that finding time can be a difficult endeavor. But the coach has no sympathy for those who aren’t prepared even when they didn’t expect their chance.

Preparation is a prerequisite for being a Celtics reserve. Throughout the past few weeks, Mazzulla has thrown Peterson, Scheierman, and Davison into competitive and meaningful games. It’s a sign of trust, but also a test.

Earlier this week, the Celtics waived former second-round pick Anton Watson because they were not impressed with his development or satisfied with his improvement. And Mazzulla didn’t even use Watson in garbage time when he spent a brief stint with the Celtics last week.

On Thursday, he gave newly signed two-way player Miles Norris his NBA debut in his second game in uniform. His 4 minutes were inconsequential but he did grab 2 rebounds.

[165bows]

Maybe not fair but I’ve kind of moved into eff that guy mode with Watson. Seems like the work ethic wasn’t there or was at least a bit or a lot too soft.

[Fierce1]

Maybe not fair but I’ve kind of moved into eff that guy mode with Watson. Seems like the work ethic wasn’t there or was at least a bit or a lot too soft.

Too small to be a C and not talented enough to be a PF.

If he could play C, which I think the Cs were hoping, he would not have been let go.

[playa-hater]

I need a tape measure. Whose slide was longer...Scheierman's or Bird's??

[phincsfan]

Maybe not fair but I’ve kind of moved into eff that guy mode with Watson. Seems like the work ethic wasn’t there or was at least a bit or a lot too soft.

I'm sure his work ethic was ok. To me he had such a nonchalant attitude. Maybe that rubbed the staff the wrong way.

[Gant]

I need a tape measure. Whose slide was longer...Scheierman's or Bird's??

Cowens.

Watch on YouTube

;t=36s

[playa-hater]

I need a tape measure. Whose slide was longer...Scheierman's or Bird's??

Cowens.

Watch on YouTube

;t=36s

I'm not even sure that was Cowen's best slide.