Preseason, Multi-Game Thread, 2025-26 – Record: 3-1

[itrsteve]

I am committed to find something I like about Baylor Schierman this game.

How did that work out for you?

Maybe better luck next game.

[ThePigeon]

I am committed to find something I like about Baylor Schierman this game.

How did that work out for you?

Maybe better luck next game.

Patience
Nesmith all over again. Same with Walsh
They both need consistent playing time and some more experience

Would I prefer Filipowsky? Of course. But this is what we have and we should at least let them get some experience

[Gant]

Queta only played 7 minutes, but it was eye opening compared to the last game. He was moving crisply on both ends. He was sharp with his rolls, quick with his feet, and aggressively grabbing the ball on rebounds. It's almost like he got pulled to put that in amber.

Boucher's the spiritual wise vet for this group. He pairs well with everyone and fills in where they're weakest. What an important signing. X talked before the game how he's learning the forward position from watching him. https://bsky.app/profile/bobbykrivitsky.bsky.social/post/3m2z7d5sv7k2p

Minott can freakin' play.

Hauser looked great. His lone downside continues though: after grabbing one rebound in 18 minutes in the first game, he grabbed one rebound in 17 minutes in this one.

Simons is starting to show his formidable offensive sparkle. With Tatum out, he's a guy you can hand the ball to get a crucial bucket against anyone. His defense against first line players is still to be seen.

Fun game for Brown, as he backed off from shooting and turned himself into a playmaker.

The competition has been low level in all three exhibitions. Toronto supposedly is playing their guys in the next one.

The pace is great. The defensive rebounding is not. Going forward, those two factors plus turnover rate will determine this team.

Did anyone see Joe Mazzulla's postgame press conference? He's a madman, and I say that with all affection. Gary Washburn had a story about this today. Here's the presser:

Watch on YouTube

[Fierce1]

How did that work out for you?

Maybe better luck next game.

Patience
Nesmith all over again. Same with Walsh
They both need consistent playing time and some more experience

Would I prefer Filipowsky? Of course. But this is what we have and we should at least let them get some experience

The difference between Nesmith and Baylor is the age when they were drafted.

As the saying goes, you can't win 'em all.

Brad missed on Baylor, but it's looking like Brad got it right with Hugo.

[BillessuR6]

Queta only played 7 minutes, but it was eye opening compared to the last game. He was moving crisply on both ends. He was sharp with his rolls, quick with his feet, and aggressively grabbing the ball on rebounds. It's almost like he got pulled to put that in amber.

Boucher's the spiritual wise vet for this group. He pairs well with everyone and fills in where they're weakest. What an important signing. X talked before the game how he's learning the forward position from watching him. https://bsky.app/profile/bobbykrivitsky.bsky.social/post/3m2z7d5sv7k2p

Minott can freakin' play.

Hauser looked great. His lone downside continues though: after grabbing one rebound in 18 minutes in the first game, he grabbed one rebound in 17 minutes in this one.

Simons is starting to show his formidable offensive sparkle. With Tatum out, he's a guy you can hand the ball to get a crucial bucket against anyone. His defense against first line players is still to be seen.

Fun game for Brown, as he backed off from shooting and turned himself into a playmaker.

The competition has been low level in all three exhibitions. Toronto supposedly is playing their guys in the next one.

The pace is great. The defensive rebounding is not. Going forward, those two factors plus turnover rate will determine this team.

Did anyone see Joe Mazzulla's postgame press conference? He's a madman, and I say that with all affection. Gary Washburn had a story about that today. Here's the presser:

Watch on YouTube

Mazzulla is crazy!

[DusterBuster]

Yes, Simons was better. He's the functional equivalent of a 6-3 Sam Hauser on offense, except that Hauser shoots off the catch, while Simons shoots off the dribble. But the ball goes in in either case. Defensively Simons held his own against Cleveland's third string players.

There's just no way you can say he's an equivalent to Hauser.

Simons is more than just a shooter on offense.
Don't forget Simons is a former slam dunk champion.
That means Simons is an above the rim player

Sam is just a specialist, a pure 3pt shooter.
He even struggles dunking the ball.

Simons is also a scorer, averaged 20+ ppg in 2023 and 2024.

Sam has yet to average 10 ppg in his NBA career.

So it's apples and oranges.

As someone who watched Simons for 6 years, he's not an above the rim player. Early in his career he really showed off his athleticism and certainly isn't bad there, but he rarely rarely dunks in games or plays above the rim.

[tfribs45]

Yes, Simons was better. He's the functional equivalent of a 6-3 Sam Hauser on offense, except that Hauser shoots off the catch, while Simons shoots off the dribble. But the ball goes in in either case. Defensively Simons held his own against Cleveland's third string players.

There's just no way you can say he's an equivalent to Hauser.

Simons is more than just a shooter on offense.
Don't forget Simons is a former slam dunk champion.
That means Simons is an above the rim player

Sam is just a specialist, a pure 3pt shooter.
He even struggles dunking the ball.

Simons is also a scorer, averaged 20+ ppg in 2023 and 2024.

Sam has yet to average 10 ppg in his NBA career.

So it's apples and oranges.

As someone who watched Simons for 6 years, he's not an above the rim player. Early in his career he really showed off his athleticism and certainly isn't bad there, but he rarely rarely dunks in games or plays above the rim.

regardless, Simons > Hauser and could easily be the C's starting Shooting guard. If not, he seems like a solid 6th man option. I think the C's keep him around, time will tell.....

[Gant]

Hauser shot 11 free throws all last season. Simons shot 15 in one game.

[DusterBuster]

There's just no way you can say he's an equivalent to Hauser.

Simons is more than just a shooter on offense.
Don't forget Simons is a former slam dunk champion.
That means Simons is an above the rim player

Sam is just a specialist, a pure 3pt shooter.
He even struggles dunking the ball.

Simons is also a scorer, averaged 20+ ppg in 2023 and 2024.

Sam has yet to average 10 ppg in his NBA career.

So it's apples and oranges.

As someone who watched Simons for 6 years, he's not an above the rim player. Early in his career he really showed off his athleticism and certainly isn't bad there, but he rarely rarely dunks in games or plays above the rim.

regardless, Simons > Hauser and could easily be the C's starting Shooting guard. If not, he seems like a solid 6th man option. I think the C's keep him around, time will tell.....

That wasn't mean to be a slam on Simons, just an observation.

[Celts17Pride]

Hauser shot 11 free throws all last season. Simons shot 15 in one game.

You never know, I saw Hauser drive to the basket 2-3 times last night.

[Red2]

Baylor takes some bad shots and he cant bring the ball up against pressure. He’s a good passer and rebounder for his size but his shooting has been poor so far

[sam_I_am]

I think the addition of Boucher, Simons and Minot has looked solid. The team has shown they can be a high powered offense. I think they would dominate the G-League if they continue to play G-League teams. I am curious to see how they perform against a team with an actual NBA starter.

I am concerned about how Jaylen Brown is playing. His transformation into a player who can pass out of double teams looks like it has backtracked. Against inferior competition it hasn’t looked great. Against real teams it could be a problem. If Tatum comes back - he will be fine because he really looks great physically. I am just concerned about his play as the #1 option.

[redslastlaugh]

I agree.

Celts havent played a proper NBA rotation yet this preseason, so really there've been only a couple of takeaways, one of which being that Scheierman hasnt looked like he belonged on the floor.

Baylor takes some bad shots and he cant bring the ball up against pressure. He’s a good passer and rebounder for his size but his shooting has been poor so far

[Curmudgeon]

Simons hasn't looked good. He was terrible in his first game, decent in the second. Simons is a shooter. If his three balls didn't go in consistently he would be out of the league. It's the same for Hauser, although Hauser is 6-8 and can get a rebound once in awhile. Simons is 6-3 and although they list him at 200 lbs he looks more like 180 soaking wet.

They are both in the game to shoot and you just hope they won't embarrass themselves on defense or by turning the ball over.

[itrsteve]

How did that work out for you?

Maybe better luck next game.

Patience
Nesmith all over again. Same with Walsh
They both need consistent playing time and some more experience

Would I prefer Filipowsky? Of course. But this is what we have and we should at least let them get some experience

Don't get me wrong, I want him to be good but the dude hasn't seen an early clock 3 that he hasn't liked and that stuff drives me nuts.

Wonderful that he's confident to the point of delusion but the early huck 3's are an absolute momentum sucker

[Mr_Mojo_Risin]

assessment through three preseason games:

Stock up:
- Boucher: Starter-caliber, plays fast and aggressive, obvious guy to hold tatum's spot.
- Minott: Solid rotation player, decent skills, incredible motor, good fundamentals.
- Gonzalez: Great feel for the game at his age, impacts the floor on both ends.
- Garza: I was expecting a towel waver but his activity and screens makes him a playable backup.

Stock flat:
- Pritch, Simons, Hauser: Doin' what they do, good to see them in regular season form.
- Williams, Shulga: Maine-bound long-term projects, as expected.

Stock down:
- JB: Need to see more creation, better ball control, better decisions. Same old is not good enough.
- Queta: Still inconsistent, still fouling too much. Another guys who needs to step up but hasn't looked any better.
- Tillman: Great guy to root for but he got nothing left, unless he suddenly starts nailing 3's at 40%.
- Walsh: Poor man's version of Minott/Boucher/Hugo, not clear he has a role on this team. End of the bench.
- Scheierman: Easily the biggest disappointment. Golden opportunity to own a rotation slot and instead has screwed the pooch.

Starters: JB, White, Boucher, PP, Queta
Rotation: Hauser, Simons, Minott, Gonzalez, Garza
Deep bench: Tillman, Baylor, Walsh, 2-ways.

Pretty much agree. I'd have Walsh as flat. Showed some promise but has been injured so we don't really know one way or another. I'd also have Queta as disappointing as Scheierman personally.

[darrendaye]

It's interesting taking note of the lineups Joe has thrown out there. At one point he went with PP, Simons, White and now I forget the bigs they were paired with but it was absent JB. I am curious if they'd try this in regular season. While the shooting remains putrid, I thought Scheierman did a better job staying in his lane. Minott I've talked much about, but I will again say I don't know why he gets called on to screen so infrequently. Maybe they are saving it for regular season lol. Tillman had a good game, they let him be a connector. If Garza doesn't show a perimeter shot threat, that big man rotation really gets wacky.

[Hal14]

The minutes distribution has been interesting through 3 preseason games:

[playa-hater]

I couldn't look at this forum for 2 days Because I didn't want to know what happened in the game I just finished watching between cleveland and boston. I will post more later, but in the meantime, Minot is showing me 2 things I really like that I was concerned about.. Shooting and even more importantly decision making. His energy and defense and rebounding in my opinion, were a given. But by adding shooting and decision-making. I feel he could step in and be a starter when necessary. And certainly An excellent rotation player going forward in our future.

[DusterBuster]

Simons hasn't looked good. He was terrible in his first game, decent in the second. Simons is a shooter. If his three balls didn't go in consistently he would be out of the league. It's the same for Hauser, although Hauser is 6-8 and can get a rebound once in awhile. Simons is 6-3 and although they list him at 200 lbs he looks more like 180 soaking wet.

They are both in the game to shoot and you just hope they won't embarrass themselves on defense or by turning the ball over.

This was largely our complaints with Simons as well. He's a legit lights-out shooter and when he's hot, he's unstoppable and can take over games. When he's not shooting well... he's kinda invisible on the court. The "other" parts of his game just aren't super strong to carry him through off-shooting nights. At best he's a passible defender (but certainly more on the bad side of the fence), his passing game is fine but nothing to write home about... he doesn't really drive and dish real well or set up teammates, pick and roll skills are just OK, he's also not much of a rim attacker so he doesn't draw fouls particularly well.