The Boston Celtics are pretty much locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference standings and the Brooklyn Nets are destined to finish in the draft lottery, so there wasn’t a ton at stake in Tuesday night’s matchup at TD Garden.
But that didn’t stop fans from creating an amazing atmosphere, and the primary reason for the excitement was Baylor Scheierman.
The 2024 first-round draft pick scored a career-high 20 points on 6-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. His best moment came at the end of the third quarter. He banked in a long 3-pointer but it was waved off due to a whistle. The rookie forward got another chance with 1.7 seconds left and drilled a 3-pointer as time expired, sending the crowd into a frenzy and firing up his teammates.
“It’s pretty special. When I hit that buzzer beater and the crowd was going crazy, that was probably a top-three environment I’ve ever been a part of,” Scheierman told reporters postgame. “It’s just special, and that’s obviously what makes Boston so elite and the best sports city in the country.”
It can be tough for a rookie to find a rhythm on a team like the Celtics that wins a lot of games and has a bunch of veteran players, but Scheierman has done a nice job staying ready and taking advantage of opportunities whenever they come.
“I think I’ve just done a good job of just trying to be where my feet are, whether that’s Maine or here, and try to learn as much as possible and take bits and pieces from everybody and mold it into my routine and how I go about things,” Scheierman said.
“I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve seen over the course of the year is just the growth that I’ve learned and staying ready for whenever my number is called.”
Scheierman was labeled as a very good outside shooter when the Celtics drafted him out of Creighton, and his ability to knock down 3-point shots is obviously quite valuable. But he’s more than just a shooter. He crashes the boards, he plays with toughness, he gives great effort defensively, he dives on the floor for loose balls — a lot of the little things that add up to winning. In addition to his scoring, he tallied three rebounds, two steals and one assist in 16 minutes versus the Nets.
“The thing I really like about him is his toughness,” C’s head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters postgame. “He’s got a high level of toughness. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and kind of an F-U mentality to where he’s going to make it work. We saw that on some of his box-outs, some of his offensive rebounds. Again, the threes were great, but I like the mindset and the toughness that he brought on both ends of the floor.”
Joe Mazzulla reflects on the mentality he observes in Baylor Scheierman, while Scheierman shares the reasoning behind his approach to the game
Scheierman agreed with his coach’s remarks.
“You kind of have to have that mentality to make it in this league with a lot of talented players,” he said. “Every time I step on that court I’m trying to go 110 percent and play as hard as I can regardless of the score or who we’re playing against. Just trying to put my best foot forward every single time.”
The Celtics have a pretty soft schedule the rest of the regular season. There are a lot of matchups against non-playoff teams coming up. If Mazzulla chooses to rest some of his veterans to keep them fresh for the playoffs, there could be lots more chances for Scheierman to develop his talent and prove he belongs at this level.
And if Scheierman continues to play well, maybe he could earn some minutes in the playoffs. Celtics history is full of unexpected playoff heros who played a key role in winning a single game or an entire series.
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