After sitting out the first preseason game in Memphis, newcomer Anfernee Simons got his first minutes in green against the Raptors. In his first five-minute stint, he missed his first two shots and box
outs. His only contributions in the box score were three quick fouls.
“I was a little nervous at first, but I think in the second half, I kinda calmed down and started to play my game a little bit more,” he said after the game.
Simons admitted that he was initially probing the defense and getting used to Toronto’s on-ball physicality. Several times in the first half, the NBC Sports Boston cameras caught head coach Joe Mazzulla talking up the 26-year-old scorer.
“He’s just pushing you to be the best version of yourself. That’s all I see it as. He wants the best for everybody and he’s going to push you to the standard that he thinks you should be at,” Simons said of his new head coach. “Everybody respects him. Everybody respects the way he coaches and we know he can fiery, but he wants to bring that out of us.”
After halftime, Simons scored ten of his 18 points in the third (2-of-7 from behind the arc) and also finished with two rebounds and three assists.
“It was good. He did what we asked him to do,” Mazzulla said of Simons’ debut. “He was physical, aggressive which he has to be for us. I thought he did some good things.”
All in all, it was a strong performance for Simons. As Vice President of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren said on the broadcast, Simons is a gifted, proven scorer. His aggressiveness on defense can be dialed down — a much better problem to have than him not being at that level already — and it’s still unclear what his role will be on Opening Night. After spending years in Portland as the Trail Blazers #1 offensive option, he may not even start for the Celtics. He might have to get used to being a microwave scorer off the bench as Boston’s sixth man all while dealing with trade rumors swirling right up to the deadline and playing in the final year of his contract.
But Friday night was a good first step.
