BOSTON — Baylor Scheierman will start his fourth game of the season when the Celtics face the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. Scheierman has appeared in 42 of 47 games this year — and has averaged 3
points and 2 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per night.
Scheierman is starting in Jaylen Brown’s absence, as Brown will miss the match-up with a right knee contusion and a tight left hamstring. It’s Brown’s fourth absence of the season, and it comes just a few days after he openly discussed his hamstring bothering him.
While Scheierman has shot the ball well — he’s hitting 40% from beyond the arc on the season — Joe Mazzulla has gone out of his way to primarily praise his success on the other end of the court.
“His growth is more about his defensive versatility,” Mazzulla said earlier this month. “He has the confidence to play on the offensive end… his continued growth in defensive physicality and in the system is where he’s built a level of trust.”
Scheierman was also a team-best +11 in the Celtics’ 11-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday
The Celtics face the Kings on the second night of a back-to-back
Alongside Scheierman, the Celtics will start Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta. Queta returns from a one-game absence due to an illness he’s dealt with since Friday.
The Celtics (29-18) have an 11-7 record with Hauser as a starter this season. In those games, Hauser is averaging 12.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.5% from the field and 44.2% from three.
The Kings (12-37) will start Dennis Schroder, Precious Achiuwa, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Maxime Raynaud. The Kings have lost 7 straight games and are playing at TD Garden on the second night of a back-to-back.
