Boston Celtics: 3 things to know about newest Celtic, Nik Stauskas
The dust is settling on the buyout market for the Boston Celtics, they had an open roster spot and came to terms with a two-year deal, with Canadian and Lithuanian sharpshooter, Nik Stauskas.
A shock to many Cs fans who may be perplexed by this move, a former lottery pick who has not been able to stick on a roster long enough to become a household name anywhere. Why should we be excited? The five-year NBA veteran is looking better than ever after his recent G-League stint with Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets developmental team.
He may have been overshadowed by the hype surrounding Isaiah Thomas who did his minor league stint on the same squad. Now, Cs fans we are not getting a Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas or even Deandre Bembry level pickup, but he fits team needs.
However, another shooter to add to our guard and wing depth makes far more sense. Boston has experienced many injuries recently to the likes of Jaylen Brown, Aaron Nesmith, and even Derrick White.
Brad needed to add a piece as a level of injury insurance that could also make a contribution to the rotation. Killing two birds with one leprechaun pot-sized stone.
Let’s dive into getting a clear profile on the newest Celtic who will dawn number 13 in his debut. Who are the shamrocks getting in this five-year NBA vet? What type of impact can his addition have down the road?
The guy was signed to a two-year deal, with the second year non-guaranteed, but the fact he got one of the available standard contract spots speaks volumes to Celt’s brass belief in the 28-year-old.
Without further mention, here are 3 things to know about the newest Boston Celtics player, Nik Staukas:
Factoid No. 1) Nik Stauskas has scored 100 points in his last two games
Nik Stauskas has set the NBA G-League in an inferno in his last two outings, topping out at 100 points. Boston Celtics enter the chat, hoping those levels of flames can be sustained from the former lottery pick.
100 points at any level of this sport are incredible in a two-game span. The same people that will cast hate on him have likely never picked up a basketball in their lives. Let’s take a deeper look into these last two outings.
The Grand Rapids Gold beat the Wisconsin Herd behind an electric 57 point matinee from the scoring guard on 20-29 shooting including 11 made 3’s on 15 attempts in 43 minutes of play.
Staukas would not stop there, the next game adding to that impressive feat by dropping 43 points on the Lakeland Magic. This was enough for Brad Stevens to get in touch with his agents and get a deal done that same week.
Everybody freaked out with Isaiah Thomas having some unreal games in the G-League, let’s keep that same energy with Nik.
On the season, he averaged 26 points, 5.8, and 4.7 per game on unreal shooting splits of 51.4% from the field, 46.6% from three, and 84.1% from the line.
The shamrocks had to take a chance on this wildcard by adding him to their deck of playing cards. These season averages show that well these two games may be outliers, the 6’6 off guard is having an exceptional season.