Anfernee Simons sends clear message in Celtics win vs. Pelicans

“That’s the Ant I know,” Jayson Tatum proclaimed as he crashed Anfernee Simons’ postgame interview with Abby Chin on Monday.

Through his first three games as a Boston Celtic, Simons scored 33 total points while shooting 40.9% from the field and 27.3% from three. The team was winless. Against the Pelicans, Simons not only broke out of his Celtics slump but also helped the team secure its first win of the season in the process.

“We go 0-2, everybody’s [on the outside] looking around like the world was going to end,” Simons joked postgame. “Honestly, it wasn’t like that. We kept a positive mindset going into this game, knowing that, at some point, it was going to click for us. Tonight, it clicked.”

The beauty of Monday’s performance was that it encapsulated these first four games in one. For three quarters, Simons struggled, didn’t look comfortable on offense, and struggled to make an impact on defense.

Then, once the fourth rolled around, it was game on. Ironically, it took a hustle play for the 26-year-old to find his rhythm. He crashed from the corner after a missed Sam Hauser three-point attempt and found his way to the loose ball for a little putback floater.

Simons proceeded to drill three straight threes of his own, including a tough stepback over Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears.

His 12-point fourth quarter helped the Celtics blow this game wide open, right when it felt as if they could be slipping towards a fourth consecutive loss.

The Celtics need Anfernee Simons to play at this level in order to be competitive

As Tatum said, this was the first time that Simons looked like himself in a Boston uniform. If the Cs are going to recover from this slow start, they’re going to need more of the same from the former Portland Trail Blazers guard.

The idea heading into this season was that Simons would be a great spark off of the Celtics’ bench behind Payton Pritchard and Derrick White -- a role far different than what he’d grown used to over the past few years in Portland, where he consistently had the ball in his hands and was depended on for offensive creation.

Now, in Boston, he has to come in and pick his spots carefully, while trying to fit in alongside Pritchard, White, and Jaylen Brown. On paper, it seemed like the transition would take the pressure off of Simons and allow him to play without opposing defenses being solely keyed in on him. Instead, it’s taken him out of his rhythm.

Monday’s 25-point performance was a step in the right direction for Simons, but it’s too soon to tell if it’ll be smooth sailing from this point on. The season is still young, and there’s still room for both growth and the growing pains that accompany it.