BOSTON — TD Garden was a ghost town on Thursday night. A third of the Boston Celtics roster decided to take a vacation to the Island of Injuries, as a loaded injury report completely derailed the team’s regular rotation. But on the bright side, it opened up some minutes for the guys who don’t usually get to play.
Jayson Tatum still spearheaded Boston’s game plan against the Philadelphia 76ers, Derrick White followed closely behind him—though he seemingly got a tooth knocked out on a drive in the second quarter (he returned in the third)— and Payton Pritchard came to play, too. Outside of that, it was the Stay Ready Crew’s time to shine.
And Baylor Scheierman did just that.
Baylor Scheierman looked great vs. the 76ers for all the right reasons
It only took one half for fans to get the full experience of what Scheierman stands for on the basketball court. He did a little bit of everything for the Celtics, but his hustle stood out above all else.
Scheierman drew two charges in the first half, and one was in transition. He stepped in front of a surging Guerschon Yabusele, who was running full-steam-ahead at the rim. The Celtics rookie got the call, and the entire Boston bench went nuts.
Tatum was hyped, Luke Kornet let out a scream, and assistant coach DJ MacLeay even delivered a standing ovation for Scheierman. It was the perfect encapsulation of what made his stint on Thursday night so impressive.
Coming out of Creighton, Scheierman’s three-point shot was a big strength, and he got the chance to show that off against the 76ers, too. He made a couple in the first half, but what stood out even more was his quick trigger. Scheierman was completely unafraid to fire up shots when the opportunity presented itself.
On top of all that, Scheierman also displayed his elite nose for the basketball on rebounds. There are few players on the court who chase boards quite like he does (with Torrey Craig being the exception on Thursday night, as he was a monster crashing from the corners for offensive boards).
His defense looked solid, too. Outside of the charges he drew, Scheierman was moving his feet well and managed to stay in front of his man most of the time. He was even hitting his rotations at the right time.
The rookie hit some more shots and made some more nice plays in the second half, but by then, fans should have been sold. He earned those minutes with his impressive play in the first half.
Scheierman makes it a point to fly around the court at all times, and that type of unwavering hustle is what will earn him more and more minutes as his career progresses. Only the most hardcore Celtics fans are paying close attention to the rookie's development at this point, but he looked great on Thursday night.