When the Boston Celtics traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons back in June, Celtics fans weren’t sure what to expect. Some were excited to see the team acquire the offensively gifted guard, while others were skeptical of his defensive shortcomings.
Through 14 games, the reaction is still (somehow) a mixed bag.
There is a sector of the Celtics’ fanbase that would do anything for Simons. Anytime Jack Simone and I discuss his play on the How ‘Bout Them Celtics podcast, there are wars in our comments section.
The Anfernee Simons Fan Club refuses to come off the idea that the former Blazers guard should be in Boston’s starting lineup.
Simons, so far, has averaged 13.9 points per game on 40.5% from the field and 39.6% from beyond the arc. The stats don’t tell the whole story, though. Typically, shooting nearly 40% from deep makes a guy stand out and cements him as a key rotation piece.
Yet, it doesn’t feel that way for Simons, who played a season-low 11:57 in Sunday’s win over the LA Clippers. Despite his lack of playing time, the Celtics built a 24-point lead over the visitors (though they almost let it slip away), and frankly looked dominant for the majority of the game.
There was not a single second during the Clippers’ second-half surge where I said to myself, “Huh, I feel like they could use Simons here.” Not because he’s not an impactful player when he’s on, but because he simply didn’t have it against LA, which is fine.
Anfernee Simons' minutes might have to come on a hot-hand basis
Joe Mazzulla handled Simons’ cold day perfectly. He subbed him in in the first half, then again early in the fourth quarter, to see if he had it going. When he didn’t, Mazzulla looked elsewhere for options to fill Simons’ minutes.
It may seem cruel or unfair, but the fact of the matter is that the Celtics can’t afford to play the 26-year-old guard if he isn’t making an impact on offense. He struggles too much as an off-ball defender for it to make it worth having him out there without him having a hot hand.
When he has the hot hand, it’s awesome. Simons was a huge reason why the Cs stuck with the Orlando Magic last Sunday, with his 25-point first half. He could do no wrong for those 24 minutes. Stepbacks, catch-and-shoot threes, drives to the hoop; he did it all.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the story for the majority of the season. Simons’ ball-stopping habits nullify his purpose when the shot isn’t falling. There have been so many possessions where the ball finds Simons and never leaves him. Once he puts it on the floor, it’s a wrap.
There was a brief window of hope for him as a distributor last week, when he dished a total of 12 assists across the Philly/Memphis back-to-back. For perspective, Simons only has 21 assists on the season outside of those two games.
Aside from the rare offensive explosion, he’s looked best when taking on an off-ball role on offense. Simons leads all Celtics who average at least one attempt in catch-and-shoot three-point percentage at 46.4%. It feels like Boston has tried to get him comfortable playing a lower-usage role on offense, but it just hasn’t worked out to this point.
For now, the strategy of rolling him out there to see if he’s got it going on any given day before deciding how many minutes he plays might be the move. There’s still time for him to find his fit, but the clock is ticking.