Anfernee Simons made it clear from day one that he was willing to commit himself on the defensive end. He also expressed that he had no issue with coming off the bench. Still, both adjustments take time.
Simons spent the last two years operating as the primary option for the Portland Trail Blazers on offense. Now, he's the sixth man for the Boston Celtics.
After generating 23 points in a late-November win over the Orlando Magic, the eighth-year guard opened up about his change in mentality from how he had grown accustomed to operating.
"Honestly, just keeping it simple," shared Simons. "[In] previous years, that was kind of my thing. Just ease into the game and see how they guarded me, and then kind of be more aggressive in the second half. Here, I don't have that much time to be able to ease into the game, and so, taking the opportunities that's there. Just being myself, aggressive, and also making the right plays as well."
Anfernee Simons is adapting
It's important to be patient about Simons' acclimation offensively. That's even more true on defense.
In his final season with the Trail Blazers, he averaged 1.2 deflections, per NBA.com. He also swiped nearly a steal per contest. Still, the 26-year-old guard had to validate his declarations leading into the current campaign that he would be more engaged at that end of the floor.
While no one would mistake him for Marcus Smart, that doesn't mean there hasn't been improvement on defense. His head coach recently expressed his appreciation for that growth.
"Ant has been really good for us the last couple of games as well," said Mazzulla, delivering unprompted recognition after the Celtics' 103-95 win over the Indiana Pacers. "He gets put under the radar a little bit, but I thought some of his scoring stretch tonight, and where he's grown defensively helped that unit as well."
In a victory where Simons chipped in 11 points off Boston's bench, when asked to pinpoint where he has made those strides defensively, Mazzulla conveyed, "Tonight, it was his scoring and his overall, his presence defensively. His ability to impact the ball, his ability to ball-pressure, he's just played well for us."
Continuing to praise the newest member of the Celtics' backcourt for how he has adjusted to his role in Boston, Mazzulla voiced, "We talk about depth, we talk about guys sacrificing and all that, I mean, there's no one that's done that more than him over the transition, and I thought he's handled it really well, and I think when he's aggressive for us, it makes us a little bit of a different team and those second units, and you saw that tonight."
Within an organization that places a premium on protecting and cultivating its culture, Mazzulla isn't the only one singing Simons's praises.
"He's a quiet guy, but just a super person, and so he's really come in with a great mindset: 'I'm going to help the team any way I can,' Brad Stevens recently stated. "Offensively, he knows he's capable of going nuts in any given game. "But then, defensively, I've just been really impressed, like, he's picked up, he's made it hard. I think he's made great strides in the months he's been here on that end. And I'm a big fan. I like him a lot."
That doesn't mean Simons is guaranteed to remain with the Celtics beyond February's trade deadline. However, Mazzulla and Stevens offer an important perspective on his improvement on defense and the value he can provide in a role he's getting more comfortable in.