BOSTON — In the team’s final home game before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, Celtics guard Anfernee Simons helped emphasize his case to remain with the Celtics.
The biggest question surrounding Boston, and Simons in particular, is straightforward: Will he stay? That uncertainty has hovered over his head ever since the Celtics acquired him in the Jrue Holiday-Trail Blazers offseason trade. Simons joined the stripped-down version of the team’s championship-aspiring roster, unaware of what the season would hold. Would the Celtics contend or tank? Would Simons start or come off the bench? Would Simons make it past the deadline still a member of the team?
So far, two of those questions have been answered. Boston’s 107-79 win over Milwaukee improved the team’s record to 31-18, putting them ½ a game ahead of the Knicks for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Simons has logged all 48 of his Celtics appearances off the bench, leaving the final question unanswered.
In the first quarter against the Bucks, Simons got ahead in leaving his imprint in what otherwise would be his last game in Boston with the Celtics. He provided an immediate offensive spark, scoring 11 points, knocking down four of his first six shots to help set the tone in what amounted to a blowout victory to conclude a four-game homestand.
“That’s kind of been his role, and he’s done a great job buying into it, really on both ends of the floor,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Just to have another guy that could take pressure off the others, and score seamlessly, whether it’s catch-and-shoot shots, whether it’s off the dribble, whether it’s driving to the basket, he’s played his role for us tremendously, and he’s just another guy that makes us better.”
Simons used his speed to create separation from Milwaukee’s defenders, giving him enough room to launch his trademark step-back threes. In the final offensive possession of the first quarter, Simons resorted to the move with Amir Coffey defending and drained a buzzer-beating 28-footer to close out the frame.
“That was big for us,” Mazzulla mentioned.
The ability to provide starter-level production while coming off the bench has made Simons a vital component of the team. He accepted the role that awaited him in Boston and didn’t waver. In the six months since being traded from Portland, Simons hasn’t once allowed trade speculation to consume him. He’s been a consummate professional throughout — accepting his role, giving the team what it needs when it needs it, and even adjusting during stretches when the team would prefer he rein it in.
“They get pissed off at me when I shoot the ball sometimes, but I like to feel the game out,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like it’s the right shot. It might not be the right shot other times. They’re just trying to give me the ultimate confidence to be myself — to go out there and play.”
Simons finished with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting, adding three rebounds and an assist. He drilled six 3-pointers and drew an ovation from the Boston crowd as he checked out in the fourth quarter — an acknowledgment that Simons might not return with the team after its upcoming two-game road trip.
“It’s cool to go out there and see what the game needs and also impact the win in that way,” Simons said.
Offensively, he’s been everything the Celtics have needed.
Simons ranks third on the team at 2.6 made 3-pointers per game, narrowly trailing leader Derrick White (2.8). He has emerged as one of the league’s most elite bench scorers, ranking third in bench points behind only Naz Reid and Jaime Jaquez Jr., making him a sneaky Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Just as important, Simons has shown tangible defensive growth, quieting the long-standing questions that followed him from Portland about his commitment on that end of the floor.
But as great as Simons has been, nothing is ever concrete in the NBA — and that includes his future in Boston.
Knowing this, Mazzulla has taken a proactive approach to maintaining constant communication with his players — giving them space to feel heard, gauging where their heads are at, and offering whatever support he can to ease the mental strain that the approaching trade deadline creates for anyone caught up in rumors.
“I talk to them every day,” Mazzulla said pregame. “Depending on where guys are at, what that conversation looks like. I try to communicate with the guys every day, and whatever needs to be said or had or listened to is what we need to do at that particular time.”
In Simons’ mind, the Boston experience has given him everything he could have envisioned, no matter how it ends.
“Yeah, for sure,” Simons said. “Just an opportunity to go out there and showcase what I can do.”
