This upcoming season will be different than previous years for the Boston Celtics. Gone are Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford, while Jayson Tatum remains out indefinitely.
Since the Celtics lost five of their top eight contributors, they won’t be the championship-caliber team they’ve been the past four seasons. This season is a retooling year for them, where they’ll play the younger guys and decide which players they’ll keep once Tatum returns.
One of those players is Baylor Scheierman, whose third-year option must be decided by October 31st.
Celtics Must Make Decision on Baylor Scheierman
Last year, the Celtics’ first-round pick was unable to get on the court. He spent the majority of the season playing garbage time, averaging 3.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 31 games.
He did see an increase in his minutes in March, as the team started to rest Brown and Tatum. In his last 16 regular-season games, Scheierman averaged 6.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, shooting 37.3% from three in 18.4 minutes per game.
Scheierman’s best game came against the Brooklyn Nets, where he hit six threes, scoring 20 points in 16 minutes to help lead the Celtics to victory. Now, with their numerous departures, the Celtics have an opening for Scheierman.
We got to see a glimpse of the role Scheierman would play this upcoming season in Summer League, where he was used as a facilitator, averaging 6.8 assists. Although he was great at setting up his teammates, Scheierman’s Summer play was disappointing, as many expected him to take a big leap.
This is mainly because his shooting numbers were horrendous, averaging 12.3 points on 27.4% shooting from the field and 20.5% from three. While his shooting woes raise concerns, players tend to have bad shooting stretches, and we shouldn’t look too much into it.
Heading into this season, Joe Mazzulla will likely put him in a facilitator role similar to Tatum and have him in the corner in catch-and-shoot situations. Scheierman, who’ll turn 25 in September, will play a crucial role off the bench this season and must display his progression in all areas of his game.
Although he hasn't played much, the Celtics should make the obvious decision and accept his third-year option.