The very first article I wrote for CelticsBlog was titled, “Is Baylor Scheierman a viable starter for the Celtics?” I began that article with a confession: I wasn’t a Baylor believer at the start of the season.
That was most likely too easy of a take. Trying again, I don’t assume I disbelieved in him as a lot as I had completely no clue what drawer to place him in.
With most gamers, even the imperfect ones, your mind is ready to discover a fast label. Jordan Walsh is the lanky chaos wing. Hugo González is the countless motor who appears to be like extra pure in a locked-and-loaded defensive stance than upright. Sam Hauser is the shooter.
Baylor didn’t give me that type of shortcut. He got here into the season with leftover Summer time League shine, a shaggy haircut that impressed robust emotions on-line, and a sport that appeared to alter form relying on the possession. Typically, he seemed like a shooter. Different occasions, he seemed like a defensive stopper. More often than not, he seemed like somebody who had been dropped into an NBA sport after spending the afternoon enjoying pickup on the Y.
By the tip of the season, the dearth of a clear label stopped feeling like an issue, and extra like the purpose.
Scheierman didn’t turn into one of many central tales of Boston’s season, nor did he make some gargantuan leap that forces the Celtics to revamp their plans to account for him. However he did one thing that issues an entire lot for a workforce with very costly stars and little or no room to waste low cost contracts.
He made himself more durable to disregard.
The weirdness began to work
Scheierman’s season numbers gained’t make anybody spit out their espresso. 5.5 factors, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.6 minutes per sport. However the year-over-year bounce tells the higher story.
As a rookie within the ‘24-’25 season, he shot 35.5 p.c from the sphere and 31.7 p.c from three. This 12 months, these jumped to 45.3 p.c and 39.9 p.c. His true taking pictures climbed from 49.0 to 61.6. His minutes went from 12.4 to 18.6 per sport. That’s the distinction between “possibly he’ll determine it out” and “oh, he would possibly really be figuring it out proper now.”
The development didn’t arrive in a single big, apparent burst. It felt extra like a gradual drip over the course of the season. 10 factors and 13 loud rebounds versus the (I’m sorry to even be mentioning them) Knicks on February 8. One other double-double within the type of a 16-point, 10-rebound effort on March 8 versus the Cavs. A career-high 30-point night time on the final day of the common season in a feel-good bench-mob victory over the Magic on April 12.
In his exit interview, Scheierman described his season as “a continuing degree of development all through the complete 12 months,” which is precisely the type of quote that sounds boring till you understand it’s most likely essentially the most correct solution to describe what really transpired. Baylor simply stored getting just a little extra comfy till the Celtics had been utilizing him in actual video games and no one had any points with it.
That issues as a result of Scheierman’s sport might be type of a belief fall. He performs with confidence that often arrives earlier than the justification. I respect it. I concern it. I perceive why Joe Mazzulla typically appears to be like like he’s doing lengthy division in his head earlier than subbing Baylor in.
The humorous factor is, the Celtics began trusting him too.
After Scheierman fractured his thumb, his complete celebration bundle boiled right down to a great ol’ usual thumbs up. Trying again, there’s one thing excellent about that. Baylor’s season was not particularly loud. It was not easy sufficient to be boring or explosive sufficient to be apparent. It simply stored flashing a thumbs up at you till you lastly needed to acknowledge the play was working.
He provides the Celtics a special type of wing
The simplest solution to undersell Scheierman is to name him one other wing in Boston’s pile of wings.
That pile is getting crowded, to be truthful. Walsh, Hugo, Hauser, Scheierman, Ron Harper Jr. hovering across the edges. Sooner or later, Brad Stevens could must resolve what number of “fascinating however imperfect” wing varieties one roster can moderately maintain earlier than the locker room turns into an airport terminal.
In my view, Baylor brings issues to the desk that the opposite wings don’t, not less than not but.
Walsh and Hugo are extra clearly disruptive defensively, however with clear offensive limitations. Hauser has actual taking pictures gravity, however seemed a step slower after the championship run. Baylor’s greatest worth could be that he provides you just a little little bit of all the things, all the time.
He can rebound and push. He can throw the hit-ahead move. He can come off a pindown and see the following learn. He can pump pretend, take two funky lefty dribbles and discover a move that wasn’t there half a second earlier. The deal with can nonetheless get free. The ending wants work. There are possessions the place his creativity and his physique appear to be negotiating in actual time.
That final half is what the offseason is for.
In his exit interview, Scheierman mentioned he desires to maintain constructing his energy, quickness and alter of path. He additionally talked about ending on the rim, floaters, gradual steps and discovering angles. That sounds much less like a participant making an attempt to reinvent himself and extra like one who is aware of precisely the place the free screws are.
Essentially the most fascinating half got here when he talked about changing into a secondary or third playmaker.
Boston doesn’t want him to turn into a food plan level guard. No one is asking Baylor to carry the ball up towards playoff strain whereas Payton Pritchard stands within the nook questioning what crimes he dedicated. But when Scheierman can turn into a wing who hovers round 40 p.c from three, rebounds effectively for his position, and provides you simply sufficient ball dealing with and passing to punish a rotating protection, that could be a very helpful participant.
Particularly on his contract.
Low-cost solely issues if playable comes with it
Scheierman is about to make $2.74 million subsequent season, with a membership possibility just below $5 million the 12 months after.
Boston already has a large sum of money tied to Tatum, Brown and White. Pritchard’s subsequent contract dialog is coming. Hauser’s wage makes him each helpful and probably related in commerce math. Each offseason concept sounds enjoyable till you keep in mind the tax line exists and Brad Stevens and Invoice Chisholm are actually aware of it.
That’s the reason Scheierman’s season issues past the field rating.
Low-cost contracts are straightforward to have fun while you’re taking a look at a spreadsheet, however they solely assist if the participant provides you greater than the quantity suggests. I seemed up NBA gamers making comparable cash to what Baylor is incomes proper now, and also you inform me whether or not you’d fairly have Scheierman or these different guys:
I’ll be trustworthy, I watch quite a lot of NBA basketball, and there are names on that record that I had by no means heard earlier than. Maybe a few of you might argue for Thanasis due to who his +1 could be. I respect the hustle, however we’re not going there on this article.
In the end, Baylor is a man who can survive in video games that really matter. Let’s not neglect, he began Sport 7. When he was requested about that wacky beginning lineup after the season ended, he mentioned the group was “tremendous excited” and “tremendous assured” as a result of the Celtics had performed all of it 12 months. That’s a really Baylor reply. No hand-wringing. No “Gee whiz, what an honor to have began Sport 7 towards Joel Embiid and Paul George.” Simply confidence and on to the following rep.
That strategy most likely explains a part of why Mazzulla trusted him within the first place.
Scheierman mentioned the teaching employees did a great job detailing how the workforce needed to play, which allowed him to play freely as a result of he understood what was anticipated of him. He described himself as somebody who has at all times tried to play onerous and do no matter it takes to win. Often, that type of quote could be straightforward to toss into the athlete-speak drawer.
With Baylor, it really matches the movie.
He’s not at all times fairly. The truth is, a part of the attraction is that he typically appears to be like like he’s making basketball look tougher than it must be earlier than out of the blue making the fitting play anyway. However he competes, sees issues early, and annoys individuals on a nightly foundation. He has sufficient swagger to take pictures that make you briefly test the rating and scenario to ensure you didn’t miss one thing.
The query now’s whether or not the Celtics clear sufficient room for that to continue to grow.
Scheierman doesn’t should be handled like a future star. That may be unfair to him and barely stress-inducing for the remainder of us. However he additionally shouldn’t be handled like a random low cost wing who occurred to have an honest 12 months. Boston wants low-cost gamers who can provide Mazzulla actual minutes. Baylor spent this season proving he could be one among them.
Again in February, I questioned if he could possibly be a viable starter.
I’m much less desirous about that label now. The higher query is whether or not he can turn into the type of rotation participant who makes the roster math simpler across the stars. After the season he simply had, it’s a a lot simpler case to make.
Someplace alongside the best way, I grew to become a Bayliever. Or a Schei Man. Nonetheless hate my nickname concepts. Nonetheless very a lot workshopping.
Fortuitously, the participant now makes extra sense than the potential nicknames.
