Portland, ME — Baylor Scheierman expected to take his rookie season week-to-week, going back and forth between Boston and Portland for G-League stints to get minutes on a crowded championship roster. Earlier this season, two suitcases sat in front of his Boston locker after he rushed back from Maine in a car service for a pre-game TD Garden workout.
He’s lived out of those suitcases since, ready to zip them up and travel at a moment’s notice. Out of sight in recent months at Auerbach Center, he and Boston assistant Craig Luschenat get on FaceTime and go over Maine and Boston film, forecasting how Scheierman could fit in with the pro team eventually.
Scheierman received a longer heads-up about this call-up, the Celtics alerting him Thursday morning before his G-League game against College Park that he’d rejoin Boston the following day for the first time since Dec. 23. Scheierman reached a new high that night with Maine, scoring 23 points with eight rebounds and 11 assists on 6-for-14 shooting (4-8 3PT). He returned from a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter to help close out a win in overtime.
“I’ve enjoyed my time up here a lot,” Scheierman told CLNS Media before the game. “I enjoy the guys and the coaches a lot, and just enjoy playing and ultimately that’s how you get better is getting those live reps. So I’ve tried to take advantage of every chance I get to come out here and play … I feel a lot more comfortable now than when I first got up here. Obviously with playing with new teammates and coaches, it takes some time to adjust, but the more reps I’ve gotten, the more I’ve gotten more comfortable not just with the team but with the NBA style as a whole.”
Jordan Walsh and Scheierman effectively swapped spots after the former thrived in the preseason and the latter struggled to shoot. The Celtics drafted Scheierman, 24, with some expectation that five college seasons would allow him to contribute immediately with regular contributors out. Despite numerous injuries in the first half, Boston leaned with Walsh and others for those situations and allowed Scheierman to develop full-time.
While Walsh focused on playing a narrow role similar to how he’d play with Boston last year, Scheierman grew into a secondary point guard option for Maine through injuries and Ron Harper Jr.’s call-up to Detroit. He leads sets into the second unit, and threw flashy dump-off and behind-the-back passes that showed him fully comfortable with the ball in his hands. Scheierman noted that he played point guard with South Dakota St. before transferring to Creighton. Earlier this week, he threw a dazzling full court pass to JD Davison for a layup.
“He took a knee, we didn’t know if we were gonna have him,” Maine coach Tyler Lashbrook said on Thursday night after Scheierman’s injury. “He’s a baller and a warrior, so it was gonna take everything to keep him out. It was really a roster need (moving him to point guard). We knew he had that skill set and would always be able to help out as a playmaker. It’s sort of how the roster goes in the G-League. It’s always changing, so he was able to slide into that role and we’ve kept him in it.”
Scheierman’s call-up comes with the Celtics fully healthy, though having tried and unsuccessfully developing the deeper bench into consistent roles. Walsh’s shooting limitations hurt his fit offensively before he missed two games with an illness earlier this month. Xavier Tillman Sr. lost his rotation role two months ago for similar reasons while Jaden Springer never emerged after arriving in a trade last February. Two-way wing Drew Peterson, despite a strong showing at Cleveland last month, returned to Maine and suffered a concussion last week. He’s close to a return, Lashbrook said. He doesn’t currently appear on Boston’s radar for a larger role.
That left Scheierman as a potential solution for depth wing minutes. He’s only played 6.8 minutes per night across five appearances late in games, his last coming on Dec. 2. Defense, connectivity with the pro team and a 1-for-10 start in the NBA make him carving out a role now a long shot, especially with the starting lineup needing more reps together. In a rare move, Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis will both play on Friday night in the first half of a back-to-back, setting both up to likely miss Saturday’s game against the Hawks. Perhaps Scheierman’s opportunity.
Maine plays again at 1 p.m. on Saturday against College Park.
“I’m focused on being where my feet are,” Scheierman said. “I think that’s all I can do and continue to grow. I think I’ve made great strides from when I first got up here to now. That’s the goal for the second half of the season as well is take it one day at a time, continue to grow, continue to get better on the court, off the court as whole and just be ready when my number’s called.”
