PORTLAND, MAINE — To say that Baylor Scheierman has capitalized on the opportunity to begin his professional basketball career with the Maine Celtics would be a massive understatement.
Through four G League games, the 6’6 forward is averaging 23 points on 51.6% shooting, hitting 46.5% of his three-point attempts, and grabbing 9 rebounds per game.
And, above all, Scheierman is having a blast.
“It’s all just about enjoying it,” he said. “I don’t look at it as a demotion. It’s not a demotion. It’s an opportunity to play, and get live reps, and get better at your game so that when your number is called in Boston, you’re ready to go.”
In Maine, Scheierman is emulating the role that he’ll have for the Celtics. He’s coming off the bench just to get in the habit of it, and he isn’t typically the primary initiator on offense.
It’s similar to how the Celtics approached Jordan Walsh’s development during his rookie season last year; in the G League, Walsh played the part of a role player, not a star. He prioritized defense, learned the Celtics’ complex coverages, and improved his perimeter shooting, rather than trying to score one-on-one.
Maine Celtics head coach Tyler Lashbrook, who was one of the Celtics’ player development coaches last season, said that Scheierman has embraced the notion that Maine is an opportunity to simulate what a prospective role might look like in Boston.
That includes learning how to prepare for coming off the bench, something he hasn’t done much of in his basketball career. On the court, the staff wants him to focus on making the right reads, prioritizing rebounding, and growing defensively.
“We’re replicating a lot of the stuff that he’s gonna do in Boston, in terms of his pregame routine, and his rotations, and all that stuff that sort of gets you used to playing off the bench,” Lashbrook said. “He’s been a soldier for it.”
Lashbrook has been impressed with Scheierman’s shooting and rebounding, two aspects of his game that were highly-touted coming out of college. But above all, the head coach has appreciated the rookie’s effort.
“He’s a competitor, like I think you guys saw,” Lashbrook said. “He competes at all times.”
Baylor Scheierman up to 8 quick points here — this play perfectly captures his hustle. Gets his own rebounds and hit the three.
Celtics assistant coach Matt Reynolds, sitting courtside with Joe Mazzulla, rises to his feet in applause pic.twitter.com/xnujdCqeAI
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) November 17, 2024
The Creighton standout struggled offensively through the preseason, shooting just 4 of 24 from the field.
But, his confidence grew from game to game, and though he never found his footing offensively, he felt that everything else improved.
“Every game in the preseason, I got better in terms of just everything else, besides making shots,” he said. “I’m not trying to miss shots — you can’t really control if shots are going in or not. I put in a lot of time in that part of my game, so I’m not really worried about that. But defensively — and then just offensively in terms of spacing and crashing the glass — I think each game in the preseason I got better and better.”
Scheierman is 24 years old. Fans often expect players that age to be ready to play NBA minutes from the jump, but regardless of age, Lashbrook said that there’s a learning curve that nearly all players follow.
“The reality is, the way that the NBA goes is different than anything they’ve ever seen before,” Lashbrook said. “The other thing that ends up happening, is older guys — or older younger players — still have a lot of room to develop. I think that often gets overlooked.”
Scheierman hopes to follow the path that Sam Hauser, others have paved
In the Celtics organization, there’s a clear blueprint for how to make the most of time spent in the G League. Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet were all at one point primarily playing for the Maine Celtics. Now, all of those guys play key roles for the Celtics.
Hauser, who went undrafted in 2021, was arguably the Celtics’ most important bench player during the 2024 championship run. Queta has been spot starting this season, Walsh has earned early-season perimeter minutes, and Kornet has established himself as an impactful NBA center.
Lashbrook said that the coaching staff highlights all of those success stories to the Maine Celtics players.
“We do a thing where we try to study paths from all types of different guys, and sort of show them that it’s possible,” Lashbrook said. “We go through each of those guys.”
Scheierman has been speaking to all of those players, and they’ve urged him to embrace the opportunity to get extended minutes and touches.
“That was kind of the overall message from all those guys,” he said.
Hauser — who averaged 20.2 points per game during his G League tenure — signed a four-year, $45 million contract this past offseason after a breakout season, and is well-known as of one of the franchise’s great development stories.
Hauser’s message to Baylor Scheierman ahead of his G League debut?
“Be yourself. Let it fly. Have fun.”
Sam Hauser’s advice to Baylor Scheierman, who will make his Maine Celtics debut today:
“Be yourself. Let it fly. Have fun. It’s always fun when you get to play.” pic.twitter.com/kydtpPNB4U
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) November 8, 2024
Scheierman went on to explode for 31 points on 12-21 shooting in his first G League game.
“It’s just fun to play,” Scheierman said. “I really enjoy being up here. I really enjoy the team. We just play the right way.”
Tyler Lashbrook said that as soon as Scheierman reported to Maine, the staff explained to him what his pathway toward becoming a professional could look like.
“Day one, that was one of the first things that we talked about,” Lashbrook said. “There’s a vision here, and this is sort of what it looks like. We gave him that talk immediately.”
The Celtics coaching staff comes out to support in Maine
The entire Celtics coaching staff — including Joe Mazzulla — attended Sunday’s game at the Portland Expo, sitting courtside as the Maine Celtics got their second win of the season.
Joe Mazzulla, who served as an assistant coach for the Maine Red Claws in 2016, said that he enjoys the opportunity to support the G League club — and that he liked what he saw from the Maine players. Alongside Scheierman, all three of the Celtics’ two-ways — JD Davison, Anton Watson, and Drew Peterson — played.
“I thought there was a great connectivity between the staff and the players,” Mazzulla said.
The Celtics’ schedule oftentimes conflicts with Maine, but in this instance, it worked out. Mazzulla sat with his wife, Camai, and son, Manny, as Maine pulled away with a 118-100 victory over the Westchester Knicks.
“It’s an opportunity to go and support, and to make sure there’s alignment between everyone — that we’re all on the same page,” Mazzulla said.
Scheierman said that the Boston coaching staff’s courtside presence didn’t add extra nerves or change the way he approached the game.
But, it did highlight the unwavering synergy between the two organizations.
“It means a lot that they’re here,” Scheierman said. “[It shows] this matters.”
