Aaron Nesmith remained a bit of a mystery for Celtics fans for the first two months of the regular season.
The No. 14 overall pick played just 111 minutes total in December and January, with the majority of that floor time coming in blowouts wins and losses. The 6-foot-5 rookie had been a sharpshooter at Vanderbilt but it was evident his shortcomings on the defensive end in these limited early-season stints had kept him on the sidelines most nights.
Brad Stevens had plenty of other more experienced alternatives on his bench so Nesmith would have to wait his turn as the head coach searched elsewhere for more reliability on the defensive end.
However, amid Boston’s mounting injuries, uneven play and shallow depth at the wing, Stevens turned back to the rookie this week, beginnig on Sunday in Washington by making Nesmith first man off the bench. He played 28 minutes in that loss and hasn’t looked back since then, tallying 20-plus minutes of action in all four Celtics games this week, despite taking a hard fall in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks that briefly sent him to the locker room.
“I was told he could go back in,” Stevens said when asked about his condition. “I don’t know what that means other than they felt good enough to let him back in. They wouldn’t have done that if there was any long-term concern. So that’s good news.”
Nesmith finished with three points and four rebounds in the victory but his positive impact went beyond a pedestrian box score line (he was a plus-10). Offensively, Nesmith has been a low usage option for Boston so far despite his increased minutes, averaging just 3.5 shot attempts per game this week despite playing nearly 25 minutes per game. Surprisingly, his offense isn’t what has led to the additional run for the former Vanderbilt sharpshooter. Instead, Nesmith has provided a surprise contribution that has translated to terrific results for the team when he’s on the court.
The Celtics have outscored opponents by 42 points during the 99 minutes he’s played in the past week, tallying a positive plus/minus mark in all four games despite Boston going 2-2 as a team during that stretch. That translates to a plus-22 net rating, which is by far the top mark on the roster during that limited sample size.
The reason for that stellar mark? Opponents are scoring just 93 points per 100 possessions against Boston when Nesmith has been on the floor in the past week, giving the Celtics the defensive lift on the wing off the bench that they have been missing all year with Romeo Langford sidelined.
Whether it’s chasing down loose balls, running hard around screens or hustling back on defense, Nesmith has quickly earned himself a prominent spot in Boston’s shorthanded rotation and the respect of his teammates for his energetic play.
“Just how hard he competes,” Jayson Tatum said when asked what stands out about Nesmith. “Knowing that it’s up and down when his number gets called, but knowing we can trust him to make the right play and just compete as hard as he can. Obviously, he’s super talented. And just how hard he plays, that’s the thing that really stands out to me on both ends.”
Tristan Thompson admired how much work Nesmith has put in to get up to speed with Boston’s schemes after looking lost during his first few appearances.
“Man, the kid works, the kid works,” Thompson said. “That’s what you love to see from your young guys. Payton (Pritchard) works hard as well. Those are two guys that are there as soon as the lights turn on the facility and they put the work in an effort. And you see, by the way Aaron’s playing, he’s ferocious. He’s out there. He’s getting over screens. He’s diving to loose balls. He’s cracking back on the bigs. He’s having multiple efforts in the defense of coverages.
“You love that. I think he’s got to keep doing that. Because that’s how you earn your minutes, especially when you’re playing behind to All-Stars in the wing,” Thompson added. “You got to do some things different that can get you on the floor, and we obviously know he could shoot the three.”
Amid a rollercoaster ride of a season that’s been full of inconsistency up and down the roster beyond Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Stevens is still trying to find the right lineup combinations and players he can count on. While Nesmith was thrown into the fire a few times earlier this year to see what he can do, things have changed now. He’s earning his minutes strictly due to his play and has a good chance of holding on to those opportunities over Semi Ojeleye, Grant Williams and Javonte Green even when Boston’s backcourt gets healthy.
Whether he can sustain this consistency remains to be seen but what looked to be a potential redshirt year for the rookie has suddenly morphed into a borderline sixth-man role. The scoring upside is there if Nesmith gets more aggressive with his opportunities but for now, the rookie has surprised everyone with his defensive transformation. He’s far from perfect but he’s better than most alternatives on Boston’s bench at the moment.
