The Boston Celtics got back in the win column on Sunday night with a 111-107 victory over the Orlando Magic, and one of the main stories from this game was the play of Anfernee Simons, who exploded for 25 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
After falling behind by 12 points early in the first quarter, Simons checked in and proceeded to score all 25 points in a 10-minute span for the C’s. Simons simply could not miss, and he scored 17 straight points for Boston during a stretch late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter.
Simons is the sort of sparkplug scorer the Celtics need to help them make up for the absence of Jayson Tatum this season. While he has struggled with consistency early in the season, he was everything the team needed him to be early in this one against the Magic.
During his time early in his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Simons struggled to carve out minutes, due in large part to him playing behind the star duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Now that he’s with the C’s, Simons revealed how playing alongside those guys helped him grow into the player he is now.
“I know I feel like I’m talented enough to play with (Lillard and McCollum), but I knew I wasn’t physically ready for them,” Simons said on “View From The Rafters.” “And mentally, I didn’t understand the game as much as they did because I didn’t go to college.
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Me coming out, it was just like, I need to learn as much as possible from all these guys that play my position and played it at a high level.”
There are still areas in which Simons needs to improve, such as his defense and his shooting efficiency, but it’s encouraging to know that he can take his game to this sort of level when he has to. Learning from guys like Lillard and McCollum certainly helped, even if it cost Simons playing time early in his career.
Now, Simons is looking to prove that he can be a part of the Celtics’ long-term future, rather than a potential trade chip for later in the season. Boston will look to make it two wins in a row when it returns to action against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
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