Boston Celtics Added a Secret Weapon This Offseason

Going into the 2024-25 campaign, the Boston Celtics are one of the NBA's best teams. Boston had been knocking on the door for a few seasons, and last year, they eventually got the job done.

The Celtics won the NBA title in convincing fashion over the Dallas Mavericks, and Boston could have a juggernaut for years ahead. The Celtics' top guns in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis are set to stick around for coming years, and Boston has quality role pieces around them. Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauserand Xavier Tillman Sr. are players that mesh well with Boston's top guys, and one shouldn't discount how bench contributors fit into the equation for the team.

All of that aside, a player that may be overlooked is incoming rookie Baylor Scheierman.

Scheierman Could Be Yet Another Weapon for Boston

Scheierman could be another asset for a deep Celtics squad

Scheierman was the 30th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by Boston. His selection probably wasn't going to garner tons of attention, but with his offensive skill set, particularly in this situation with Boston, he could be an underrated prospect.

Scheierman probably doesn't project as a significant contributor this coming season, in fairness.

Boston has a plethora of wings that will have their opportunities, and Scheierman is a late-first-round pick. He could be hard-pressed for meaningful minutes.

That being said, when examining his skill set, Scheierman could be another weapon and valuable depth piece for Boston. He is an older prospect at a soon-to-be 24, but for a team like the Celtics, he could mesh really well, and even sooner rather than later make his imprint.

In his collegiate career, he shot 39.0 percent from three-point range on 5.6 attempts per contest, and over his last two seasons at Creighton, that mark was 37.3 percent on 7.3 attempts per outing. He was also often on the mark in his last two years at South Dakota State after making the transition in his freshman campaign.

After he shot only 24.7 percent from deep in his first collegiate year when his role was a smaller one, he connected on 45.6 percent of his three-point attempts in his second and third season with South Dakota State, and in that time, took advantage of more opportunities.

While the Celtics have no shortage of shooting, he could have the makings of a knockdown threat in time with them out there.

Scheierman's stroke got better and better over the course of his collegiate career, and with his deep range, touch, release point and off-ball feel, the lefty could mesh well within Boston's offensive framework, and off of their top creators.

Scheierman became more polished as a shooter as he gained more experience in college, and with that in mind, and with Boston's movement in their offense, he could prove to be another impactful shooter for the Celtics. He's not a player opponents will likely be able to leave open in potential minutes, and he could provide some additional movement shooting to go with his catch-and-shoot abilities from ball-swings or the transition game.

Now, Scheierman could have an uphill battle for minutes with the Celtics, and how he could factor in defensively against NBA wings is an area of concern. He could have a ways to go in that aspect before being a regular contributor for Boston, particularly with the others involved for the Celtics, and as it pertains to matchup versatility.

Having said that, though, Scheierman could be a very effective role player if given opportunities this season, and with how he became more polished as a catch-and-shoot player and particularly as a movement shooter in his time in college, he could be a legitimate off-ball weapon.

In addition to the shooting strides he made over the course of his time in college, Scheierman demonstrated he could take advantage of hard closeouts, and was able to make plays in some mismatch situations, and was able to mix in some mid-range shots. He was able to get to the rim when defenders were trying to get back in front, when he was firing off of screens, too, and with Boston's spacing, that could be something he could build on in years ahead as well, regarding off-screen efforts.

From there, along with the ways he could make a difference offensively, while he wouldn't be posting nearly the same rebounding splits, Scheierman was able to secure plenty of boards in his collegiate tenure. He averaged 7.1 rebounds at North Dakota State and 8.6 rebounds per contest to close out his college career at Creighton.

With what Scheierman could add to Boston as an opportunistic off-ball mover, instinctive rebounder, and sensible ball-mover as well, he could prove to be yet another weapon for an already-loaded Celtics team. Time will tell as it pertains to what kind of chances he'll potentially have, but one shouldn't gloss over what he could do for Boston in years to come.