Baylor Scheierman is going to keep getting chances this season, and the Celtics are going to ask him to do more than just stand in the corner and fire away. Most of the time, his job will be pretty straightforward: catch and shoot, hit the glass, defend his spot, move on. But the real value comes if he can punish closeouts and make clean decisions once he gets downhill.
That part of the package was on display Thursday night in Cleveland, where Boston rested most of its regulars and Scheierman had room to handle more of the offense. He even got some pick-and-roll ball-handler reps, which isn’t exactly the role he’ll live in during the season, but it does offer a useful look at how he processes the floor.
Some of the reads were simple, and that was the point. On one possession, Scheierman came left off a screen, saw Jarrett Allen sitting in drop coverage, and pulled up.
On another, he turned the corner at full speed, recognized the coverage, and stepped back into a shot. A third clip was a similar story, only this time Evan Mobley was deep enough that Scheierman’s decision to shoot made sense.
There was also a possession where the read was basically there for the taking. Scheierman came off the pick, his defender went over the screen and got passed off, and Mobley was still dropping.
The mid-range jumper was available. That said, the elite guards in the league often turn that kind of contact into something bigger.
Think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or James Harden. Those guys lean into it, rise up, and get to the line.
Scheierman isn’t that type of force, so settling for the rhythm jumper is the safer play.
One of the better chances for Boston came when Scheierman drove into space, but Dillon Mitchell didn’t lift high enough from the corner to become a real passing outlet. A shooter needs to make himself visible in those spots, and Mitchell wasn’t really in Scheierman’s line of sight. That’s where the difference shows up between a live dribble and a true advantage.
The bigger miss came earlier, when Hugo Gonzalez went to flip the screen and Scheierman didn’t take it. Instead of attacking left, he could have gone down the middle and opened up a lot more.
That route likely would have created an open three in the drop, a pop for Gonzalez, kick-outs to Devin Carter and Dillon Mitchell, or even a chance to slip past Mobley and find Luka Garza. Mitchell also could have been available on a baseline cut.
The point is simple: going straight through the middle would have kept more options alive.
Instead, Scheierman went with the easy route and it cost him. He had the instinct to snake the screen, but once the defender turned the corner, he needed to back into the contact and hold the man there long enough for Garza to roll or pop.
That extra beat is what forces the defense to choose. Without it, the play died before Boston could really stress Cleveland.
There were also a couple of ambitious shots that probably won’t be the ones Scheierman wants to revisit. The biggest issue on those possessions was that Garza had the advantage and never got used.
In a different setup, with a player like Mitchell Robinson or Neemias Queta in that role, the lob would be more obvious. But even with Garza, there was still a path to a layup or a cleaner read.
On one of those plays, Garza had Jarrett Allen pinned in a Gortat screen look, which should have at least opened the door to a better decision. Scheierman never really made the read, though. He was already committed to the sweeping hook before anything else developed.
That ties back to one of his strengths and one of his problems: confidence. He got into trouble last season when he let the moment speed him up and started forcing quick shots.
That first hook fit the pattern. It was too fast, and it had that “I got this” feel to it.
For Scheierman, the lesson is patience. He’s not going to be running a ton of pick-and-roll this season, but reading the floor is reading the floor.
He can make those decisions. He just has to clean up the details, slow down, and stay within himself if he wants to be as effective as possible.
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