Anfernee Simons Continues To Make One Hell Of A Case To Remain A Celtic Both Through The Trade Deadline And Beyond

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Earlier this season, the Celts went into Milwaukee to face the Giannis-less Bucks and got absolutely rocked. Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma went a combined like 20-23 from the floor and it was easily one of the most embarrassing and frustrating losses of the season. That's saying something, because this is a season that has been filled with very annoying and frustrating losses, but that one is up there. Getting worked by Kyle Kuzma is something that should just never happen.

Yesterday, the Bucks came to Boston for another matchup without Giannis. This time around, things went a little more to what you would expect. Sure the Bucks jumped out to a 12-0 lead which gave every single one of us PTSD, but water eventually found it's level and that was that. How many times do you see a team be up 12-0 and end up losing by 28? My guess is not many, and that's what made the previous loss to his garbage team so annoying. The Bucks stink. Hell, they stink even with Giannis, so you take out an all world player and that's a team you should handle with ease.

The Celts wrapped up their 4 game homestand at 3-1, and it certainly helps when you close things out with the shorthanded Kings on a B2B and then the Giannis-less Bucks. Not exactly world beaters, but that's how the NBA season goes. You need to be able to stack wins against the worst teams in the league, and then be around .500 or better against the good ones. That's how you build 50+ win seasons.

Now at a 52 win pace, the 2026 Celts are 18-7 vs under .500 teams and 13-11 vs .500 or better teams. They're doing what they should be doing in both areas, and the overall results speak for themselves.

With the trade deadline just 4 days away, it's a tense time for this roster. We have no idea who will still be Celtics in 5 days. Everything and all directions are on the table, and that's not even factoring in any sort of potential Tatum return. Even if you take him out of the equation, there's uncertainty all over the place.

Whenever we get to this part of the NBA schedule, you should never take wins for granted. The mental aspect of the trade deadline, especially with those who are involved in rumors, can fuck everything up. Blocking out all the noise and staying the course is not always easy, even when playing the worst teams in the league. The entire world expects Brad Stevens to do something, so I can only imagine what's going through the mind's of a lot of the fringe players on the roster.

Given what we saw yesterday, it's fair to question whether or not plans have changed. Let's talk about it.

The Good

- The best example of this in my opinion, is what we're seeing from Anfernee Simons. This was a player who, back in October felt like someone who was a classic trade deadline candidate. He had a big expiring contract, there were positional needs you could use that money for, there's the threat of losing the asset for nothing over the summer should you not flip him etc.

But now? Now that we're here? Not only am I finding myself attached, I'm pretty sure Simons should be off the table entirely.

I get it, I understand that Brad Stevens has never made a bad decision in his life. When it comes to building this roster, he's never missed. If he thinks moving Simons is the right move, it probably is. I'm just saying I would like Brad Stevens' decision to be actually holding onto Simons, at least for the rest of the season.

If Tatum is coming back? I desperately want to see Simons/Tatum share the floor. That's going to be impossible for defenses to handle.

If Tatum isn't coming back, I would like to have Simons for the playoff run. This team needs shot creation outside of Jaylen Brown, especially during the playoffs when defenses tighten up. 

This also doesn't feel like a prisoner of the moment type thing with Simons either. He's been giving quality minutes while making a winning impact for months now. His defense has completely transformed to the point where I wouldn't even say it's only passable. It's been legit good. The offense and scoring speak for themselves, but in my eyes, we're talking about a more complete player compared to what first arrived in Boston.

I guess my point is, what are you flipping Simons for that makes it worth it? Honestly, none of the big money centers move me all that much. Especially when this team has shown they can take any level of big and make them playable. I also don't think the Celts ball handling is all that deep either. Say Derrick or Payton sprains an ankle or something and you trade Simons for a big. Who's your ball handler that fills in? Hugo? Baylor? I'm not sure I love that for a playoff run.

The risk of course, if you don't flip him and then he leaves in the summer. Technically, that wouldn't be great. But there's also the possibility he extends at a more friendly number because he loves playing for Joe and on this team. I really do think that might be the ultimate driving force in any decision. If Brad doesn't think he can keep Simons, maybe that's enough for him to flip him.

My wish is that he roll the dice. I know this is me just getting attached, but I can't help it. Anferee Simons has turned himself into a piece that can help moving forward. If this is his last week as a Celtic, I have virtually zero complaints. He's fully bought into his role, he's improved his defense in ways I don't think we thought were possible, the offense is as advertised, and he fits Mazzulla Ball perfectly. 

I say hold onto him, find a cheap big to add depth that won't cost much to obtain, and keep this train moving. I get the idea of selling high, I'm just not sure the return is something that would be better than keeping Simons around and just hoping there's a path to an extension this summer. In the end we all trust Brad, but this certainly isn't an easy decision.

- One thing that I've always loved about both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is that as franchise players, they lead by example. They rarely ask anyone to do something that they themselves don't do. Both players understand that culture and production starts at the top, and that they are the standard setters for the rest of the roster.

If you're curious what that looks like, Jaylen Brown showed us in this win

The 30 ball is mostly whatever at this point. That has become expected with Jaylen this season. What stood out more to me at least, was his rebounding effort. This is something that you could ALWAYS tell with Tatum. When he really hit the glass and made an effort to clean up, you could tell he was locked in. That always set the tone for everyone, and Jaylen was no different yesterday

Over Jaylen's last 7 games, he's putting up 9.6 rebounds a game. Over that span, he's had 10+ a total of 4 times. He's routinely led the Celts in rebounding, which is impressive considering he's not a 6'10 wing. Yesterday, I thought his defensive rebounding was fantastic. He went up strong with two hands, made sure to have great positioning, and as Joe explained, good rebounding leads to good offense. Finishing defensive possessions cleanly is extremely important, and there's something to be said about the best player taking on that assignment and setting the tone in that department. That's called impacting a game even outside of your scoring, something Jaylen has had to work on and improve this season, given his new role. As the #1, it's not just about the points. It's about doing everything and anything to help your team win, every single night. 

It was pretty obvious early that the Bucks had zero defenders that could stay with Jaylen, so the fact that he was super efficient in his 30 ball isn't surprising. He also was coming off a rest day, and I think you could tell the difference in his energy/bounce in his legs. In a game against a dogshit team at home, that's a moment where the best player needs to make sure they show up and ensure this team doesn't suffer another horrible loss to this terrible Bucks team. 

Both Jaylen and Simons stepped up, and they were both about as good as you could ask.

- Not a huge math guy, but a 107-67 run since falling down 12-0 is pretty impressive. I think we all expected water to find its level once the Celts finally hit a shot after starting off like 0-5, but a +40 turnaround? That was certainly a pleasant surprise.

- On a scale of 1 to 10, how depressing do you think it was for Bucks fans to watch their 100M center in Myles Turner get completely outplayed by both Neemias Queta and Luka Garza, two players who are on the minimum? Talk about yikes for them.

For us? It ruled

The growth of Neemy is sort of my point when it comes to the big position. I'm just not sure this team needs to sell of Simons for a high priced big. There has to be a way to find depth to put around Queta/Garza that can be done while also keeping Simons. We're at the point now where Queta is a legit starting center. I'm not sure there is a better option out there on the market in terms of starting caliber bigs, and he makes $2M!! 

At any point in this game did you think he was getting outplayed by Myles Turner? I don't think so. It's why when I hear Turner's name be floated around as a potential target, I don't get it. I want nothing to do with that player at that price, with that type of long term money attached when I'm getting better production from a minimum.

Same thing with Garza, he was awesome in this game as well going up against the Portis/Turner frontcourt

I can't remember the last time the Celts had a big with this type of motor, and he's another player who has COMPLETELY bought into his role, and as a result is thriving. Think of how you feel about Garza now compared to how you felt in say, November. Completely different right?

Both have been awesome in P&R. Where Garza lacks in rim protection, Neemy fills that role. Both are elitre OREB bigs. Both are flawed, but that's fine. You can work around it. 

At the beginning of the year, I think we all felt like a massive frontcourt upgrade was needed. Now? Just bring me cheap depth. Queta/Garza have shown enough, and the high priced centers on the market right now aren't really needle movers.

- In the spirit of players who have perhaps taken themselves off the trade table, you're going to have to give me a really good player for me to be OK with parting ways with Jordan Walsh

I won't say "untouchable", but I will say it has to be for a really good player. There's just too much potential and Walsh is on too good a contract for me. We saw last night how he too can impact a game simply through his energy and effort, and the offensive game continues to round into form. Remember, he's only 21!

Outside of Simons, I'd say Walsh was the Celts best all around bench player in this win, and he's really starting to get back to the way he was playing before he got pulled from the starting lineup, which if you remember was an extremely impactful player. The defense, the rebounding, the C&S ability, the fact that he looks like a certain someone every time he puts the ball on the floor and attacks the rim. You add it all up, and I don't think Walsh can be thrown in as filler in any deal. He's a future piece.

- I know the Bucks are terrible, but it was still nice to see the Celts play some defense and hold an NBA team in 2026 to under 80 points. That's hard to do no matter who you play, especially when you gave up 26 in the 1st quarter.

From there, the Bucks never broke 20 in any of the three remaining quarters. That'll help the defensive rating I imagine.

- Welcome back Derrick White!

Not only was it great to finally see Derrick make some jumpshots, this was also another game in which he did pretty much everything on both ends of the floor. The weird part of his season is that Derrick has been so awesome at pretty much everything outside of his jumpshot. He's too good a shooter to think that was going to disappear forever, and if this is the start of him working his way out of his struggles, then hell yeah. Sometimes you just need to see the ball go in.

Also, this is insane

For this team to reach its ceiling, they're going to need at least some sort of consistent offensive production from White. That's just the reality of his role. It's been a journey so far this season, but all we really need is a version of Derrick who is NOT missing every shot he takes. That's the bar. Just don't miss everything, and we're golden.

The Bad

- Surprisingly, not a great shooting night for the shooters. Hauser finished 1-9 (1-7), Pritchard finished 2-8 (1-4), and really they were the only ones to truly struggle from the floor. The really surprising one was Hauser, who I'm pretty sure missed the majority if not all of his wide open looks. The 3PM he made was that running 3PA in the corner, but when it came to wide open looks, he wasn't even close.

I suppose that's just how the game of basketball goes sometimes, but you have to admit when you saw Hauser line it up with nobody around him, you were shocked when he just…..never made any of them. I feel like that happens maybe once a season, and this was that moment.

- Another blowout, another game where Josh Minott only played 1:20. Kind of weird at this point considering how impactful he was early, and I get that guys played well, but you can't find more than 80 seconds? He's suddenly on Boucher/Tillman treatment? I guess that's the reality when Hugo/Walsh play well, but it feels like a missed opportunity to get Minott some reps as he returns from his ankle injury.

- This Bucks team really looks lifeless. I get no having Giannis, I get having a season from hell, but that looks like the most checked out team I've ever seen. Doc will probably be fired this summer, but I'm not sure what the fix is. The whole thing needs a teardown, and even then how confident are you that Jon Horst can build it back up? Brutal fall for team that the Celts used to have real battles with.

The Ugly

- What do we even put here in a game in which the Celts led by 31, and there was only 1 tie and 1 lead change? I suppose the 12-0 start fits, that was pretty awful. Zero stops on one end, couldn't make a shot on the other with an offensive approach that was pretty gross. No real movement, the ball stuck, guys settled for 3s, it was about as gross a start to a basketball game as you could have.

Meanwhile Kyle Kuzma and Ryan Rollins were getting whatever they wanted. It only lasted for around 5-6 minutes, but those 5-6 minutes were absolutely horrendous. The Celts play that way against a team with a pulse, and they get blown out yesterday. How do I know that? I just watched them lose to the Hawks because of a 38-18 1st quarter performance.

Not only was this win important to cap off the homestand the right way, but it was also important given all the teams around the Celts also won. The Knicks, Raptors, Cavs, Sixers etc are all playing well right now. Everything is still up in the air in terms of seeding, so it's crucial the Celts win the games they're supposed to win now with their schedule about to get a whole lot tougher the next 10 games.

Who will be on the team for those games is anyone's guess, and we'll just have to wait and see.