Baylor Scheierman made his Celtics debut in the Las Vegas Summer League opener, despite falling 119-114 to the Miami Heat Saturday night.
The 6-foot-6 wing, who officially signed his rookie contract last week, finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including going 3-of-7 from 3-point territory to go along with five rebounds, and a steal in 24 minutes as a starter.
Scheierman also found his teammates with ease, especially on two of his six assists to fellow rookie Anton Watson (eight points) and big man Neemias Queta (20 points, nine rebounds) respectively in the paint for easy dunks in the second half.
"I've said it multiple times, but I'd rather get an assist than score a bucket, especially if it's like a cool pass," Scheierman told reporters after the game. "I'm always looking for my teammates and trying to get them open shots."
While Scheierman did foul out, he showed flashes on defense -- getting his hands dirty in the passing lanes and physically standing up to the Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. (finished with a game-high 29 points, 11 rebounds) even though he was over-matched at times in the first half. Still, the rook did seem to struggle when attempting to box out and rebound.
"I was happy they gave me that assignment," Scheierman said of guarding Jaquez Jr. "That's something I enjoy and I'm not going to back down from and I'm going to compete."
Other notable contributors were the Celtics veterans in Jaden Springer, who had a team-high 23 points on 8-of-15 from the field -- including hitting 3-of-6 from long distance -- plus, six assists and two steals. JD Davison, coming off a freshly signed two-way deal this week, added 19 points (6-of-7 from the floor, knocking down all three 3-point attempts) and seven assists in the loss.
The Celtics will take on Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night, as NBA TV has the tip-off at 10:30 pm ET.
Joel Pavón
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