BOSTON — In the Brad Stevens front office era, now entering its fourth season, Baylor Scheirman stands out as an oddity. He is the lone first-round pick Stevens has held onto as Celtics president of basketball operations. Whenever Scheierman makes his Boston debut, he will become the first, first-round rookie to suit up for the franchise since Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard did so during the 2020-21 season.
Before Scheierman, Stevens had traded the team’s first-round pick in three consecutive seasons. Scheierman broke that trend. His draft status could come with pressure, but the Celtics’ rare depth should leave Scheierman with time to develop behind the scenes if he’s not ready to play right away. Of course, like any other rookie, he will be trying to play immediately. After Boston’s second day of training camp Wednesday, Scheierman detailed what he has worked on to begin the adjustment to the NBA game.
“I think, from summer league to now, I spent a lot of time on my body, working on my body, trying to put on a lot of lean mass,” Scheierman said. “I’ve been able to gain 10-15 pounds in that area. Also, just working on my shot, continuing to tune up things, try to get it off quicker. I’ve been working with (assistant coach) Craig (Luschenat) and Sam Hauser a lot, and they’ve been giving me a lot of great tips and tricks to try to do that in the game.”
Scheierman measured 6-foot-6 and 202 pounds at the NBA combine. The extra weight should help him hold up against the league’s stronger wings. He said the Celtics asked him to put on additional muscle to prepare for his rookie season and have been “very pleased” with his progress.
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Though he produced much of his offense from the perimeter in college, Scheierman also recorded more defensive rebounds over his career than any other Division I player since at least the 1999-00 season. The numbers are skewed in his favor to some extent because he was allowed to play a fifth college season, like other players in the COVID era, but he was nonetheless a top defensive rebounder for his position while at Creighton and South Dakota State. Should his ability to clean up the glass translate to the NBA level, it could eventually help him make a case for minutes at power forward as well as small forward.
Bulking up could pay dividends. How did Scheierman put on so much weight over a single offseason?
“I changed my diet,” Scheierman said. “Shout out to (team chef) Steve (Bekerian) in the kitchen, helping me figure out things. It’s nice to have the kitchen here, something that I’m able to take advantage of while I’m in the facility, able to get two or three meals in here a day. Then, also just taking Creatine, I’m trying to shed off some of that fat.”
The Celtics first hosted Scheierman for a predraft workout in 2022, shortly after he wrapped up his final season at South Dakota State. The sharpshooter later transferred to Creighton, where he averaged 12.8 points per game in his first season with the program before emerging as a third-team AP All-American the following season. Scheierman averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game during his final NCAA campaign while shooting 38.1 percent on a high volume of 3-point attempts. The Celtics were impressed as Scheierman began to transform his body in the Big East.
Shot-making will become more difficult against NBA defenses. Scheierman said he has tried to learn from Hauser, who ranked 11th in 3-point percentage last season. The two were paired in the same workout group at the Celtics practice facility early in the offseason.
“He’s one of the best shooters in the league and was one of the key parts on the championship team last year,” Scheierman said. “So, just working out with him and just seeing, not only on the court, but his routine in general, how he prepares for workouts, what he does after his workouts – workouts just sharing different tips about how to get your shot off quicker.”
The Celtics hope Scheierman won’t strictly be a shooter.
“He’s a good shooter, but he’s a lot more than a shooter,” Hauser said. “He’s got a really good feel for the game. He’s pretty crafty.”
Over the first two days of practices, Joe Mazzulla said Scheierman began to adjust to the new level of physicality.
“I think Day 1, it’s very difficult to adjust to NBA defense,” Mazzulla said. “I thought from Day 1 to Day 2, he made the physical adjustment, and he had some great physical defensive plays today. So, I think that’s the trajectory (you want). Any young player coming into it, the most important thing is: Can you play defense, can you execute a defensive system and can you rebound? And he got better at that from Day 1.”
As Mazzulla’s comments suggested, the Celtics want Scheierman to keep focusing on the dirty work. He believes he should be OK on offense, but knows the other side of the court could dictate whether he receives a chance to play. With Boston returning almost everyone from a championship team, the 24-year-old would need to make quite an impression to earn regular minutes.
“Offensively, I feel very confident in myself being able to impact the game on the floor,” Scheierman said. “I know that in order for me to get minutes on the floor, it’s all going to come down to the defense. So, that’s where I’m trying to hang my hat on and just trying to get better every single day in that category.”
Pritchard likes the mentality he has seen so far from Celtics rookies Scheierman and Anton Watson.
“I feel like Brad does a great job of drafting people who are ready to compete and know how to play the right way,” Pritchard said. “And I feel like those two factors right there means they should have a successful NBA career. They’re willing to put in the work, and they’re never going to back down. So, right there should tell you everything you need to know about them.”
(Photo: Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
