Baylor Scheierman is going to get a lot of opportunities to show what he can do for the Boston Celtics this season. Most of the time, he'll be asked to catch and shoot, mostly in the corners, crash the offensive glass , and defend his position without needing help.
But he'll also need to attack closeouts and make reads. If he can do that at a high level, then he'll be able to elevate the Celtics offense because his dribble penetration will likely come against a scrambling defense already broken down by other players. If he's also getting into the heart of the defense and making good decisions, the chances of Boston scoring get pretty good.
Scheierman got a lot of extended time to show off his ability to read a defense with half the Boston regulars sitting out on Thursday night in Cleveland. Scheierman got to run some of the offense himself, handling some pick-and-roll ball-handler duties for the Celtics. It's not a direct comparison to the types of situations he'll find himself in, but its a good chance to see how he's processing things.
The first clip there is the simplest pick-and-roll read a guy can make. Scheierman dribbled left off the screen, Jarrett Allen retreated in drop coverage, so Baylor rose up and took the shot. Easy peasey. The second was a different version of the same thing, with Scheierman turning the corner at full speed, recognizing the situation, and stepping back into the shot. The third was a nice progression from the first two with Evan Mobley not retreating into full drop coverage but still deep enough that Scheierman's read to shoot it was correct.
I listed the fourth clip there as an "easy read" because his defender followed him over the pick and then passed him off but Mobley was still dropping so I like the mid-range shot there. However, the elite pick-and-roll guards will rise up on a play like this because of this contact right here:
Game screenshot
Think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or James Harden. I know that probably isn't the most appetizing thing to read, but those guys lean into contact like this, rise up, and draw three free throws. However, this is Baylor Scheierman and not a former or current MVP, so leaving up to the refs is tough. Dribbling into that in-rhythm jumper is fine.
At face value, Scheierman turned the corner and saw daylight, so he drove it. There's nothing wrong with this, especially since one mistake on this play is Dillon Mitchell not lifting high enough from the corner.
Game Screenshot
A real shooter knows where to be in situations like that, and where to be is in his line of sight so he can see you and make the pass. Mitchell is lifting some, but he's not in Scheierman's peripheral vision at all. Let's actually use an example from that same spot on the floor from the 2024 championship run:
Jayson Tatum went the other way on the same kind of screen, but look at how high Jaylen Brown lifted out of the corner to give Tatum that option. If Mitchell is going to become a 3-and-D guy down the line, he has to make himself available for those shots.
But this is about Scheierman, and I think the missed opportunity came at the top, when Hugo Gonzalez went to flip the screen but Scheierman missed it.
Game Screenshot
Instead of driving left, he should have used the flipped screen to go down the middle. That would create a few different options.
First, considering the drop coverage, Scheierman likely would have had an open three. Gonzalez could have popped to the corner to potentially get a look there. He would have had two kick-out options in Devin Carter and Dillon Mitchell. And depending on how the Cavs played it, Scheierman could have gotten past Mobley and dumped it off to Luka Garza, or found Mitchell cutting baseline, which he showed he could do well at other points.
I'm not sure exactly how it would have played out, but by going down the middle, Scheierman woould have given himself more options. I know driving to his strong hand is easy, but a little more patience would have opened the floor up better.
This is just a lazy play from Scheierman. The first instinct to snake the screen is good, but then when the defender turns the corner, Scheierman needs to put him in jail by backing into him and keeping him out of the play long enough for Luka Garza to either roll or pop.
Game Screenshot
Payton Pritchard does a good job of this.
At that point, it's up to Garza to make the read and give Scheierman the options. Garza popping might have drawn one of Cleveland's other defenders out of position to allow for a Scheierman drive or shot. In a scenarios where Mitchell Robinson or Neemias Queta were in Garza's position, there could be a chance for a lob.
Either way, Scheierman should be backing into the defender there than exploding forward to create a quick mismatch for a second. All he needs is that one second to force one of the other Cavs defenders to make a decision, and then it's rapid fire reads from there to give Boston a good shot. But because Scheierman got lazy in that spot, a potentially good opportunity became a turnover.
These were a couple of ambitious shots. I'm not sure I want to see those again. My biggest issue is that he didn't utilize Garza either time, even though Garza had the advantage both times.
Game Screenshot
Game Screenshot
Under normal circumstances, this would be Robinson instead of Garza and the lob would be more obvious, so I'll give Baylor a little leeway on that. But Scheierman still needs to be aware of everyone the floor in this position, and Garza could have at least caught a pass for a layup, especially in the second screenshot.
In the first, Garza had Jarrett Allen pinned in a sort of Gortat screen, so even if you argued the angle was too tough for a pass, Scheierman still missed a chance to turn the corner there. He was committed to that sweeping hook before making any actual read, which is the bigger problem.
This speaks to one of Scheierman's weaknesses, which also happens to be one of his strengths: his confidence. Scheierman got into trouble last season because he took some quick shots when he got caught up in moments. That first hook was a classic example of (a) playing way too fast, and (b) an irrational belief that 'I got this.'
Patience is going to be key for Scheierman. He's not going to be asked to run a ton of pick-and-roll this season, but making reads is making reads in any situation. Scheierman can make good ones, for sure, but he still has to tighten up some of the fundamentals, and he has to play within himself to be most effective.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/celtics/onsi as How Did Baylor Scheierman Read The Game? Video Breakdown Of Preseason Game 1 .
