This will UNLOCK the Celtics...

This will unlock the Celtics as they have a guy who can provide some extra wing depth this season, a guy who has now spent two seasons in the NBA, had a very storied college career at Creighton, but what can the Celtics expect from him this year? Is he going to make that leap that we all know he can make, that he is poised to make? Well folks, we're going to break all of that down here today on Celtics Digest, where I am your host, Kellen Frangione. It's a pleasure to be back talking about Celtics basketball. As always, you'll have to forgive me for the little hiatus. I was on vacation with my family out of the country. It was great. Now I'm back, ready to talk about the Celtics once again, and the topic of today's video is going to be none other than the man himself, folks, Baylor Shireman. This man right here, you may recognize him from his little mullet cut going on and the tatted arm sleeve and all these different things. A Nebraska native, Baylor Shireman is poised to make a leap this year. He is going to add a lot of wing depth to this team. He's a great shooter. He has a very, very talented offensive skill set. His defense is okay. It's serviceable. He has work to do there, but I saw an article today from Sports Illustrated that breaks down what the Celtics can expect from Baylor this season. So without further ado, I just want to get into that article, discuss what it has to say, take a look at some of Baylor's best games and some of his stats. So we're going to do that right here, right now, folks. The article starts by saying this is a season of opportunity for Boston's reserve wings. Paul George is going to miss a fair amount of time by design and probably more by circumstance. Jason Tatum will also have to start giving into load management as he begins life in a post Achilles injury reality. Unfortunately, folks, as much as we don't want to admit it, it's true. Minutes will be there on the wing. Baylor Shireman is one of the guys hoping to take them. The triumvirate of Shireman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez come into the season as a combined key to Boston's success in the wake of the Jalen Brown trade. At least one and more likely two of these wings need to make noticeable leaps for the Celtics to overachieve this season and also feel good about how they're reshaping their future. I agree. Walsh is a high energy wildcard. Gonzalez is a tantalizing young talent. Shireman is currently the most well-rounded and mature of them all as a basketball player, probably because he's as old as a lot of guys going into their second contracts while still only heading into his third year in the NBA. I agree. I also saw a lot of Baylor when he was at Creighton playing in the Big East, always having great games, always scoring a lot. Very talented guy. You could notice him on the floor every single game out there playing with effort, doing all these things that you just like to see that a mature basketball player does. The article continues by saying, Shireman carries a jote de verve onto the court with his floppy mullet, propensity for trash talking, and the ability to find celebrations in the wake of injuries. It's hard to find a player with more confidence when he steps onto the floor, and as it usually goes, that great strength can be a great weakness from time to time. Shireman has been known to ride the emotional wave of a game. If there's a momentum shot to be taken, you can bet Shireman will want to fire it. He will not shrink in the moment, though it's still yet to be seen if he can meet it as often as he thinks he can. The article continues saying, It's always easier to dial someone back than drag something out of him, so it's fine that this has been the case so far. It's also fine to ask Shireman to be a little more aware of the moment. No one wants to stifle the joy with which he plays basketball, but reading the game a little better is a reasonable exception. When the game's emotions are below feverish, Shireman brings a nice balance of shooting and playmaking, which is why he earned 20 starts last regular season. The winner of the wing minutes will be the most consistent shooter and the smartest with the ball in his hands. Shireman has a chance to be both. The article continues with Taylor Shireman saying, I want to improve my ability to create for others and read and be a secondary or third playmaker. His finishing at the rim is definitely a weakness. His 77.3% within 3 foot of the rim last season was 11th on the team, 10 percentage points behind Sam Hauser. He shot 45.2% between 3 and 10 feet away, 13% behind Peyton Richard. But he was the team's second best three-point shooter behind Luka Garza at 39.9%. His 49.4% from the corner was second only to Richard's 52.4%, which is amazing. Fantastic. Everything else, like his rebounding, passing, and defense, all qualifies as somewhere between above average to adequate, but with definite room for improvement, it continues to say. In reality, the true competition is between Shireman and Walsh. Gonzalez still has time to grow into himself as an NBA player. If we assume that Gonzalez is a big part of Boston's future, as Brad Stevens has said, then Shireman can be the wing of the moment. Walsh's NBA skill is his defense. That is his main thing. It's always been his thing. But Shireman is a more natural feel for the offense. He ticks more boxes than Walsh at the moment. I would agree with that. I haven't seen much from Walsh on the offensive end as I have with Baylor and Baylor's consistency shooting the ball. I've always prided myself in being able to impact the game in about every area, he said. I think that's who I am and who I want to be in this league, is just being able to impact the game in whatever way necessary. The article concludes by saying, Shireman has been okay defensively, but he can very easily get better. That starts with getting quicker laterally, and one of his stated goals is being able to change direction quicker and more effectively. It's one of the many improvements that can come to fruition and make him an important part of the rotation, or just fall short and leave Boston playing rock, paper, scissors to figure out which wing gets minutes on a given night. We can expect some good shooting, the occasional highlight pass, some decent rebounding, and passable defense. How much he moves those sliders will determine how big a part of the rotation he becomes. Folks, Baylor Shireman, look out for him this season. He was also quoted towards the end of this article saying the following right here. Let me pull it up, folks. Apologies. I have a long ways to go. I'm excited to get after it this offseason, he said back in May. So we know Baylor Shireman is always looking to improve his game, been putting in work. I'm excited to see what he can bring to the team. And I was already excited about him last season with the games like this one against the Magic. This was game 82, where Baylor Shireman reached his career high in points. You can see it right here. He had 30 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, a block, plus 15 in his minutes, 8 for 20, not the greatest, but 6 for 14 from 3, 8 for 8 from the free throw line. An impressive offensive showing from him, and from a lot of the young guys. As you can see right here, Ron Harper had 27, Garza had 27. It was a good game for all of those young guys. And another one that really stood out to me from this past season was that game against the Knicks, where he came off the bench, but he still had 20 points, I believe. Let's see right here. He had 20 points in 30 minutes, and you see it's 7 for 8 and 6 for 7 from 3. He missed one shot the entire game, 6 threes. He was just absolutely on fire. Unfortunately, the Celtics did lose that game to the Knicks, but it was a really impressive performance, and it really stood out to me watching him. And also, if we just take a look at his season stats from this past season, they're not bad, but obviously room to improve. I believe he was playing, let's see here, about 15-ish minutes per game, so it's not like Baylor was really giving the keys to fully unlock himself. Okay, 18 minutes per game, but you see it here, 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 61.6% true shooting, 45.3% field goal percentage, 39.9% from 3, 90.3% from the free throw line. His defensive numbers are not great, as we said, but he is at the very least passable on that end of the floor. It's fine, it's not a huge issue. And Baylor had a great career in college at Creighton. He's definitely capable of great things in this league, so I'm really excited to see what type of leap he can make this season. I'm excited to see how he can impact the game further, and honestly, I do think he is the best out of those three guys between Walsh, between Gonzalez, and him. He, right now, is the best. He just has to prove it this season. I think he's certainly capable, but folks, let me know your thoughts in the comments. What are you expecting to see from Baylor Shireman this season? Are you as high on him as I am, or are you not so high on him? Would you rather him be dealt for someone else? Would you rather get rid of him and split minutes between Walsh and Gonzalez? Let me know. I'm open to hearing all of this, but folks, thank you very much for watching this video. Once again, I am your host, Kellen Frangione with Celtics Digest. It's a pleasure to be back making videos. Stay on the lookout. We recently hit 11,000 subscribers. 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