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Aaron Nesmith adapted for his first NBA preseason game on December 15, 2020, less than a month after being drafted by the Boston Celtics. With no offseason or Summer League experience to help him develop, he and his fellow rookies found themselves far less prepared than any other draft class in recent memory.
But now, with a full regular season, playoffs, offseason and training camp under his belt, Nesmith will enter his second opening game of the preseason on Monday night with a whole new level of preparation and confidence. .
“Having a regular offseason made a big difference,” said the 21-year-old winger in a shootout Monday morning before Boston’s exhibition game against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. “Just be better prepared, more relaxed and know what to expect. ”
This was not the case for Nesmith entering Year 1 given the atypical circumstances of last season. After taking a crash course in the Celtics’ system, he was thrown into the fire. And on top of that, he hadn’t played a competitive basketball game for almost a year after missing the last half of his second season at Vanderbilt with a foot injury.
As a result, Nesmith had a somewhat slow start and was unable to carve out a role for himself from the start. He’s recorded 26 DNP in the first 58 games of the season, and in his 32 appearances he’s averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 36.5% from the field. , 31.9% on 3 points and 68.8% in the field. Free line of fire.
However, Nesmith eventually managed to overcome his inconsistent minutes by putting forth a consistent work ethic, which saw him become a regular contributor off the bench at the end of the season.
In his last 14 games of the regular season, he has achieved 8.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while shooting a remarkable 52.4% from field, 46.2% from depth and 91.7% from fault line.
The successful end of Nesmith’s 2020-21 campaign set the tone for what would be a successful introduction to the Summer League. He was the team’s top scorer and rebounder in Las Vegas, averaging 17.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 50.0% from the field and 36.1% from long distance. .
The hope for Nesmith is that he can continue his summer success until the fall.
“I just have to focus on my role and keep working on my role, whatever the team needs from me,” said the 6-foot-5 winger. balls, get offensive and defensive rebounds, do all the little things that help games that aren’t necessarily scored on the stats sheet.
Nesmith’s role also includes that of a reverse shooter, so he’s been working on all kinds of situational shooting drills this offseason.
“My job is to do absolutely immediate shots, so I have to train that way,” Nesmith said. “I have to train with one hand on my face, I have to train to run 100% off the screens. This is what I’m going to get in the game and if I don’t train this way I won’t be able to do them in the game.
Nesmith is waiting for the chance to finally enter the game on Monday night to show how far he has come since last season.
“It’s just exciting, the start of Year 2,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to it since the end of last year, so I watch it like any other game and can’t wait to get started.”
The start should go a little easier for Nesmith this time around now that he has had a full offseason to prepare.
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