Every player on the Boston Celtics had seen some action during the 2019-20 regular season before Monday night except for Tremont Waters. The No. 51 overall pick and two-way player wasn’t even on the active roster (13 players) once over the C’s first 17 contests as good health and numerous reps in Maine took priority for the organization with the 5-foot-10 point guard.
Things changed in a hurry however for the G-League player of the week over the past 72 hours. Once Kemba Walker went down with a scary neck injury on Friday night, the C’s depth chart with ball handlers now got dangerously thin with Gordon Hayward also sidelined. Outside of Marcus Smart and Brad Wanamaker, no one else on this team could be trusted to run an offense consistently, so the 21-year-old got the call to be ready on Sunday. He would be active if Walker couldn’t go.
After Walker was declared out during pregame, Brad Stevens was not shy about declaring his fondness for Waters.
“I would not be scared to play him,” the head coach said of the rookie. “He’s a heck of a player.”
Stevens backed up his declaration in the C’s 103-102 win on Monday night, sticking with his second-round pick for 20 of the game’s final 34 minutes in Boston’s gritty victory.
A look at the box score wouldn’t initially signal a sparkling debut for the LSU product. Waters missed his first four shots and finished just 2-of-7 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range. However, he did manage to stuff the stat sheet with two rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal, and most importantly led the entire team in plus/minus (+20) after helping to rally the C’s in the second quarter from an 11-point deficit with a 25-7 run before halftime.
The performance snapped the C’s out of a sluggish start in the first half and left a lasting impression on his teammates about his capabilities.
“It was huge,” Marcus Smart said of the performance. “He came in yesterday and we went over it for him, again, some of the offense, the defense and how we want to play. He picked up on it quick. He came in and he’s a good true point guard, he was finding everybody, he was getting to his spots. Guy’s not afraid, he showed that. He comes out shooting the ball, hit a really big 3 for us down the stretch and really controlled the game. We’re excited about Tremont and we’re happy to have him here. He’s only going to continue to get better.”
“Young old head, that’s what we call him,” Jaylen Brown added. “He came out and he played well. He made the right plays, the right decisions, he’s hard to guard, tricky with the ball. Good for us tonight.”
So what exactly do C’s fans have to get excited about over the long-term with the young guard? A closer look at the highs and lows of his night paint an intriguing picture.
PASSING VISION
Waters has always been a pass-first player as seen throughout his stellar play in the summer league and with Maine so far (averaging nearly eight assists per game). He has unique vision for his size as evidenced by the first assist of his career, a nifty left-handed bounce pass to a cutting Semi Ojeleye in the corner.
Hell yeah Tremont Waters pic.twitter.com/G5J68YpbNx
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) November 26, 2019
Tremont Waters left Buddy Hield in Sacramento on this crossover. pic.twitter.com/2Iy8XM9v7T
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) November 26, 2019
Tremont Waters has Curry range ? pic.twitter.com/H344nyvaeI
— Dante Turo (@DanteOnDeck) November 26, 2019