Karalis: Aaron Nesmith hustles his way to a role at the right time

When Aaron Nesmith checks into a basketball game, he's not stepping onto a basketball court.

He's stepping into his personal mosh pit.

The Boston Celtics rookie may have a reputation as a pure shooter, but his short NBA career has seen him shoot his body through the air more often than the ball through the hoop.

"To be honest, the other players are probably more in danger with Aaron flying around and throwing elbows and stuff," Jaylen Brown said after the Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night. "I worry more about who he might hurt rather than him hurting himself. I love Aaron."

 

It was hard not to love him after another high-flying, death-defying, performance that saw him hit the deck too many times to remember, but always pop up. To paraphrase the great Kevin Harlan, he seems to play with no regard for his own life.

“No, I definitely care. I definitely care, but I'm just going out there 110%," Nesmith said. "I know every team needs effort plays. Effort plays, 50/50 balls, you know, that's what wins ball games. And so I'm gonna go out there and I put my body on the line in order to make a play happen. But yeah, safety, safety is definitely something that I got to pay attention to.”

The Celtics hope Nesmith is someone worth paying attention to down this home stretch. They have been desperate for more bench help, and a more confident Nesmith can be part of the boost they need.

"I think the biggest challenge for Aaron was the speed of the game when he first got here," Brad Stevens said. "He’s played hard and he’s worked really hard at it. As he’s gotten more practice time and game minutes here, the difference between his play now and when we were putting him in in January and February is night and day. So it’s encouraging."

The work has been paying off, but not how we might have expected. Nesmith, like Romeo Langford last season, came in known exclusively for his offense. But slowly, Nesmith has been harnessing his energy and channeling it into big defensive plays



Nesmith played the pick and roll well, got Devonte' Graham to throw the pass that looked like it was there but he batted it away like a defensive back swatting down a pass in the back of the endzone.



Here he recognizes that he has to get back to prevent the leak-out, and when he again seems like he's out of position, he Troy Polamalu's his way back and makes the defensive play. Again, throwing caution to the wind for the sake of making the play.



The beauty of it is that he's not just making all-out defensive hustle plays. This block on Miles Bridges is the result of seeing the floor, recognizing what's about to happen, and stepping over to help. He could have just followed his guy who, by the way, is making a cut specifically designed to get Nesmith out of the play. The goal is to open up that right side of the floor but Nesmith sniffed it out and got a huge block in a huge spot.

'The game’s so fast. I think that’s a part of the NBA that a lot of people have to adjust to," he said. "Even if I missed a shot, I still have a job to do on defense. So I’ve gotta get back and do my job for my teammates.”

The shot-making is, oddly enough for a guy who called himself an absolute sniper after being drafted, the least of anyone's concerns. The game speed and lack of time can mess with a shooter's rhythm, but as long as he can find ways to keep his confidence, that will come. We got a taste of it with his 6-12 shooting (2-5 3pt) in this game, and eventually he'll play an even bigger role in the offense.

 

"We need his continued growth," Stevens said. "That’s an important thing. The obvious young guys that get all the attention are Jaylen and Jayson (Tatum), but we need guys like Aaron to take that next step, and he’s doing a good job."

Who knows what Friday night's game will bring. These are the perils of being a rookie in the NBA, especially this year. He could get another DNP, or he could start for all we know.

While a lot is uncertain with Nesmith this season, but there's at least one thing the Celtics can count on. When he does take the floor, he's going to be giving maximum effort, at maximum intensity, which means he's going to need a few hands getting up off the floor.

"I mean, it's refreshing. Despite his situation, he came out and played extremely hard. Whether it's two minutes or 15, Aaron has played the same level of passion all year," Brown said. "So it's kudos to him because that's hard to do. Especially coming out of college, playing a lot. Now you're coming here, you're not playing as much, there's guys in front of you. It's not as easy as it seems. I think he's handled it as good as anybody that I've seen.

"But I just want him to be careful. I want him to be careful."