Summertime in the NBA is about guessing, projecting, wondering, and having a little bit of fun. To project what a player could be on his next team is to look at the play calls his former coach used for him. Let’s dive into Anfernee Simons’ 2024–25 season with statistics and film. With past information, metrics, and videos, we’ll try to figure out what Brad Stevens saw in him—and how Joe Mazzulla and his staff could exploit his skills.
Born to be a Celtic?
Simons’ shooting frequency compared to Celtics’ last season shows that Brad Stevens still believe one shot out of two should be taken from beyond the line pic.twitter.com/SMzdBD5uCu
— Azad (@azmatlanba) June 25, 2025
Looking at shooting frequency numbers, Anfernee Simons appears to be a great fit in the Celtics’ offensive philosophy. His shooting splits are very similar to the team’s with 50% of his attempts coming from beyond the arc. It was also the case for Jrue Holiday last season. They share similar efficiency as well, with 1.13 points per shot attempt. The biggest difference between the two players comes from creation: Anfernee creates a LOT of his buckets.
Per CleaningTheGlass.com, Simons was assisted on only 38% of his made field goals last season—a similar rate to Kyrie Irving, Anthony Edwards, or Donovan Mitchell. That’s a huge contrast with Holiday, who was assisted on 65% of his made attempts. The young guard from Florida will probably be used on the ball much more than the now former Celtic next season. Especially with Jayson Tatum out, Simons could lead the Celtics in pull-up three volume.
With almost five pull-up three-point attempts per game last season, Simons will likely be the one handling the ball against drop defenses. Here, for example, is a play against the San Antonio Spurs where the Trail Blazers draw up a double drag action. It gives Simons space to pull up from beyond the arc, thanks to Victor Wembanyama’s drop coverage.
Without Jayson Tatum, Simons might be the best Celtic in these situations next year. On the pick-and-roll, there’s also a chance to see him drive—but he doesn’t finish many of his actions at the rim. Only 19% of his attempts come close to the basket. Nonetheless, this could be interesting, as he has shown he can create those drives for himself, despite Portland’s below-average spacing.
IF (and that’s a big one) the Celtics still have a great spacing next season, Simons could have a lot of opportunity at the rim
last year with the Blazers, he was creating 87% of this shot at the rim (99th percentile) and with an average efficiency
could be something to monitor pic.twitter.com/NpVQMwbrvo
— Azad (@azmatlanba) June 25, 2025
Out of pick-and-roll situations, the Celtics could also use Simons as a playmaker. His passing isn’t elite, but he’s a willing passer who has improved his reads and his ability to manipulate defenses. On the action below, he uses two screens to attract the defense and sends a beautiful skip pass for an open three on the opposite wing.
As there will likely be more trades in the next few days, I also think that a vertical threat would help develop his playmaking and give the Celtics more versatility to attack the paint. Later in the season, as Deandre Ayton embraced the role of a rolling big man, they developed a nice two-man game in the pick-and-roll.
Another example here from a sideline action with an empty side. Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics have developed a habit of running plays with an empty corner. Here’s what it could look like with Anfernee and a rim-runner who can set a screen and flash to the rim.
Yet, while his on-ball game could be worth developing—especially as the Celtics won’t be competing for a title next season—what else can he bring on offense? I tried to guess based on this past season’s performance and realized something that could help us understand his future role.
Before playing for the Celtics, Holiday also created a lot of his own shots like Simons. But as soon as he got to Boston, his game evolved into a more off-ball approach. Could that indicate that the former Trail Blazer could evolve in a similar way? And if that’s the case, what would it look like?
A potential off-ball threat
Despite a small sample size, there was some off-ball game from Simons last season, thanks to Chauncey Billups’ somewhat creative playbook. The first detail that stood out to me was a baseline action he was used in—very similar to ones the Celtics run for Sam Hauser or Payton Pritchard.
Indeed, the Celtics’ coaching staff loves these baseline actions where a big man sets an exit screen to free up a shooter in the corner. The Trail Blazers ran several versions of that last year, and Simons seemed very comfortable with them—showing an early hint of what he could bring off-ball.
Off the ball, there were other examples that reminded me of Pritchard or Hauser. In this action, Simons first sets a ram screen for the big, then acts as a second screener, and finally moves to the wing to use another exit screen to free himself in the corner. This ability to set and use screens in the same play shows how he could remain useful—even next to another ball-handler.
Another fun example here: two off-ball screens are set for him—a typical play the Celtics have used for Hauser in the past.
And to conclude, why do I think he will fit so well in Joe Mazzulla’s system? The sequence below sums it up. Simons starts a pass away from the ball, which delays the defense and creates an initial gap. Then, because he’s a skilled ball-handler, he gets the ball, drives into the paint, forces more help, and creates an even bigger advantage. When he can’t finish, he finds the open man.
A player who can shoot, drive, and pass—what else would you need in the Celtics’ offense for a transitional season?
