Jalen Brown is thrilled with Anfernee Simmons’ rapid improvement

ByNBAUSA



BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown and head coach Joe Mazzulla are the official founders of “Celtics University”, a prestigious institution that develops NBA talent and improves the basketball understanding of each member of the Green Team. And if the CU professors have a star student nearly halfway through the regular season, it’s the Celtics guard Anfernee Simmons.

During Friday night’s matchup with the fourth-ranked Toronto Raptors, Simmons had 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and zero turnovers in 26 minutes of action. The first-year Celtic seemingly had an offensive answer every time the Raptors went on a run and his seventh straight game in double figures (his longest streak of the season) helped the C’s to a 125-117 victory at TD Garden.

“Anferny has gotten better since he first walked into practice,” praised Brown after Boston improved to 24-13. “I think he’s a better basketball player in a few months. He’s competing defensively, he’s also understanding the game a little better – like how to play winning basketball.”

While Simmons’ role as a bench player could be seen as a demotion, having started every game he played in during his three previous seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, he didn’t embrace that prospect. Brown, who is also adjusting to a new role as the Celtics’ leading scorer of sorts, applauds Simmons for his maturity and flexibility.

“He’s a really talented player,” Brown said. “He’s probably more talented than the role he’s in right now, but he comes out, has the right mindset and contributes to a win every night, which I damn well respect.”

How did Anfernee Simmons do at the University Celtics?

In 37 games in Boston, Simmons averaged 23.9 minutes and 13.6 points per outing, his lowest marks since his third season in the NBA during the post-Bubble days. However, he’s also shooting 40.9% from deep, his best percentage since the aforementioned season, and is averaging more minutes in January than in December and November.

“Of course, it has its ups and downs, we’re all human,” Simmons said of adjusting to coming off the bench. “But I think I’m just going back to my past experiences, when it was early in my career, when I wasn’t playing that much, my minutes were up and down, and then I’m kind of picking up the things that I’ve learned over the years in the NBA. And just realizing that in these situations, you have to control what you can control.”

While offense has always been Simmons’ favorite “subject,” even long before his days at the University of the Celtics, Macula is more focused on what he is capable of without the ball.

“I thought he had some great rebounds for us,” Macula said. “I thought his defense was good in the second half. The most important thing is just doing your job every night. He takes a lot of pride in that. He competes at a high level. But I love the role he’s in because you come in and it’s just another guy that can play for us, another guy that can score for us. But again, I like the fact that he takes pride in his defense.”

If Simmons had a progress report for his start with the Celtics, he’s probably gone from a ‘B-‘ early to an ‘A’ now. His drive to improve would make any professor proud.

“He’s getting better and better every night,” Macula said. “He wants to get better every night.”

The next big test for the students of “Celtics University” comes less than 24 hours after the victory over the Raptors. The C’s will host the 26-11 San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night and celebrate the return of “CU” alum Luke Cornett, who helped lead Boston to an NBA title before going to Texas in free agency last offseason.





2026-01-10 17:26:00

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