Nesmith airs out his game in Maine
BOSTON — Sometimes all it takes is some steady playing time to rediscover a flow, which is exactly what happened to Aaron Nesmith when he joined the Maine Celtics for their 117-89 win over the Wisconsin Herd on Sunday night.
By Monday morning the secondyear wing was back with the parent team, settling in for his back-of-therotation role against Indiana. And after shooting 9-for-16 on his way to 21 points, and playing 31 minutes for Maine, Nesmith once again had a sense of himself.
“Just being able to go out there and play freely and just kind of get back into a rhythm a little bit, it’s always fun and always a good experience,” he said. “It’s just fun to play the game of basketball no matter where it is. … So I said I’ll go, go play, have fun. And win another basketball game.”
But there was also the matter of getting his game back on track. Nesmith’s recent time in health and safety protocols couldn’t have come at a worse time. With 14 Celtics going in and out of quarantine this season, Nesmith would normally have had a prime chance at playing time.
As such, prior to Saturday’s six-minute appearance against the Knicks, Nesmith had missed seven straight games. Before that, his 3-point shooting had dropped to 23.4 percent — a rough number for anyone, let alone someone whose shooting was the reason for his status as the 14th pick in the 2020 draft.
“Oh yeah, it’s frustrating. My shot is not where it’s supposed to be or where I want it to be,” he said. “And I need to find my consistency with that and I need to get back to doing what I’ve been doing regarding that. But, besides that, just continuing to make the most of opportunities on the defensive side of the floor, even if my shot’s not falling make sure I can still make an impact without making jumpers.
“I’m just not making a high percentage that I know I’m capable of making it and I should be making it at. So that’s on me. I definitely get better with that as the season goes on. And, like I said, I’ll just continue to make impacts in other ways around the game.”