‘You have to believe in yourself’: Simons continues to excel in his role off bench

Anfernee Simons has fully embraced his role. 

In reality, he has since he stepped on the parquet for the first time, but on Thursday in Miami, Simons’ potential as a Celtic was fully realized when he was needed most. The guard got red hot in South Beach, scorching the Heat for 39 points as he sparked a 19-point comeback. 

Simons wasn’t shy postgame to admit he’s gone through his fair share of growing pains as he adjusts to his new role on the bench, but it’s his belief in himself that has allowed him to stay the course and ultimately contribute in a massive way to this surprising Celtics team. 

“Obviously it's growing pains, but I think all in all, you have to believe in yourself,” Simons told NBC Sports Boston postgame. “I think sometimes it could be tough, but ultimately, that's what's going to get you over the hump. When you believe in yourself, believe in the goal the team has, and you got to buy into that, and that's what's going to help everybody play better, not just me.” 

From the day Simons was traded to Boston last summer, head coach Joe Mazzulla was honest in what he envisioned the point guard’s role to be on his Celtic team. According to Mazzula, Simons has bought in from day one. 

“Just professionalism from day one, we were very upfront about what his role was going to be,” Mazzulla said. “We've had guys in the past, play this role, play that six to six slot and kind of be instant offense and be able to play. I think he's taking it to another level with his defense.

“He's impacted winning for us on both ends of the floor tonight. The glaring thing is his offense, but to me, his physicality, his defensive and his coachability, it's just top notch.” 

It was a historic night for Simons, who’s 39 points is good for fourth most off the bench in Celtic history. It’s also the most points by a player off the bench on the road in franchise history. 

“That was great. That was big time,”  Jaylen Brown said. “We needed every basket. We just kept going back to him, that’s what the game called for.” 

While everyone will be talking about Simons’ seven triples and 18 fourth-quarter points, Mazzulla had more praise about how he impacted the game on the other end of the floor. 

“Scoring is what he's done most of his career, but to me, it's just the way he defended,” Mazzulla said. “He had a blindside block, got a couple in-traffic rebounds, was physical at the point of attack, just a complete game. Credit to him, credit to his teammates, you know, kind of creating that environment for him to be able to do it. 

“He obviously kept us in it in the first half, and then helped us pull away there a little bit at the end.” 

It’s not a stretch that Boston’s starting group came out and played just about as badly as it has all year long. In the blink of an eye, the Cs were staring at a 19-point hole and their fourth loss in five games — which hasn’t happened in nearly three years. 

And then Simons provided an immediate spark off the bench, scoring 11 in the first quarter to bring the deficit to 11. On a team with players that can dominate offensively in Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, Simons isn’t always needed to put on the cape like he needed to at times in Portland. But it became pretty clear early on that the Cs were going to need as many points as he could give them. 

“Tonight, we were struggling to score the ball and struggling to get some stops,” Simons said. “Just come in and play with energy. Be aggressive. At that point, you can live with results, knowing that you put forth effort to give what the game needed.” 

Simons gave Boston all it needed — and then some. The guard piled on 18 in the fourth as the Celtics completed the comeback and hung on for their 25th win of the season. 

When Simons does score, it allows Boston to reach another level. The Celtics are 11-0 this season when the guard reaches the 17-point mark. 

And don’t think that just because Simons came through on Thursday night he’s going to be forcing his shot on Saturday in Atlanta. He’ll just play his role in order to best help his team, whether that calls for 40 points or just five. 

“I’m just being coachable, having some humility on the things that (I) need to get better at, and just accepting the role,” Simons said. “I mean, try to be the best version at it. It's got its ups and downs, but I think, for the most part, each and every game, just going with the flow.”