Nesmith revenge series? How ex-Celtic could make an impact in ECF

Nesmith revenge series? How ex-Celtic could make an impact in ECF originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The date is Oct. 28, 2023, and Aaron Nesmith has just dropped a career-high 26 points to power the Indiana Pacers to an early-season win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But Nesmith doesn’t have the Pacers or Cavs on his mind. He’s thinking back to his July 2022 trade from Boston to Indiana, when the Celtics dealt him along with Daniel Theis, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and a 2023 first-round pick to land veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon.

And he’s pulling out the receipts on Bleacher Report, which at the time of the trade posted a meme of SpongeBob Squarepants holding out a paper clip and a loose piece of string with the caption, “What the Celtics gave up for Brogdon.”

“S— aged well ain’t it,” Nesmith boasted on that October night via his Instagram story.

Fast forward to Jan. 8, 2024, when Nesmith racks up 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting to help the Pacers overcome Tyrese Haliburton’s injury and beat the Celtics at home. And again to Jan. 30, when Nesmith ties his career high with a 26-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist effort against his former team in the Pacers’ narrow loss to the Celtics.

That’s all to say Nesmith is plenty motivated to stick it to the C’s for trading him back in 2022. And now he’ll have an entire series to do it.

While Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner will generate a majority of the attention in Indiana’s Eastern Conference Finals matchup with Boston that begins Tuesday at TD Garden, the Celtics should overestimate Nesmith at their own peril.

After failing to make an impact in Boston as a 2020 first-round pick (14th overall) relegated to the bench on a talented roster, the 24-year-old is thriving in Indiana as an energy-injecting starter who plays with a relentless motor on both ends of the floor.

“I can see that he worked hard and played hard just looking for his opportunity, his chance, and he’s gotten it here in Indiana. I’m happy for him,” Celtics guard Derrick White said of Nesmith on Monday.

“He just goes out there and competes his tail off for every minute he’s out there….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nesmith-revenge-series-ex-celtic-185328942.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-05-20 18:59:24

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