Boston’s defensive nightmare

It wasn’t that long ago that Baylor Scheierman was back in A-Town, watching as inconspicuously as a hometown hero can as “We want Baylor” chants from the Aurora student section picked up late in the game of Aurora’s win over Crete. 
The former Husky couldn’t help but smile. Even visiting Cardinal fans couldn’t help but laugh.
Just 10 days later, Scheierman announced himself to a national television audience as a starter for the Boston Celtics in a monumental road game against the Los Angeles Lakers. 
Sunday night, prime time. A kid from Aurora, Nebraska, starting in the biggest and best rivalry in the NBA. 
It was the second time Scheierman started a game for the Celtics on NBC prime time. For those who haven’t seen it but have seen Sunday night NFL games, starters announce themselves and what school they hail from.
It sounds so insignificant, but hearing the kid say, “Baylor Scheierman…Creighton University” is a top sports moment in my lifetime. I watched it several times as something must have gotten caught in my eye because they were all welled up. 
Anyway, Sunday night was Scheierman’s ninth start of the season for the Celtics and the 11th of his career. His workload and responsibility picked up ahead of the all-star break and has continued since the season picked up again.
What a treat it was to watch Scheierman Sunday night, defending LA’s Luka Doncic, widely considered a top five player right now in the league. 
By the end of the game Sunday, Scheierman had Doncic frustrated beyond belief. Sure, Doncic finished the game with 25 points, but nearly all of that wasn’t without No. 55 in the way as the Celtics cruised to an 111-89 win.  
Scheierman was that annoying mosquito on a late summer night where the humidity is higher than the temperature. It’s as big of a reason as any that he’s earned the minutes, as well as starting opportunities, he has. 
It’s difficult to quantify Scheierman’s impact on the game because so much of that impact comes on the defensive end. There just isn’t that one number in the stat sheet you can point to that shows how truly impressive he’s been on that end.
It’s all the more incredible when you think about it. For as much as this sports guy has praised Scheierman over the last decade, his defensive presence hasn’t been a main factor for that. 
In just a year and a half, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has molded Scheierman into the defensive player he wants -- tenacious, aggressive and annoying. Doncic was the latest to figure it out, all 94 feet. 
His rebounding ability? Yeah, that’s always been there. How about our guy absolutely ripping an offensive rebound away from LeBron James for an extra possession that led to a three-pointer.
There’s no off switch for Scheierman when he’s on the floor. Never has been. Reggie Miller noticed, too. How cool is that?
He comes up with plays that makes his team better, can contribute in whatever aspect is needed on any given night and will not be out-worked. 
I chatted with Scheierman informally for a few minutes after the Crete game, just picking his brain a bit on how things are going. He’s having the time of his life. His confidence is on the rise as his minutes and responsibility increase along with it. 
There’s plenty to smile about if you’re Baylor Scheierman. Now, hopefully our current Huskies can go on a run this week and do something A-Town hasn’t done since Scheierman was wearing the uniform – make state!
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.