Anfernee Simons made two mistakes. Dribbling too much in the back court after a Luka Garza stop inside cost the Celtics possession to Anthony Black, who pulled up and hit a three immediately. On the following possession, he let Black slip free in transition and fouled him with a borderline flagrant shove that left the Magic guard irritated. Joe Mazzulla didn’t like it either, and pulled Simons for the rest of the half. After two minutes.
He returned seven minutes into the third quarter and helped the Celtics’ comeback attempt in the eventual 123-110 loss by shooting 3-for-5 from three. Prior to his back-to-back fourth quarter makes that tied the game, Boston began the game 8-for-28 from deep, unable to generate and convert from outside in a performance reminiscent of April’s first round playoff series grind as the Celtics remained bottom-five in three point efficiency. Simons projected to bring shooting if nothing else.
“I thought he responded pretty well,” Mazzulla said. “I thought he was more aggressive in the 2nd half, and there was no message there. He just has an understanding of what we have to do on both sides of the floor. I thought he did a much better job of that in the 2nd half.”
The Celtics have asked for him to become more than that, while transitioning to a bench role for the first time 2021-22. He absorbed a preseason challenge by Mazzulla, that he may not play as much as he’d like if his defense doesn’t round into form. Seeing Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White in front of him, he didn’t want to step on any toes, so he made the adjustment to a lower volume, off-ball approach on offense.
It’s been an adjustment. Even after a 4-for-8 finish in 18 minutes on Friday, his shooting efficiency remained stuck at 41.8%. His three-point shooting (38.9%) stood in line with his career mark to begin the year, the only Celtics alongside Sam Hauser exceeding 37% 3PT at volume, but Simons has commanded fewer shots, ball time and generating half as many free throw attempts per 36 minutes. His fouling is up as the team coaches him to defend more aggressively. On a team still relying on the three, patching up rebounding issues and building a defensive identity, he becomes more in flux than anyone else on the roster.
Simons accepted the benching after the game, telling reports that Hugo González and Jordan Walsh provided an impact that the team search for. González offensive rebounding helped the Celtics generate a three late in the first quarter before Walsh recorded a block and steal early in the second. Simons didn’t appear interchangeable with the team’s youngest players to begin the season given his pedigree and $28 million salary. That’s where he landed in the first half on Friday.
“I think as a team we got off to a slow start,” Simons said. “They were making threes, but I think we did need a burst of energy. Somebody that can come in there and rough up the game a little bit more, and so I think they gave us the best chance to do that.”
Here's the stretch that led to Anfernee Simons' first half benching. Feasible that it could've been due to the ORL offensive rebounding and wanting to get more size on the floor in Walsh, but the back court turnover and breakout dunk/and one foul allowed didn't help him get back pic.twitter.com/rWkAu9uaTn
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) November 8, 2025
The numbers speak kindly of Simons so far. His pick-and-roll efficiency ranks in the 83rd percentile of the league (1.08 points per possession) while his spot up numbers are also excellent (1.36 PPP, 85th percentile). Defensively, he’s held up, holding spot up shooters to 11-for-33 from the field and posting good numbers against pick-and-rolls. Opponents have shot only 35.8% against Simons, though they have averaged 116.7 points per 100 possessions against his lineups. An attempt to get all three guards on the floor together in 33 minutes resulted in a 117.8 defensive rating. Boston’s defense allowed 113.9 points per 100 for the season through 10 games.
The Celtics only fare 3.5 points per 100 possessions worse with Simons on the floor compared to off, and those minutes come as Josh Minott, Neemias Queta and Pritchard step off the floor for Simons, Garza and Sam Hauser. That trio posted a 122.4 defensive rating through eight games together, and it’s not any one of their fault. Their 116.8 offensive rating slightly exceeds the team’s 116.4 number through 10th-ranked start on that end.
“I think at his heart, he just wants to be a team player and do what it takes to win,” Mazzulla said last week. “And I appreciate that, but finding the balance of playing off the guards that we have and we do play a lot of reads and situations, so sometimes it can create a hesitancy of what the right read is at the time, but we do need him to the best and the most aggressive, because he’s proven he can do that in the league. So whether it’s just actions or mindset, it’s making sure he feels comfortable and I thought Derrick yesterday putting the ball in his hands to make some plays for us. I thought we did a good job delivering and we just gotta keep doing that.”
Former teammates have seen Simons adapt to a new role in Boston, and Jabari Walker mentioned that Simons’ defensive effort stood out during the preseason. In Portland, Simons averaged 9.3 drives per game that he shot 47%, drew 1.2 fouls per game and balanced a 8.1 AST% and 5.1 TOV% on. This year, he’s driving 4.6 timer per game that he shot 51.7% on with a 6.5 AST% and 4.3 TOV%. His time of possession dropped to 3.1 minutes per game, fourth on the team, from leading Portland with 4.9 minutes each night in 2025. The Celtics also cut his average time per touch down by nearly one full second, and probably want to slash that further as they prioritize quick reads and decisions. Simons is more of a probing player.
Why did Anfernee Simons only play 2 minutes for the Celtics in the first half vs Orlando?🤔@John_Zannis: "It's insane to play him 2 minutes in a [half]. Insane to me. He's not one of those guys. Like he just isn't."@RealBobManning: "He got you back into the game!" pic.twitter.com/NnvPG7SDrr
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) November 8, 2025
Boston would always need to strike some balance between Pritchard, who’s produced one of the best short-mid range starts to the season around the NBA while struggling from three until this week, and Simons, who’s seen opposite results. They can play together though only one player can dribble, initiate and feel out the game. The Celtics, rightfully, empowered Pritchard to do that and he’s become part of a successful starting unit to this point. That’s left Simons and the bench searching to figure out where they stand in the team dynamic, and for an offense attempting the most threes in the league again, they can’t afford to let arguably their best shooter fall behind. Even if they don’t necessarily see a long term future for him with the team.
“Coach has been telling me to be myself, be aggressive,” Simons said in Philadelphia late last month. “(They’re) asking me what type of actions do I like? And just reading the game, it’s pretty much that simple. If you put me in some high pick-and-roll situations, which I’m comfortable being in for the most part, we were able to get a couple of good looks playing off of it and just building that relationship with the bigs and everybody that’s on the court.”
