There weren’t a lot of positives to take from the Boston Celtics’ loss to the Washington Wizards, but Tremont Waters’ continued strong play at the NBA level was one of them.
The two-way rookie floor general had another excellent outing with the parent club against the D.C.-area franchise, logging 8 points, a steal and an assist over eight minutes of game time.
Most of Waters’ season so far has been on his G League assignment with the Celtics’ affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, but when he’s been given time to suit up for Boston, he’s made it count.
The 51st pick of the 2019 NBA Draft isn’t far behind many of his rookie teammates taken ahead of him in terms of impact at the NBA level, averaging 4.4 points and an assist per contest over 7.8 minutes a contest in the five games he’s played with the Celtics in 2019-20.
Re-watched Celtics/Wizards with a much-clearer head today. Boston missed a million open shots. They turned up the defense a good bit. Thought Grant Williams and Tremont Waters were the team's best players last night. That's good for them, but probably bad for the Celtics.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 7, 2020
Such heady play has been turning the heads of rival general managers in the process, but also his Boston teammates.
“I thought Tremont played well,” said wing Jaylen Brown (via team reporter Taylor Snow). “I thought he came in and was aggressive, and I thought he came in and added to winning,” added the fourth-year Georgia native on Waters’ game against the Wiz.
“Tremont is just a bucket-getter,” continued Brown. “He comes in, he’s super talented, he’s super skilled, he’s the smallest guy on the court, but probably one of the skilled guys on the court. When you put him in the game, he’s always looking to make something happen, and usually he does.”
The Connecticut native was just happy to get some burn again with the Celtics after an extended stint with the Claws.
“It was fulfilling to stay out there longer and get into the flow of the game,” he offered.
Veteran teammate Marcus Smart appreciates the extended minutes for Waters, noting the team’s ramped-up schedule has been taking a toll on older players with more wear-and-tear on their bones.
“Your legs are gone, guys get a little tired, but the development of those younger guys and those guys coming off the bench is huge for us because they come in and they saved us the last three games now and helped us from really getting demolished and having the game over for us early.”
“So it’s important for us,” the Texan added. “They’re going to continue to get better and we’re going to need them down the stretch even more.”
With one of the league’s busiest schedules before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, Waters should have several more shots at significant minutes over the next month, the team not having consecutive days off until the All-Star break, and only once more before March.
Marcus Smart shares what the Celtics liked from the contributions of Grant Williams and Tremont Waters (presented by https://t.co/Av8GdCAzPA) pic.twitter.com/agcrjCmCEc
— Marcus Smart Day on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 7, 2020
And with the grind of an 82-game season and illness already thinning Boston’s frontcourt rotation, it may well not be up to the coaching staff when that next game could come.
When it does, the LSU product plans to be prepared to rise to the occasion.
“I’m just taking my time with everything, just embracing opportunities and taking a steady mindset of just getting better every day and staying ready,” offered Waters.
“Then everything that’s going to play out will take care of itself.”
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