Celtics Notes: Boucher, Gonzalez, Simons, Scheierman

Celtics forward Chris Boucher continued his bid for a starting spot with another strong performance Friday night, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Boucher, who spent the past seven years in Toronto before signing with Boston as a free agent in August, posted 19 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes against his former team. He made his second straight start at power forward and may keep that role when the season begins.

“He cares about winning, he cares about people, he takes pride in his work ethic,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “There’s few guys who take no plays off whether it’s at shootaround, or a game, and that guy is one of them. It’s impressive, 32 years old, to have the energy that he does on and off the court.”

Boucher, who accepted a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, has been a welcome addition for a team that had significant front court losses from last season. Robb sees him as a natural fit for the up-tempo approach that Mazzulla wants to bring to the offense, and he’s willing to shoot from beyond the arc whenever he gets an open look. Boucher is probably most effective in a double-big lineup, Robb adds, but he can handle some minutes at center if the Celtics want to go smaller.

“I’m really excited,” Boucher told the Toronto media, including Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports about his decision to sign with Boston (Twitter link). “I talked to them and had a great conversation about what my role could be and the opportunity I could get on this team. So, for me, it was an easy decision to make.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

• Rookie forward Hugo Gonzalez is already proving to be a strong wing defender and may challenge for rotation minutes, Robb states in a mailbag column. Robb points out that Jordan Walsh’s adductor strain might create an opportunity for Gonzalez to play right away, unless Mazzulla is hesitant to give a regular role to a 19-year-old with no NBA experience.
• Mazzulla took issue with a report this week that Gonzalez has struggled to grasp some team concepts because of a limited understanding of English, according to Eurohoops. He said Gonzalez is fluent in several languages and is aware of everything that is being presented to him. “At this point, I only yell at him in Spanish — but we also have conversations,” Mazzulla said. “He can speak both languages and does a great job understanding what’s going on out there. Right now, we argue in Spanish, but we’ll get to the point where we’ll do other stuff too.”
• Anfernee Simons made him preseason debut Friday night, finishing with 18 points and three assists after committing three fouls in the first five minutes, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Simons, who was acquired from Portland in the Jrue Holiday trade, was concerned about making a good impression on his new coach. “I was a little nervous at first, but I think in the second half I calmed down and started to play my game a little bit more,” he said. “I was nervous about being back out there and a new team. (Mazzulla) didn’t say nothing about the fouls, but I knew I needed to chill out with the fouls.”
• The preseason continues to be a learning process for Baylor Scheierman, who was pulled from Friday’s game early in the fourth quarter after committing two live-ball turnovers and missing three contested three-point shots, Washburn adds in the same piece. Mazzulla reacted angrily to the mistakes, but sent the second-year shooting guard back into the game 98 seconds later. “He’s a smart guy and he plays really hard,” Mazzulla said. “But that segment was an important segment for a young player to understand, especially at the start of the fourth quarter. Those momentum swings regardless of the game, you have to play really hard, but you also have to have situational awareness.”