How do you make an impression on the Boston Celtics front office in a preseason game? One incredible, highlight-reel block on a superstar player certainly helps send the antennae skyward.
In the aftermath of acquiring Jaden Springer at last weekâs trade deadline, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens noted how the former first-round pickâs defensive exploits in the Celticsâ exhibition opener in October really thrust Springer onto the teamâs radar.
âWe had followed Jaden for a while. Jaden went from a guy that I was interested in, to a guy I was really interested in after our preseason game here when I saw him really defend,â said Stevens. âLike really, really defend. So we watched him a little bit closer."
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Springer scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting over 23 minutes, 37 seconds of floor time in that exhibition game but it was his activity on the defensive end that was most notable. Springer spent much of the night defending All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown yet flew around and made a number of notable plays on the defensive end.
None were louder than his block on Jayson Tatum.
Tatum appeared to have a clear path to the basket after blowing past Danny Green in the third quarter. Springer, lingering nearby, made the bold decision to challenge and stuffed Tatumâs attempt at a loud one-handed flush.
Springer and fellow defensive-minded trade deadline acquisition Xavier Tillman have yet to make their Boston debuts. The Celtics play a home-and-home with the Nets on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading into the All-Star break. A heavy slate of games to close the season could open opportunities for Springer to get playing time.
Springerâs NBA highlight reel is filled with blocks where he routinely shows off his athletic ability. His speed and leaping ability allows him to play much bigger than his 6-foot-4 size.
Springer is blocking 1.9 percent of all opponent shot attempts during his floor time, which ranks in the 99th percentile among all wing players, per Cleaning the Glass data. For context, Derrick White, maybe the best shot-blocking guard in the league, swats 1.8 percent of all shots during his floor time, per CTG data.
In that preseason game against Boston, Springer hounded Brown during the middle quarters. But it was his ability to cheat away from Brown and fluster ball-handlers that accentuated his impact. In one first-half sequence, Springer denied a Tatum drive with help, then rotated to a shooter, and still scrambled all the way back to Brown before nearly forcing a turnover. In a second-half sequence, Springer fought over a Kristaps Porzingis screen to prevent a Brown drive, then stripped the ball after Brown passed back to Porzingis.
Itâs an admittedly small 277-minute sample size, but Springer is generating steals on 2.7 percent of possessions this season, which also ranks in the 99th percentile among wings (tied with Golden Stateâs Gary Payton II for second best among wings, per CTG, and one spot behind Matisse Thybulle).
Springer was just a bundle of energy in that preseason game. He showed solid instincts crashing the offensive glass and twice was able to slip between the All-Defense duo of White and Jrue Holiday to keep possessions alive.
Yet again, the advanced metrics shine. Springer has generated offensive rebounds on 7.4 percent of his teamâs missed shots this season, which slots him in the 98th percentile among wings, per CTG.
Springer had one of his more notable offensive outputs that night, but his offense is something that he will need to develop in Boston. In 50 career games with the Sixers, Springer shot 41.6 percent from the floor and 23.8 percent beyond the 3-point arc.
Sixers GM Daryl Morey suggested the team didnât see a path to Springer emerging as a playoff-caliber player in the immediate future and valued adding a second-round pick instead. The Celtics donât necessarily need to hit an accelerator on Springer, but given their lack of first-round selections since Stevens took over, it does add a young player with a clear defensive skill set who the team can hope to nurture.
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"He's got to improve his offensive game,â said Stevens. "Heâs got to improve his shooting. But he has ability, defensively, that is really unique. ⊠Heâs younger than most of the guys that we're looking at in the draft so I think that, ultimately, there's a lot there.â
If Boston needed a final push to consider a Springer pursuit at the deadline, his solid showing in elevated minutes while defending both Steph Curry and Luka Doncic in his final week with the Sixers didnât go unnoticed by Boston brass.
âWe had been paying attention as we've gone into this trade deadline as he's been playing more, and the matchups he's had,â said Stevens. "My expectation is for Jaden to come in and keep improving.â