In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Indiana Pacers trailed the New York Knicks for most of the fourth quarter. But with each Pacers possession, Aaron Nesmith saw nothing but net as he brought Indiana back from the dead. He finished 8-for-9 on 3-pointers and propelled the Pacers to take Game 1. Nesmith was once a Boston Celtic, but was traded to Indiana in the Malcolm Brogdon trade, and the Pacers have exercised patience in his development.
Now he’s a critical piece for the Pacers as they continue to run through the Eastern Conference’s powerhouses. The Pacers went up 2-0 on Friday night against New York, and have a firm hold on their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.
In the NBA Playoffs this year, Nesmith is averaging 15.7 points, three points higher than his regular season average. He’s averaging 21 points in the first two games of the ECF.
How did the Celtics botch Nesmith’s development? Was he always destined for this potential or were the Pacers able to give him something the Celtics never would have? Boston went on to trade Nesmith and rely on Jaylen Brown as the budding star at wing, and now Brown is a supermax player.
The Indiana Pacers got the most out of Aaron Nesmith
Nesmith’s evolution into a core piece of the Pacers’ second straight playoff run to the conference finals is proof that Boston had no choice but to part ways with him. The Celtics had too many wings, and there’s no way he was going to be a bench player and progress to where he did with Brown ahead of him.
Had Boston not committed to Brown, they could have relied on Nesmith to be that sixth or seventh man for them and provide that spark off the bench. He could have run the offense with Derrick White or Payton Pritchard and added even more depth to this deep roster.
But the Celtics already put a ceiling on him before he ever got a chance to grow into his own. Now the Celtics are probably regretting that. What if they held onto Nesmith and actually worked on his growth. They probably would have let Brown go versus throwing over $300 million at him.
Boston wasn’t ready to blow up the team and wanted to prove that Brown and Jayson Tatum could win a championship together. They did that, and now with Tatum’s injury, they have a massive decision to make about the future of the team.
Boston's current roster construction doesn’t work with the new CBA, so they’ll have to cut some salaries. Had they developed Nesmith enough, maybe they would have had enough confidence in him to take over for Brown and avoid pushing against the second apron of the luxury tax.
They never gave him that chance, though and the Pacers are reaping the benefits. The Pacers are proof that patience and proper development can work. Nesmith is proof the Celtics never gave him the chance to thrive in any role. If they did, they would have seen the potential and they probably wouldn’t regret moving him.