It\u2019s been six months since Anfernee Simons was traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Boston Celtics for Jrue Holiday.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a big transition for Simons, who spent the first seven years of his NBA career with the Trail Blazers. He\u2019s had to move across the country, give up his starting role, learn Joe Mazzulla\u2019s system and adjust to new teammates.<\/p>\n
So far, Simons has handled it incredibly well<\/a>. He\u2019s flourished in his new role off the bench for the Celtics, averaging 13.5 points in 23.8 minutes per game with some of his best shooting percentages in years.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also stepped up on the defensive end<\/a> and become a better rebounder, buying into Mazzulla\u2019s philosophy of playing hard on both sides of the ball and always giving maximum effort.<\/p>\n After erupting for a season-high 27 points<\/a> against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, the 26-year-old guard reflected on his first season in Boston so far.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n Anfernee Simons on acclimating to the Celtics:<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s been fun. Each game is something different. Just trying to find the ways I can impact the game\u2026 It’s been fun kind of implementing myself into this culture that’s been set and the expectations that have been set\u2026 I feel like\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Znr4LESwVw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been fun. Each game is something different. Just trying to find the ways I can impact the game,\u201d Simons told reporters<\/a> after the Celtics\u2019 115-101 victory. \u201cIt\u2019s been fun kind of implementing myself into this culture that\u2019s been set and the expectations that have been set\u2026 I feel like I\u2019ve grown so much in a lot of areas.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure enough, Simons has been playing even better lately. He\u2019s averaging 15.2 points over his last nine games, helping Boston go 8-1<\/a> in those contests.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n With Payton Pritchard starting for the first time this year, Simons has helped replace his production off the bench, giving the Celtics\u2019 second unit a much-needed scoring threat. He\u2019s a big reason why the team has exceeded expectations and is playing so well recently, handling everything that\u2019s been asked of him and doing whatever he can to help the team win.<\/p>\n \t