Update on Ex-Celtic Aaron Nesmith

It’s been an up an down start to the year for Aaron Nesmith in his new home with the Indiana Pacers. The former Celtics wing has battled some injuries and inconsistent shooting out of the gate but broke through on Saturday night with his best performance of the year.

Nesmith scored a season-high 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field in the Pacers’ comeback win over the Magic, which included scoring the final five points of the game for the hosts in the closing two minutes of the victory.

The terrific performance led to Nesmith being the subject of the postgame walkoff interview with Pacers TV but that Q-and-A was interrupted by Tyrese Halliburton and company who poured cold water on the surprised Nesmith during the interview. The third-year guard proceeded to try to get away from the sneak attack but wound up slipping on the wet floor immediately in a scary fall that looked like it could have resulted in an injury. Thankfully, Nesmith popped back up without incident although it was clear he wasn’t pleased with his teammates that caused the fall.

The 23-year-old guard has been given plenty of opportunity with his new team at the wing and that’s helped to make the Pacers one of the biggest surprises of the Eastern Conference so far this year. Indiana currently sits in a tie for fourth in the East with the Cavs, a far cry from their projected spot at the bottom of the conference before the beginning of the year.

Nesmith should have a chance to add to that success in the coming weeks as the Pacers commit to developing a younger core. He’s averaging 7.4 points per game in 20.1 minutes which is double what he played per game with the Celtics during his first two years. Nesmith was traded with Daniel Theis, a 2023 first-round pick and multiple other players for Malcolm Brogdon back in July.

Nesmith will face off against his former Celtics teammates for the first time this year on December 21st at TD Garden.