JD Davison, Drew Peterson Expect To Be 'Completely In Sync' In Second Season Together

PORTLAND, Maine. - Boston two-way players JD Davison and Drew Peterson are ready to take their games to the next level together this season in Maine.

After being a part of the Boston Celtics' run to an NBA Championship, both return a championship mentality to Portland where they hope to lead the Celtics back to the NBA G League Finals.

"The organization has done a great job of creating a place where people can go and get better," said Maine Celtics Head Coach Tyler Lashbrook. "JD and Drew saw a Finals run and so they know what it takes to win at the highest level. Whether it comes from the preparation, their effort, or their understanding of situations, I feel like we have a leg up in that regard."

This is Davison's third season with the Celtics organization, and he agreed with his head coach that the lessons learned during Boston's title run were invaluable.

"I think it will help a lot," Davison said. "We did everything with the guys during that title run. Practice, film; we did everything so just learning from those guys and seeing how they played together, came together and won."

Both two-way players showed the next evolution of their games in the 2024 NBA preseason. An extra year, filled with those valuable experiences has offered a whole new level of confidence and comfortability in the Celtics system. In five preseason contests, Davison averaged 7.0 points and 2.4 assists in 13 minutes per game. In the final preseason game of the year against Toronto, Davison scored 12 points in just five minutes. In three preseason games, Peterson averaged 12.7 points in 15.7 minutes per game, including a 23-point effort on October 13 against Toronto. Those preseason performances excite Lashbrook as the Celtics begin the G League Tip-Off Tournament.

"Their leadership and understanding of our terminology and the way we play as progressed, but also the confidence in their voice. Especially with JD, that's something we've always talked about and he's taken that head on," Lashbrook said.

Celtics fans should also be excited to hear that Davison and Peterson believe they are "completely in sync," according to Peterson. Spending countless hours together, whether it be in Portland or in Boston, has helped them learn each other's tendencies on the court.

"Me and Drew have been working out with each other all summer, so I'm just ready to play with that guy," Davison said.

As two-way players, sometimes Maine will be missing Davison or Peterson while they are called up to Boston. That's already been evident in the first two road games of the season, where Maine has played without Peterson. These guys can relate to each other's experiences, and they also know how to pick up the team with their play if one of them is missing. Peterson joined the Celtics organization last December and is expected to make a jump in his first full season in Portland/Boston. That time spent together by two of Maine's best players is sure to pay off in the 2024-25 G League season.

"It's awesome. Playing in Maine, but then the whole offseason and during the playoff run, me and him would be playing all the time," Peterson said. "Summer League, preseason, training camp, we tend to stick together being a two-way and stuff. We're looking to build off what we did in Maine last year, make another deep run and hopefully bring it home this time."

Maine returns home to the Portland Expo on Friday, November 15 when they host the Westchester Knicks at 7:00 p.m.