With the Celtics mired in an early shooting slump against the Bucks, that quickly changed once Anfernee Simons checked into the game. As he’s known best to do, Simons made shots to boost the Celtics. He scored 11 points in the first quarter, 27 points overall, helping the Celtics to a blowout win over the Bucks on Sunday at TD Garden.

Simons stacking these effective games gives the Celtics a best-case scenario ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. Simons has seen his name in trade rumors for months, but his value continues to go up. So, regardless of what the C’s do with Simons, they get the best of both worlds.

“Just kind of getting comfortable and understanding what needs to be done on a night-to-night basis,” Simons said. “I’m just getting comfortable doing that each and every night and kind of living with the results of whatever that game entails me to do, whether it looks like I’m scoring 20 points or eight points or anything like that.”

When the Celtics acquired Simons over the summer in the Jrue Holiday day, his reputation as a scorer was well-known. But his defense was criticized throughout his career. Simons has made strides on that end of the court this season, all while providing that scoring punch off the bench.

The Celtics realistically can go one of two ways with Simons: either trade him or not. Relatively simple. There are also pluses to both sides of the coin. Shedding his $27.7 million salary could be a cost-effective move, depending on the return. Simons’ increased output could also help the C’s land a big man in some form.

On the other side, they could just retain Simons and have him continue to be effective in his current role. The C’s could also look to land a backup big man, but don’t have to trade away Simons in that deal. As Simons said all the way back before training camp, he wanted to be known as a winning player, and he’s starting to pick up that reputation.

“They get pissed off at me when I don’t shoot the ball sometimes,” Simons said. “But I just feel the game out. And sometimes, I feel like if it’s the right shot, it might not be the right shot at the time. So they’re just trying to give me the ultimate confidence to go out there and be myself and go out there and play.”

Simons has been a pro’s pro during his short time with the Celtics. He’s accepted and thrived in his bench role. He made that adjustment despite being a starter for several years with the Trail Blazers. Other veterans pout with the decrease in playing time — Simons didn’t. He’s also shaken off trade rumors, stressing that he understands the NBA is a business.

With the Celtics at 31-18, Simons has been an important cog in the equation thus far. It remains to be seen if he’s with the team past Thursday’s deadline, but at the very least, he’s left a positive impression on his teammates and C’s fans.

“He’s done a great job buying into it really on both ends of the floor,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “But just to have another guy that could take pressure off the others and really just kind of score seamlessly, whether it’s catch-and-shoot shots, whether it’s off the dribble, whether it’s driving to the basket. He’s played his role for us tremendously, and he’s just another guy that makes us better.”