Terry Rozier criticizes his own defense after impressing during Boston Celtics preseason win

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2015/10/terry_rozier_boston_celtics.html



Terry Rozier criticizes his own defense after impressing during Boston Celtics preseason win

Terry Rozier his own harshest critic after Impressive preseason performance
Terry Rozier his own harshest critic after Impressive preseason performance
Print Email Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on October 20, 2015 at 6:00 AM




BOSTON -- Terry Rozier returned from a knee injury to push the ball at a cheetah's pace, sink all of his long balls, and almost dunk straight through Justin Harper's soul, but still did not approve of his own all-around performance.

Despite notching 16 points, six assists, four steals and four rebounds against the Brooklyn Nets, Rozier preferred to acknowledge his inadequacies. After the 111-105 victory, the Boston Celtics guard graded himself as "OK."

"Especially defensively," he said. "I didn't direct the ball well enough, so that's just something that I need to work on. Everything else will take care of itself. I'm just mainly worried about the defense. And I didn't feel I did that well defensively. Second half I did a little bit better. First half was horrible."

Forgive Celtics fans if they left the game with a less harsh description. Rozier did have some troubles with on-ball defense (one observation: he died while trying to get through a couple of ball screens), but lit up the crowd with his athleticism, made all three of his 3-point attempts and showed no effects of the swollen knee that sidelined him last week. In spurts he showed why Boston drafted him in the middle of the first round, why Danny Ainge thought he had the highest potential of anyone left on the board.

Not many 6-foot-1 guards would even attempt a dunk in this situation:

https://vine.co/v/e9tiUZOEgEI


Rozier also jumped into passing lanes for steals, took off like a jet in transition and used his quickness to chase down several loose balls. Near the end of the first quarter, he unleashed a crisp crossover to free himself for a pull-up jumper. At times Rozier revealed his inexperience, like with two floaters that crashed off the backboard, and he doesn't always know how to harness his physical tools. Head coach Brad Stevens noted how the guard picked up his defense in the second half -- an acknowledgement that, like Rozier said, his defense was not good over the first two quarters. At the other end, sometimes he should have slowed down fast breaks to let the action develop but kept going and accidentally veered into a teammate's path.

But for a rookie in his first game against NBA competition (albeit against a Nets team that left most of its top players in Brooklyn), this was a powerful showing. Rozier's pace opened far more opportunities then it took away. In a surprise, he is now 6 for 8 from behind the arc this preseason, a small sample size that could mean a lot of it's indicative of real improvement. Perimeter shooting wasn't considered a strength during his time in college, but he has impressed teammates and coaches with his willingness to work. Before Monday's game he went to the practice facility with a group of his friends to get up extra jumpers.

"You get out what you put in," Rozier said. "I put in a lot of work shooting 3s."

Rozier smiled while recalling the missed dunk and said he was disappointed not to slam it down. But there will be other chances to star in a poster. With fluidity and explosiveness, Rozier already moves like one of the league's top guards. Now he just needs to develop into one.

"Terry is very high-energy," said teammate Amir Johnson. "He pushes the ball up the floor. He's athletic. Sometimes he just has to recognize time and score where he doesn't have to go full-speed, and slow down and get into the offense. But I love his energy and I love his work ethic. If he keeps playing hard he's going to make it in this league."


Jerebko back at home

Jonas Jerebko has called the latter portion of last season the best basketball of his career. He played mostly power forward and center then, but has shifted over to the wing due to Boston's deep frontcourt. It's fair to wonder whether the change could limit his offensive production. Against wing defenders, the 28-year-old just won't get as open for standstill jumpers or have as much of an advantage when he tries to drive closeouts.

With David Lee out Monday, Jerebko returned to a lot of power forward against Brooklyn -- and did a nice job with 11 points and seven rebounds. Stevens said he wanted to give Jerebko minutes at the 4 spot with Lee down.

"Jae (Crowder) is very comfortable on the perimeter," Stevens said. "Jonas is too; he just has to pick his spots. He's not going to have the kind of space to close out that he's used to having at the four. He still is an excellent offensive rebounder at the 3 or 4. He's a very good defender at the 3 or 4, as far as versatility, switching...he can do all those types of things. There might be a little bit less offensive opportunity when you play the three instead of the four if you are a guy like that, but I think they are very capable of that. They will play the 4 for us too."

Rotation still fluid?

With two preseason games left, Stevens said he is comfortable with the amount of time he's had to evaluate players. Still, he suggested the rotation isn't completely set.

"I think (players can still work themselves into the rotation)," he said. "But I feel good about we've had a lot of time for guys to compete against each other in practice, to compete in the games. We've had a lot of time to watch. But one thing I've learned in this short time in the NBA is you're going to get your chance. Like, all 15 guys are going to get not just a chance – it's going to be like a shot, shot. And it's just do you take advantage of it and play well. So whether it happens on Day 1 or it happens on the 10th game, it's going to happen because with an 82-game schedule that's just the way it goes."


bob



.