Take A Deep Breath Regarding Terry Rozier And R.J. Hunter

Boston Celtics: Take A Deep Breath Regarding Terry Rozier And R.J. Hunter


by Jeremy Gottlieb 5h ago




These are the dog days of NBA preseason. The real thing is within our grasp but not quite here yet. And any and everything you see or read about players and their tendencies based on how they look in preseason competition should be taken with many, many grains of salt.

Keep this in mind when considering the effusive gushing going on right now in regard to Boston Celtics rookies R.J. Hunter and Terry Rozier.


Hunter, the 28th overall pick out of Georgia State, played well and hit some shots in a game against the Nets in Brooklyn last week and suddenly he was Klay Thompson, bound to crack the Celtics’ rotation and set the league on fire with his shooting ability, passing and defensive skills and all-around hoops IQ.


Then on Monday, Rozier, drafted 16th out of Louisville this past June, had a nice game – also against the Nets – who a) are the worst team in the league and b) played without their entire regular starting lineup.

The response was fairly disproportionate to the accomplishment.


Is Rozier a talented player? Indeed. He’s quick, tenacious, seems committed to defense and by all accounts possesses a terrific work ethic.


But are we really going to anoint him a candidate for meaningful minutes because he scored 16 points against a short-handed Brooklyn squad a week before the regular season starts? Do we want him taking minutes away from Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas or Avery Bradley when the real games begin?

Not if the Celtics really are going to ascend to the upper level of the Eastern Conference.

Guys like Hunter and Rozier contribute to the nice problem currently facing the Celtics.

Both of them, along with fellow rookie Jordan Mickey, not only hanging in there with the veterans but showing that they’re capable of making plays and providing useful contributions off the bench can’t help but ease the mind of coach Brad Stevens when he considers contingency plans should the Celtics need any this year.

And right now, after five preseason games and a handful more practices, that’s all that should be expected of any of them. Label each of them ‘break in case of emergency.’

Look at the Celtics’ roster. The only spot that doesn’t go at least three deep is the small forward spot. Bearing that in mind, only Hunter makes sense as someone who might see minutes on a nightly basis and he still has Evan Turner in a contract year and freshly re-signed Jae Crowder ahead of him.

So let’s all take a deep breath regarding how rookies — and really anyone for that matter — look in the preseason. Naturally, it bodes far better for Rozier and Hunter to appear capable and as though they’re learning as opposed to, say, clueless. And appearing capable is all that’s required at the moment.

Because if either Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter are playing meaningful, regular minutes for any prolonged stretch this season, that means the Celtics are in deep trouble.



bob
MY NOTE: Very wise words. For the first time in 7 years or so I am truly excited about the rookies coming in right from the get go. Nevertheless, you won't go far in the standings if you are relying upon rookies and Brad definitely wants to make some noise. As we saw last year he did not buy into even the remotest possibility of Danny possibly, maybe, might-be-willing-to-entertain-the-thought wanting the team to tank.


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I can already tell this Jeremy guy knew nothing about Rozier, Hunter, and Mickey, and I can pretty much guess that a week or two ago he was casually declaring that all of the rookies would spend most/all of the season in Maine.

Now that Rozier is playing great, he still doesn't have the knowledge or basketball intelligence to accept, let alone form an intelligent opinion, about how Rozier could fill a role in the regular rotation.

His argument that Rozier isn't ready for real minutes, and that pre-season is meaningless, isn't based on anything more than stubborn ignorance, which he encourages his readers to adopt, or maintain.

'Stay the course, these guys aren't ready, because I'm not ready for them to be ready.'

The mistake isn't getting excited that the rookies look ready to make an impact, the mistake was assuming these rookies are just like James Young as a rookie, and not ready to contribute with legit NBA skills and physical tools.

Why declare that these particular rookies aren't ready for anything other than Maine, unless one knows what they're talking about, and can cite specific flaws in each specific player?

People who can't just say "I don't know" are exactly the type to double down on their ignorance when evidence starts to expose how little they know.

Think about how narrow-minded this is:

"But are we really going to anoint him a candidate for meaningful minutes because he scored 16 points against a short-handed Brooklyn"

This guy can't even open his mind to the possibility that the 21 year old #16 pick in the first round, and the 22 year old coaches son drafted in the first round at #28 might be CANDIDATES for meaningful minutes.

To accept the POSSIBILITY that a first round pick might be ready to contribute meaningful minutes is beyond this guy's intellectual ability.

To even open your mind to the POSSIBILITY is to "anoint" them something they don't deserve.

Maybe his father owns the web site or something, because this guy is actively encouraging his own level of pathetic closed-mindedness.

A first round pick, able to contribute as a rookie? Nonsense!!!

I agree with the article ,except for the final line.

Rambone is correct that the writer (nor any of us) know how any of the Rooks will perform if given extended minutes this year.

but overall, saying the Rookies will likely see limited minutes in real games makes sense with the depth we have on this team right now.

of course everything is subject to change and players can outplay their draft slots for sure.

we'll start to see for real soon enough

rambone wrote:I can already tell this Jeremy guy knew nothing about Rozier, Hunter, and Mickey, and I can pretty much guess that a week or two ago he was casually declaring that all of the rookies would spend most/all of the season in Maine.

Now that Rozier is playing great, he still doesn't have the knowledge or basketball intelligence to accept, let alone form an intelligent opinion, about how Rozier could fill a role in the regular rotation.

His argument that Rozier isn't ready for real minutes, and that pre-season is meaningless, isn't based on anything more than stubborn ignorance, which he encourages his readers to adopt, or maintain.

'Stay the course, these guys aren't ready, because I'm not ready for them to be ready.'

I agree - this is a lazy/cowardly article. Most rooks don't play much, so there is a good chance he is right. Most of us onthis board have been watching the game for awhile, and are well aware of the trap of getting over-hyped about strong rookie performances in the pre-season. However, when I watch Rozier, I see a kid who truly believes he belongs with the big boys - I don't think it even occurred to him that he might not. I have seen less of Hunter, but it seems that he can shoot, and that he understands the game (as would be expected from a coach's son). I think these guys will see some minutes, and not because the Celtics are in trouble, but rather that they contribute and Brad, unlike Doc, sees the long game plan and is willing to develoop players.

Rozier looks about as good as post-injury DRose or Jeff Teague.

Just saying he's not ready because he's a rookie, and because we have decent veterans, doesn't cut it.

Since when are Avery Bradley and Evan Turner or Sully so good that a first round (or early second) pick couldn't possibly take any of the their minutes?

Especially after the way Rozier and Hunter and Mickey have looked.

And if two players are about equal, like with Rozier and Bradley, or Hunter and Turner, or Sully and Mickey, why would anybody assume that the veteran will get all of those minutes.

If a rookie is about as good as a veteran, but a lot younger and with more upside, OBVIOUSLY the rookie could take some, or even most, or even all of that veteran's minutes.

It's not like Brad and Danny aren't keeping one eye on the long-term anyway. And it's not like Avery Bradley and Evan Turner showed up in the playoffs, Bradley for the second time (2012).

Are those guys cornerstones of the plan for Banner 18?

Is Sully?

This author also wrote earlier this summer about how Sully and Bradley are going to be keys to an improved Celtics offense, so no wonder he feels a little threatened by these rookies. He never did his homework in the first place, and he never noticed the bright red flags Sully has draped himself with for the last couple years running, or walking rather.

It just shows how arbitrary the draft process can be, or at least the media coverage of the draft process.

Draftexpress for some reason was low on Terry Rozier, and journalists like this guy just accepted it as gospel truth.

So this journalist was probably writing draft reaction articles declaring the Rozier pick one of the worst in the draft, before he really watched a single Louisville game.

So he's probably already invested in the Rozier ain't ready narrative, going back to June.

So summer league happens and the guy just tells himself it's just summer league, Rozier ain't ready.

Then pre-season happens, and it's just pre-season, so Rozier Ain't Ready.

Let's not anoint possibilities when we can just claim they're impossible.

to be honest no one had Rozier going #16 or higher in any pre-draft sites.

I also don't recall a lot of us around here (or any other Celtics fan sites) being all excited about the pick back on draft day.


not to say he can't and won't ( or even hasn't) play(ed) over his draft selection.

how about we let the real games start (since we are getting close now) and then can see how things play out.

Most of us warmed up to Rozier pretty quickly. Even Cowens was a big fan by game 3 of summer league.

I had Rozier going 21 in my mock draft in May, I believe. I knew we needed another point guard is a good one was available, which is also why I wanted Jeremy Lin in free agency.

I was bummed that Rozier wouldn't be available at 28, and I had Rozier neck and neck with Jerian Grant as possibilities at 16, but I ultimately had Grant ever so slightly higher than Rozier because of his superior passing vision and size.

But Rozier, like Bradley, is about exactly what you could ever ask for in a defender of the quickest point guards in the NBA like Kyrie Irving, who was fresh in Danny and Brad's minds after that playoff loss.

But I think I had Rozier in the late teens-early 20s on draft day, neck and neck with Grant and Wright.

I'm definitely slightly surprised by Rozier's 3 point shooting in summer league and now pre-season, but he did put up a 37% shooting season on a lot of shots, as a freshman. And he shot 79% from ftl as a sophomore. One bad 3 point shooting season on a terribly balanced team didn't negate all that.

Its funny,but when I see people writing about the games in pre -season ,they are talking about how good is going to be some teams with their rookies.For example.Charlotte is going to improve a lot with Frank Kaminski,Detroit is going to be better with Stanley Johnson,Justice Winslow is a key in Miami and when they are talking about our rookies and about Portzingis in New York,suddenly they are different and according to them only play well because the competition is weak.But Kamisnki,Johnson and Winslow play against the same teams.

international wrote:Its funny,but when I see people writing about the games in pre -season ,they are talking about how good is going to be some teams with their rookies.For example.Charlotte is going to improve a lot with Frank Kaminski,Detroit is going to be better with Stanley Johnson,Justice Winslow is a key in Miami and when they are talking about our rookies and about Portzingis in New York,suddenly they are different and according to them only play well because the competition is weak.But Kamisnki,Johnson and Winslow play against the same teams.

international,

Excellent point. Other fans do talk up their rookies' impacts on the team more than us. In the case of the Knicks I think they might be justified because Porzingis is both a high draft pick AND will be a starter (or, at least, a major rotation player in the beginning) so he'll get the minutes to be impactful.

Celtic fans focus on winning championships. Bobcat fans are elated if they make the playoffs. It's hard to win a championship when you have 3 rookies, or sophomores, getting big minutes.

If Bobcat fans think Kaminsky will significantly improve their team this year I think they've been drinking too much of MJ's bath water.


bob



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Our rookies are still rookies which means that they are going to make tons of mistakes and may not be able to be counted on to make major contributions to win many games early in the season.

BUT, it is certainly nice to see that they are all seemingly ahead of where James Young was at this same time last season and some would even say at this time this season.

I know that the Young supporters on the forum will remind me of his youth in age and injuries last summer as well as his many trips to the Redclaws, but since these new guys are ahead of his pace for last year already they may be much more able to help much sooner this year.