ROZIER MAKING THE MOST OF CHANCE TO PLAY MORE

http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/rozier-making-most-chance-play-more








ROZIER MAKING THE MOST OF CHANCE TO PLAY MORE




By A. Sherrod Blakely April 05, 2016 8:15 PM



WALTHAM, Mass. – Terry Rozier wasn’t exactly Mr. Popularity around these parts when the Boston Celtics tabbed him with the 16th overall pick in last June’s NBA draft.

Fast forward nine months and the 6-foot-2 guard’s value couldn’t be any higher to the Celtics who will once again look to him to provide a spark off of what’s becoming an injury-riddled roster.

Boston will be without Evan Turner for Wednesday night’s game against New Orleans due to a left eye injury suffered in Sunday’s 107-100 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Turner’s absence, much like Jae Crowder (high ankle sprain) and Avery Bradley (personal) missing games recently, has created an opportunity for Rozier to see an increased role.

And to his credit, he has made the most of chance to play more having appeared in 11 of Boston’s last 12 games while seeing at least 10 minutes per game.

“Terry’s been very good for us,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “He’s continuing to feel more comfortable day to day.”

Adding a bit to the degree of difficulty for Rozier has been the non-stop changes within the lineups he has been on the floor with.

“When Terry is playing, we usually don’t have a Jae or an Evan in the case of tomorrow,” Stevens said.

One player who sees a decent amount of time on the floor with Terry has been second-year guard Marcus Smart. Pairing them together has given the Celtics a tenacious, physical tandem defensively off the bench that has shown tremendous potential lately.

“Terry’s very aggressive, athletic,” Smart said. “He’s a feisty little guard. Plus being in the backcourt with him, the tenacity I have … us together, that’s a good fit for us.”

Especially on defense where the Celtic’s defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) with them on the floor is 94.5 which his more than six points better than the team’s overall rating (100.7) this season.

Rozier has also been particularly impressive rebounding the ball from the backcourt.

In fact, Rozier’s 10.1 rebounds per 48 minutes trails only Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (10.eight) among all NBA point guards this season.

“Rebounding-wise,” Stevens said, “He adds to our team and our team needs that.”

To see Rozier rebound at a high level has not been a surprise to Stevens.

“We’ve know that since we drafted him,” Stevens said. “That was something that was talked about in the draft room and all workouts. He’s always had an elite ability to chase down balls and rebound above the rim.”

Well aware that it was a strength of his in college, Rozier is simply trying to provide help in an area that the Celtics could use a boost.

“I’m not trying to step on anybody’s toes. I’m not trying to be a hero of the team,” Rozier said recently. “I’m just trying to work my way into it. That’s part of it, just trying to be an extra body off the bench to try and help this team.”



bob
MY NOTE:  I don't know what clicked for Rozier, or maybe it clicked for Brad, but Terry Rozier is getting his shot at making an impact this year.  On this board I believe his supporters on draft day were Worcester and NYCelt.  Everybody else, including me, was "WTF are you doing, Danny!?".  Well, I'm coming around and am becoming a fan of this kid. As this article points out, Rozier is a helluva rebounding guard.  He skies way above the rim and is not afraid to stick his nose in for it.  What is so great about that is that now players that aren't such great rebounders, like Kelly and Zeller, can just put bodies on their guys and let Rozier (or Turner or Bradley or Smart) go for the ball.  In a way that's even better since the best plan is to get the ball into the point guard's hands as quickly as possible, right?  Well, if Rozier and the rest of the guard/wing corp are doing the rebounding then the ball is already in their hands.  That's not old school, that's not Wes Unseld and Russell grabbing the board and outlet passing it to a point guard, but the results are the same.  Remember last game when Rozier got the rebounded and just rocketed full court for a layup, beating everybody down court?  Having the ball beat everybody down court is precisely what you want, however it gets done.  He is absolutely sick fast with the ball.  What I don't understand is why he doesn't use the killer crossover we saw in summer league more often.  I would think that would transfer pretty well to the pro level.  Maybe that's a "next year" improvement we'll see in his game and, for Terry Rozier, there will be another year in green.  RJ?  Maybe, maybe not.  If we weren't up to our eyeballs in draft picks he'd be safer.  Mickey?  I'd say yes, because he has a skill set that we need more of.


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