ROZIER READY TO COMPETE FOR SERIOUS MINUTES IN CELTICS ROTATION

A.S.Blakely
http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/terry-rozier-ready-compete-serious-minutes-boston-celtics-rotation

WALTHAM, Mass. – Summer league was in full bloom and Boston Celtics guard Terry Rozier was killin’ it.

Scoring.

Dropping dimes.

Swooping in for rebounds.

Young fella was having the kind of summer that breeds confidence for him as well as the franchise that shocked many in selecting him as high as they did in 2015.

But as well as he played, he knew getting on the floor wasn’t going to be easy because he would have to cut into the minutes of already-established players.

And then he got the news that Evan Turner was leaving for Portland after agreeing to a four-year, $70 million contract.

Turner’s departure meant Rozier’s chances of playing regular minutes had indeed arrived.

“Nobody wants to lose a guy like ET; great looker room guy, great down the stretch,” Rozier told CSNNE.com. “But that gave me even more of an opportunity to play and step up. It gave me a better feeling about this year, knowing I could get minutes.”

On Monday during media day, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was asked about the void on the Celtic’s roster with Turner now playing for the Blazers.

“I miss Evan Turner already; loved having him around,” Ainge said. He’s not going to be easy to replace and neither will Jared Sullinger (he signed a one-year deal with Toronto). But we do have some exciting young players. Jaylen (Brown) and Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier … very exciting players. I don’t know who will get all of Evan’s minutes, but they will be shared and we can fill that void.”

But Turner’s 28.0 minutes per game will likely serve as a portion of the minutes Rozier will carve out for his own this season.

“I know he’s going to try and take some of my minutes,” said Celtics all-star guard Isaiah Thomas earlier this summer. “But that’s what it’s about; competing.”

Rozier’s competitive nature has stood out during his short time in Boston, with the 22-year-old finding a way to balance that with not being too pushy or too hungry to play.

“He’s an All-Star,” Rozier said of Thomas. “I look at it like this. To go up against someone like (Thomas) every day is a blessing.”

But Rozier soon adds, “I’m trying to get better, but I want to play too. Getting his minutes, anybody’s minutes, I’m going for it. But I know he’s not going to lighten up and make it easy for me. I know that. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

And as he gradually establishes a role for himself on this team, maybe then people will warm up to a player that so many had doubts about when the Celtics selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.

“I’ve been doubted all my life,” Rozier said. “It ain’t hurt me. I always tell myself, ‘they’re gonna fall in love with me because I play hard and they’re gonna fall in love with my intensity level. People didn’t know who I was; that’s fine. They’ll find out about me soon enough.”

So, in your opinion, is he capable of being that guy down the stretch who all of a sudden took over running the floor, finding open guys and getting himself open for that quick fifteen footer, or turnaround jumper that won us some important games last year?

I never thought, at the beginning of last season, that I would be saying how much we would miss Turner. He is just that glue guy that teams need. I was sorry to see him go. I wonder if Rozier can develop himself so much that we will forget that we even had Turner on this team. Or....is is Smart who does this. And Finally, is Brown the type of player who will be relied on for game winning jumper in the middle?

Just thinking.......

Rosalie

I think Terry will get more minutes and I can see him going from 8 MPG to 16 MPG. Since Turner also played some SF Brown could get some minutes there as well Gerald Green.

And let's not forget about Marcus Smart. He tends to make big plays down the stretch although his ability to run an offense is still a mystery to me.

dboss

I think Rozier is really going to threaten IT's minutes.

He's much quicker than Turner, and doesn't need 5 dribbles to juke a guy. Turner actually was pretty bad at getting to the rim. He was good/great at getting his mid-range jumper off, but he didn't draw fouls, didn't score at the rim, and didn't stretch the floor with a credible 3 point shot.

Turner also played his own game, which was the exact opposite of what the Celtics' offensive style was and is.

All the analytics nerds will tell you that the most efficient areas to score from are at the rim, at the 3 point line, and at the FT line. Both Rozier and Brown are vastly better than Turner at getting points from all of those areas. While playing within the offense.

Both are probably better defenders too.

arambone wrote:I think Rozier is really going to threaten IT's minutes.

He's much quicker than Turner, and doesn't need 5 dribbles to juke a guy. Turner actually was pretty bad at getting to the rim. He was good/great at getting his mid-range jumper off, but he didn't draw fouls, didn't score at the rim, and didn't stretch the floor with a credible 3 point shot.

Turner also played his own game, which was the exact opposite of what the Celtics' offensive style was and is.

All the analytics nerds will tell you that the most efficient areas to score from are at the rim, at the 3 point line, and at the FT line. Both Rozier and Brown are vastly better than Turner at getting points from all of those areas. While playing within the offense.

Both are probably better defenders too.

arambone,

I'm not sure he'll threaten IT's minutes, at least not yet, but I completely agree with the rest of your post.

Regards

The jury is still out on Rosier and Brown. Rosier looks to take the next step and Brown is 19 year old rookie that has yet to play in regular season NBA GAME.

At this point there is little evidence that they can and will be able to score efficiently at all 3 levels.

dboss

unless there are injuries or a trade. I have a hard time seeing Rozier playing much more than about 800 Min this year.

Bradley and Thomas should be around 2400 each
Smart will be somewhere around 2000 (with the regular nagging injury that goes along with his all out play).

that only leaves about 1100 min for other guards.

He will make a very good 10th man on our roster , however.