Terry Rozier proves as he goes so go the Celtics in victory over Cavaliers

http://celticswire.usatoday.com/2018/01/04/terry-rozier-boston-celtics-victory-over-cleveland-cavaliers/




Terry Rozier proves as he goes so go the Celtics in victory over Cavaliers













By: Greg Cassoli | 6 minutes ago







The Boston Celtics are a much tougher team to beat when their pugnacious backup guard is at his best.

Danny Ainge heard from plenty of skeptics when he drafted Terry Rozier with the sixteenth overall pick in 2015. Most experts had anticipated Rozier would be selected somewhere in the twenties, and the Celtics’ roster was already stocked with the type of combo guard he projected to develop into.


The criticisms only got louder. Rozier struggled with inconsistency in his first two years in the league. He was an unreliable creator with the ball in his hands and a miserable shooter. Rozier had made just 34.8 percent of his shots prior to the current season, including a depressing 30.6 percent from three and 42.6 percent at the rim.


There were glimpses of potential, but they were few and far between.


Fast forward to the present, and Rozier looks like a new man. He’s developed a better feel for the game, playing with appropriate pace, and knocking down shots from deep with confidence. Rozier has made 37.9 percent of his shots from beyond the arc this year, a massive improvement from prior campaigns.


There’s still room for growth. Rozier isn’t much of a facilitator, and still hasn’t found a way to consistently finish at the rim. But he’s trending in the right direction, and is doing so with more substantive developmental momentum than he’s ever displayed.


He was particularly good in Boston’s victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Rozier led all scorers with 20 points off the bench, including a 4-6 effort from deep, in what was an excellent all-around effort.


He hounded a variety of Cavs both on and off the ball.


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Leaked out in transition to turn Boston’s defensive effort into easy buckets.






And slammed the door shut on any hopes of a Cleveland comeback, hitting jump shots on three straight possessions in the fourth quarter.





“Terry gets into a rhythm shooting. And it’s just that’s what we need,” Al Horford said after the game.


He’s not wrong. In Boston’s wins this year Rozier has hit 41.0 and 38.3 percent of his shots from the field and deep respectively, compared to just 36.4 and 36.6 percent in losses.


When Rozier is a threat to score, it extends the Celtics’ rotation, allows Brad Stevens to lean on creative defensive lineups without sacrificing offensive firepower, and ensures that Boston is constantly applying pressure on opponents’ defenses. Those are hugely impactful benefits, but they haven’t been realized consistently.


Despite his improved shooting from deep, Rozier still rates out in just the 34th percentile in effective field goal percentage, a reflection of his inconsistency from beyond the arc and some shoddy production from virtually everywhere else on the court.


After big performances like the one he put on against Cleveland, Rozier seems like a major competitive advantage- a game-changing super sub, worthy of consideration for Sixth Man of the Year. He hasn’t brought that level of production on a night-to-night basis, however, and the Celtics won’t reach their fullest potential until he does.


Rozier ascribed his effectiveness against the Cavs to staying loose.


“Just playing ball,” he said when asked about the secret to his success. “Not thinking.  Just having a lot of fun. Competing. It opened it up for me.”


The more often Rozier can find that level of comfort and freedom, the more challenging Boston will be to defeat. The Celtics are a handful to deal with even when Rozier isn’t playing his best, and a nightmare when he is.


Just ask the Cavs.



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