Terry Rozier emerges as consistent presence in Celtics backcourt

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2018/02/bulpett_terry_rozier_emerges_as_consistent_presence_in_celtics_backcourt



Bulpett: Terry Rozier emerges as consistent presence in Celtics backcourt




Steve Bulpett Wednesday, February 28, 2018





Credit: Stuart Cahill
Terry Rozier



One player came off the bench and averaged 9.1 points in 23.2 minutes in 51 games.

Another player started and went for 19.7 points and 5.7 assists in 35.0 minutes in three games.

Yet another player came off the bench for eight games and averaged 14.3 points in 25.9 minutes.

All of these players are Terry Rozier.

The Celtics’ 6-foot-2 third-year guard seemed ready to step into a larger role this season after the trade of Avery Bradley, but there were some inconsistencies during that first 51 games that belied his talent.

Rozier still was moving catlike on defense and rebounding better than is expected from someone of his size, but it was impossible to escape the thought he could and should be making more of an impact with the ball than just his flashes of brilliance.

Then Kyrie Irving took a knee to the thigh in Denver and, with Marcus Smart on the shelf after assaulting a picture frame, the Celts turned to Rozier with the starting five.

Those next three games, all victories, included, consecutively, a 17-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, a 31-point night and a relatively mundane 11-point afternoon. The latter is significant because it came against Portland’s vaunted backcourt and still featured the Celts going plus-7 with Rozier on the floor in a one-point win. His shooting was off, but his effect on the outcome was not.

Since Irving’s return, Rozier has avoided sliding back to those pre-starter days. He’s scored in double figures in all eight of those games, shooting 46.3 percent from beyond the 3-point line. He’s playing the game more the way he wants. Of greater importance is that it’s the way the Celtics need.

“It’s just not thinking about anything else,” Rozier said. “It’s being aggressive and playing my game and playing for the team. I’m not letting anything get in the way of that. That’s the most important thing. Once I showed the glimpse of me starting and the team trusting in me, that’s all I needed. I’m just trying to take off from there.

“I don’t think I ever doubted myself. It’s just sometimes you’ve got to see where you’re at with things. Sometimes you’ve got to see the openings and see what’s possible. I put the time in, I put the work in, and then the opportunity came ,and I’m just trying to take advantage of it.”


Things changed for Rozier when Irving came back, and they changed again to a degree when Smart returned after the All-Star break. But the Louisville product has tried to keep the changes from changing him, and in following through on that, he’s simply trying to heed the request of coach Brad Stevens.

“Obviously the minutes go down a little bit because we’ve got our guys back, but I still have to play the same way,” he said. “I have to do what the team needs me to do. Coach took me to the side that first shootaround when Kyrie came back and said, ‘Look, I need you to stay aggressive.’ That right there was important to hear. It showed the trust.”

Stevens’ faith was enhanced, as well, by Smart and Rozier getting back together and extending the defensive pressure. The effect is being felt at the other end of the floor, too, where the hustle has helped produce a 153-108 advantage in overall bench scoring during the past three games.

“We’re just going out there trying to fly around and be the hardest-playing team,” Rozier said. “It’s great to have a guy like Smart back. He makes it so easy for you on the floor because he’s everywhere. You know, he’s talking. He’s a leader. It definitely picked our pace up when he came back.”

When it was mentioned that Smart is, in the best sense of the word, sort of a lunatic, Rozier said, “One lunatic brings out another lunatic. We’ve been playing with each other since I first got in this organization at summer league, and I’ve been saying since then that he makes your job easier. He makes you play harder and pick up your pace. He’s great. He’s a winner.”

Which has helped the Celtics be winners in their past three games. But if there’s anything Rozier has learned this season, particularly from his time as a starter, it’s the need to build off success.



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