I'm not staking out against the crowd here. I'm down on Terry. There is no one on the Celtics that has frustrated me more during the regular season.
But...
Terry knows how much money he cost himself this season. Now, with Marcus Smart out for a couple weeks, Terry has an opportunity to make himself that money back. Even if he's not starting (Jaylen should start) Terry is going to be the primary backup for both guard positions and could be looking at 28-30 mpg off the bench. This is his chance to make some big plays on the big stage and convince a free agent team who's on the fence after this regular season that he's a big game performer and deserves a big contract.
The fear, of course, is that this will incentivize Terry to take a lot of hero ball shots that hurt the team. This is a real concern. But if Terry understands that the best way to earn himself big money this summer is to play hard, smart basketball and use his athleticism to make up some of what is lost on defense with Smart out, then I do see reason to be optimistic about him making the most of this opportunity and giving the Celtics a shot to go far in the playoffs.