Clutch Gene Found: Terry Rozier

[Hardwood Harry]

Not gonna change what I said -- let's not get carried away with summer league.  Period.

Rozier, along with Hunter and Mickey, appears to have some NBA level skills.  He's put them to pretty good use overall against summer league competition.

Let's see if he can earn playing time on the NBA team and what he does with that playing time.


By the way, when I said "Anti-KO" I meant the desire and willingness to take shots.  Rozier doesn't seem to have any qualms about being aggressive.

KO played very well in summer league both years in which he participated, but even then you could tell he's wired as a facilitator / complementary player first and foremost.  Being the alpha does not come naturally to him.

By the time you get excited, we will have already had a great time and have gone home...

[tarheelsxxiii]

Rozier has shown well in summer league. He has some nice skills. Most notably, as pointed out, he seems to have a desire for the ball in crunch time. nice.

Does it bother anyone that he shows few real point guard skills? He averaged 3 assists his last year of college ball, not exactly a guy that oozes PG skills. Yes, I understand about the new scoring point guard in the NBA.   

Is he going to have to be taught to be a PG. Or are we going to have players that don't really have  conventional positions, but just "get the job done"

I saw plenty of pg skills. He played shooting guard btw his last year of college (Louisville regular shooting guard was suspended).

He can play any guard position, similar to Smart. His assist to turnover ratio was excellent in college. He's fast, got handles, and can penetrate. Every other pg skill can be taught. You can't teach those athletic & speed skills he already has.

Not trying to be combative, just pointing out some stats I noticed the other day:

His assist to turnover ratio was 1.36 his last season. That's pretty bad.
He is not a very cerebral player, lacks vision and play-making for others.
He doesn't finish well at the rim, esp with his left.

I agree, there's a lot to like. He skips around like the mini-D Wade he tries to emulate and does a pretty fine job at it. He does finish well from a few feet out, he's great at opening up space to get off a leaner in the paint, and he's a beast defensively. Going to have to develop a floater and improve shooting (30% from behind arc) to make a big leap, though. Shot is admittedly looking good, though, and I like to see that he's never forcing it.

[Yenohb]

It's not on the genes though..

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2015/07/how_celtics_terry_rozier_overcame_rough_road_to_reach_nba

Tempered like steel

Once basketball took hold of his future, Rozier discovered that sports’ version of pressure meant little.

“I’m honestly a guy who doesn’t feel pressure in situations because of what my family has been through, and what I’ve been through and seen,” he said. “That’s just me. I’m not afraid to take on someone, or guard a certain person. Just the way I was brought up.”

[aingeforthree]

Rozier has shown well in summer league. He has some nice skills. Most notably, as pointed out, he seems to have a desire for the ball in crunch time. nice.

Does it bother anyone that he shows few real point guard skills? He averaged 3 assists his last year of college ball, not exactly a guy that oozes PG skills. Yes, I understand about the new scoring point guard in the NBA.   

Is he going to have to be taught to be a PG. Or are we going to have players that don't really have  conventional positions, but just "get the job done"

I saw plenty of pg skills. He played shooting guard btw his last year of college (Louisville regular shooting guard was suspended).

He can play any guard position, similar to Smart. His assist to turnover ratio was excellent in college. He's fast, got handles, and can penetrate. Every other pg skill can be taught. You can't teach those athletic & speed skills he already has.

Not trying to be combative, just pointing out some stats I noticed the other day:

His assist to turnover ratio was 1.36 his last season. That's pretty bad.
He is not a very cerebral player, lacks vision and play-making for others.
He doesn't finish well at the rim, esp with his left.

I agree, there's a lot to like. He skips around like the mini-D Wade he tries to emulate and does a pretty fine job at it. He does finish well from a few feet out, he's great at opening up space to get off a leaner in the paint, and he's a beast defensively. Going to have to develop a floater and improve shooting (30% from behind arc) to make a big leap, though. Shot is admittedly looking good, though, and I like to see that he's never forcing it.

No worries. I think you have to understand what situation he was in there at Louisville.

When Louisville's shooting guard was suspended, Rozier moved to his position during his sophomore campaign. As a freshman, Rozier played the point & took great care of the basketball. He turned the ball over .6 times in 19 minutes per game which lead to an even 3/1 assist to turnover ratio. Not to shabby for a high octane guard.

He was pretty darn productive in college, for not being a 'cerebral' player like you say. He's got things to work on no doubt, but he's got the talent to get it done if the work is put in.

[Al91]

I thought we had enough SGs in PG bodies already. Can't wait to see him matched up against MCW, Mudiay, Deangelo Russel, Westbrook, and other guards with serious size.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Rozier has shown well in summer league. He has some nice skills. Most notably, as pointed out, he seems to have a desire for the ball in crunch time. nice.

Does it bother anyone that he shows few real point guard skills? He averaged 3 assists his last year of college ball, not exactly a guy that oozes PG skills. Yes, I understand about the new scoring point guard in the NBA.   

Is he going to have to be taught to be a PG. Or are we going to have players that don't really have  conventional positions, but just "get the job done"

I saw plenty of pg skills. He played shooting guard btw his last year of college (Louisville regular shooting guard was suspended).

He can play any guard position, similar to Smart. His assist to turnover ratio was excellent in college. He's fast, got handles, and can penetrate. Every other pg skill can be taught. You can't teach those athletic & speed skills he already has.

Not trying to be combative, just pointing out some stats I noticed the other day:

His assist to turnover ratio was 1.36 his last season. That's pretty bad.
He is not a very cerebral player, lacks vision and play-making for others.
He doesn't finish well at the rim, esp with his left.

I agree, there's a lot to like. He skips around like the mini-D Wade he tries to emulate and does a pretty fine job at it. He does finish well from a few feet out, he's great at opening up space to get off a leaner in the paint, and he's a beast defensively. Going to have to develop a floater and improve shooting (30% from behind arc) to make a big leap, though. Shot is admittedly looking good, though, and I like to see that he's never forcing it.

No worries. I think you have to understand what situation he was in there at Louisville.

When Louisville's shooting guard was suspended, Rozier moved to his position during his sophomore campaign. As a freshman, Rozier played the point & took great care of the basketball. He turned the ball over .6 times in 19 minutes per game which lead to an even 3/1 assist to turnover ratio. Not to shabby for a high octane guard.

He was pretty darn productive in college, for not being a 'cerebral' player like you say. He's got things to work on no doubt, but he's got the talent to get it done if the work is put in.

Yeah, freshman campaign better than sophomore in that regard. I also get the sense that he tries to stay under control, just seems to have more difficulty creating for others rather than himself.

Aware of his situation at Lou and his life in general. Seems like his character will bode well for him. Selfishly, I want a D Wade lite.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

I thought we had enough SGs in PG bodies already. Can't wait to see him matched up against MCW, Mudiay, Deangelo Russel, Westbrook, and other guards with serious size.

Judging from what I've seen from Russell and Mudiay so far, Rozier would eat them alive on both ends of the court.

[tarheelsxxiii]

I thought we had enough SGs in PG bodies already. Can't wait to see him matched up against MCW, Mudiay, Deangelo Russel, Westbrook, and other guards with serious size.

Judging from what I've seen from Russell and Mudiay so far, Rozier would eat them alive on both ends of the court.

Russell has been eating himself alive. And Mudiay hasn't been perfect, but he has certainly had some panty-dropping moments (at least in my household).

[loco_91]

Rozier has shown well in summer league. He has some nice skills. Most notably, as pointed out, he seems to have a desire for the ball in crunch time. nice.

Does it bother anyone that he shows few real point guard skills? He averaged 3 assists his last year of college ball, not exactly a guy that oozes PG skills. Yes, I understand about the new scoring point guard in the NBA.   

Is he going to have to be taught to be a PG. Or are we going to have players that don't really have  conventional positions, but just "get the job done"

I saw plenty of pg skills. He played shooting guard btw his last year of college (Louisville regular shooting guard was suspended).

He can play any guard position, similar to Smart. His assist to turnover ratio was excellent in college. He's fast, got handles, and can penetrate. Every other pg skill can be taught. You can't teach those athletic & speed skills he already has.

Not trying to be combative, just pointing out some stats I noticed the other day:

His assist to turnover ratio was 1.36 his last season. That's pretty bad.
He is not a very cerebral player, lacks vision and play-making for others.
He doesn't finish well at the rim, esp with his left.

I agree, there's a lot to like. He skips around like the mini-D Wade he tries to emulate and does a pretty fine job at it. He does finish well from a few feet out, he's great at opening up space to get off a leaner in the paint, and he's a beast defensively. Going to have to develop a floater and improve shooting (30% from behind arc) to make a big leap, though. Shot is admittedly looking good, though, and I like to see that he's never forcing it.

Yup, this is a fair assessment. I think he'd be a top lotto prospect if he was 19, but he's 21 so his lack of feel is worrisome.

[dreamgreen]

Rozier has shown well in summer league. He has some nice skills. Most notably, as pointed out, he seems to have a desire for the ball in crunch time. nice.

Does it bother anyone that he shows few real point guard skills? He averaged 3 assists his last year of college ball, not exactly a guy that oozes PG skills. Yes, I understand about the new scoring point guard in the NBA.   

Is he going to have to be taught to be a PG. Or are we going to have players that don't really have  conventional positions, but just "get the job done"

I saw plenty of pg skills. He played shooting guard btw his last year of college (Louisville regular shooting guard was suspended).

He can play any guard position, similar to Smart. His assist to turnover ratio was excellent in college. He's fast, got handles, and can penetrate. Every other pg skill can be taught. You can't teach those athletic & speed skills he already has.

Not trying to be combative, just pointing out some stats I noticed the other day:

His assist to turnover ratio was 1.36 his last season. That's pretty bad.
He is not a very cerebral player, lacks vision and play-making for others.
He doesn't finish well at the rim, esp with his left.

I agree, there's a lot to like. He skips around like the mini-D Wade he tries to emulate and does a pretty fine job at it. He does finish well from a few feet out, he's great at opening up space to get off a leaner in the paint, and he's a beast defensively. Going to have to develop a floater and improve shooting (30% from behind arc) to make a big leap, though. Shot is admittedly looking good, though, and I like to see that he's never forcing it.

Very hard to compare college stats to what happens in the pros. Watching him his court vision looks just fine IMO and is a play maker, the fact he can get to the rim (unlike anyone else on our team) allows layups and put backs for bigs. But every game he has played his ability to make plays has been easier to see. Yes he's a rookie and has a lot to learn but right now he looks like a natural with the ball. I admit he looks like a shoot first PG but honestly we need more scoring so it could work.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Rozier has shown well in summer league. He has some nice skills. Most notably, as pointed out, he seems to have a desire for the ball in crunch time. nice.

Does it bother anyone that he shows few real point guard skills? He averaged 3 assists his last year of college ball, not exactly a guy that oozes PG skills. Yes, I understand about the new scoring point guard in the NBA.   

Is he going to have to be taught to be a PG. Or are we going to have players that don't really have  conventional positions, but just "get the job done"

I saw plenty of pg skills. He played shooting guard btw his last year of college (Louisville regular shooting guard was suspended).

He can play any guard position, similar to Smart. His assist to turnover ratio was excellent in college. He's fast, got handles, and can penetrate. Every other pg skill can be taught. You can't teach those athletic & speed skills he already has.

Not trying to be combative, just pointing out some stats I noticed the other day:

His assist to turnover ratio was 1.36 his last season. That's pretty bad.
He is not a very cerebral player, lacks vision and play-making for others.
He doesn't finish well at the rim, esp with his left.

I agree, there's a lot to like. He skips around like the mini-D Wade he tries to emulate and does a pretty fine job at it. He does finish well from a few feet out, he's great at opening up space to get off a leaner in the paint, and he's a beast defensively. Going to have to develop a floater and improve shooting (30% from behind arc) to make a big leap, though. Shot is admittedly looking good, though, and I like to see that he's never forcing it.

Very hard to compare college stats to what happens in the pros. Watching him his court vision looks just fine IMO and is a play maker, the fact he can get to the rim (unlike anyone else on our team) allows layups and put backs for bigs. But every game he has played his ability to make plays has been easier to see. Yes he's a rookie and has a lot to learn but right now he looks like a natural with the ball. I admit he looks like a shoot first PG but honestly we need more scoring so it could work.

Agree re: his look as a shoot-first PG. I would actually prefer that to be the case because we need the scoring, as you pointed out, and I think Stevens is a prime candidate for masking any difficulties with creating for others (if that ends up being the case). Ultimately, I really like him as a prospect.