I would be pretty happy to bring Rozier back, and I would consider this team lucky if he is willing to come back.
This team has treated Rozier like a doormat since the moment he arrived:
1. First he was buried behind Rondo and Smart - he did not complain once.
2. Then then Rondo was traded out he got buried behind Thomas and Smart - again, he did not say a word.
3. When Boston faced injuries Rozier finally got a chance, and he absolutely made the most of that opportunity. Boston surprised everybody by beating the Bucks and the Sixers, then taking the Cavs to 7 games - and Rozier was absolutely instrumental to that run.
4. Then after proving what he can do, what does he get as thanks? He gets buried on the bench once again behind Kyrie and Smart. In a contract year, no less - his last opportunity to show his value and get paid.
5. Despite being buried AGAIN behind Kyrie and Smart, he once again proved himself by filling in extremely well every time the injury bug hit. In 14 games as a starter Rozier averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 43% / 40% / 90%. In those games Rozier had a net rating of +11 and the Celtics were 11-3 (0.785). The Celtics almost always played their best basketball when Rozier was given the starting PG spot...and yet any time the injured partys returned he was thrown straight back to the end of the bench again.
6. I can understand Rozier being beyind Kyrie, but he was also constantly buried behind Smart. Despite the fact that Rozier often outplayed Smart. Despite Smart's constantly poor end of game decision making, Stevens frequently left Smart in the game and Rozier rotting at the end of the bench.
Rozier went through the entire NBA season without making a single complaint. He sat there quietly at the end of the bench and did whatever he was asked, year after year after year.
Finally after after four years of being shoved to the end of the bench and utterly ignored by your coach, after coming off a disastrous season that nobody on the team enjoyed, and after willingly sacrificing your entire contract year for the sake of the team - and not getting a single bit of thanks or appreciation for any of it - finally he reached the limit of his patience and came out to express how he really felt.
And I don't blame the guy one iota, because if I were in his position I would feel exactly the same way.
Ok maybe he could have thought a bit more carefully before talking - maybe going and saying all of this on public TV may not have been the cleanest way of expressing himself But people make mistakes - and Rozier was clearly incredibly frustrated, not just for this season but probably for the way he's been treated the entire time he was in Boston. I really don't think anybody really has the right to blame him for that - the entire league has pretty much acknowledged Rozier's potential as a starting PG in this league for one or two seasons now, and yet the Celtics have been holding him back from achieving his potential from day one.
In all honest, i don't even think most of the things he said were that bad. He didn't really throw specific shade at any one person. In fact the people on the shows pushed and prodded him HARD to try to push him to diss specific individuals (like Kyrie and Kayward) and he refused to do it. He specifically said sure there may have been some challenges with those guys, but that the problem was not any one person. He went out of his way to say it wasn't all Kyrie's fault, and that he also had to make adjustments to taking on a new role as a leader. He mentioned guys had egos, and that created issues, etc.
Many people took offense when he was asked if he would come back to Boston if the team was brought back as it was and he said probably not - that he'd love to come back to Boston but he really wants a starting role. I think that's fair. I think he's earned that. Why WOULD he want to come back only to be buried at the end of the bench for another 4 years?
Anyway I will end my little rant now - but I really do think people are being (and always have been) a little hard on Rozier. I can acknowledge that he made a mistake by coming out and being as vocal as he was, but at least he was honest and speaking from the heart - he seems like the type of guy who doesn't know any other way. If Marcus Smart came out and said all the things Rozier said, you would probably all be praising him for being real and for saying it how it is. Somehow Rozier has been hated on by Celtics fans from day one.
Rozier is buried because he isnt as good
As opposed to Marcus Smart?
A guy who:
1. Can't shoot (as demonstrated by his career FG% and 3PT%)
2. Cant pass or dribble (as evidenced by his poor turnover rates, low assist/to ratio, and high rate of bad pass TO)
3. Has poor offensive IQ (as evidenced by his frequent poor decision making at the end of games)
4. Has serious mental issues around self control (as evidenced by techs, suspensions and tendency to get into fights)
He literally just plays hard defense - that is the only thing he consistently does at an above average level, and yet he gets gifted minutes like an all you can eat buffet.
Rozier is better then Smart at EVERY aspect of the game except defense, and yet gets buried on the end of the bench.
I admire your ardent defending of Rozier, even if it is completely untrue. Especially the emboldened, that gave me a good laugh. Marcus is an All-Defence 1st team defender, not "above average". He is literally a top 4 guard defender in the league, and can comfortably switch onto wings and some bigs. Terry Rozier is a mediocre defender of guards and can't switch onto anyone.
Then you come out with this nonsense about Rozier being buried on the end of the bench. Rozier and Smart have been within 5MPG of each other for the last two seasons, so that is simply not true. Terry was especially undeserving of those minutes this year, as his passing, shooting, scoring and defence were all considerably worse than Smart's.
Not to mention that they're the same age.
Once again, the minutes gap is 5 MINUTES PER GAME. I don't know where or why you invented this narrative about Terry Rozier getting benched, but it's a fantasy land I wish we lived in, because he was absolute garbage for the 2018-2019 season
I didn't say Smart is only an "above average" defender. I said that defense is the only thing Smart is above average at. Those two statements do not mean the same thing.
Smart is clearly an outstanding defender, but EVERY other aspect of his game is average at best, relative to his position.
As a ball handler he is below average - again this is proven by his 15.4% career turnover rate.
As a passer his is average to slightly below average - once again this is proven by his weak assist rate (19.5%), average to turnover ratio (2.30) and high rate of turnovers due to bad passes (0.97 per game).
As a rebounder he is also roughly about average - this is also evidenced by his career average of 4.5 rebounds per 36, about average for a PG.
As a shooter he is clearly well below average - as proven by his career averages of 37% FG and 31% 3PT.
Lets compare those stats side by side
Marcus Smart:
----------------
Assist Rate: 19.5%
Turnover Rate: 15.4%
Assists per turnover: 2.93
Turnovers from bad passes: 0.97 Per Game
Turnovers from bad handles: 0.36 Per Game
Rebounds per 36: 4.5
FG%: 37%
3PT%: 31%
Terry Rozier:
--------------
Assist Rate: 17%
Turnover Rate: 9.2%
Assists per turnover: 2.95
Turnovers from bad passes: 0.38 Per Game
Turnovers from bad handles: 0.23 Per Game
Rebounds per 36: 6.4
FG%: 38%
3PT%: 35%
Aside from assist rate (just barely) and defense, Rozier is clearly oudoes Smart in every statistical category - and in some cases by a pretty significant margin.
And that's when taking career stats, which includes Roziers first and second year (where he barely played and put up poor stats).
As for your "5 minutes a game" argument, I have two counters to that.
1. Rozier has been in the league four seasons now, so lets look at total minutes played for both players over their first four seasons.
Smart:
Total minutes - 7,488
Total games played - 261
Total games started - 132
Minutes Per Game - 28.69
Rozier:
Total minutes - 5,433
Total games played - 272
Total games started - 30
Minutes Per Game - 19.97
Smart's 28.9 MPG clearly reflect the consistent starting / 6th man role that Smart has been in from the day he entered the league. This is also reflected by the fact that he has started in 50.5% of games over his first 4 years.
Rozier on the other hand averaged just under 20 MPG and started in only 11% of his games over his first four seasons, which reflects his far more erratic and less consistent role over the term of his rookie contract.
Another point is to look at the game logs for last season:
* Marcus Smart played 20 minutes or more in 71/80 games (89%) an 25 minutes or more in 56/80 games (70%).
* Rozier played 20 minutes or more in 47/79 games (59%) an 25 minutes or more in 23/79 games (29%).
Smart was out there getting consistent rotation minutes (20+) almost every night, and was playing 6th man / starter minutes (25+) almost 3/4 of the season. He had a steady, consistent role pretty much ever night, and he always knew what was going on.
By comparison Rozier was lucky to get rotation minutes every second game, and got 6th man / starter minutes about every 4th game. His minutes varied wildly (as was the case the previous year) which makes it incredibly difficult for a guy to establish any kind of rhythm.
It's also blatantly clear from stats that Rozier plays MUCH better when he's getting steady minutes. If you look at Rozier's averages in games where he has played > 24 minutes versus games in which he played <24 minutes, the difference in his production is pretty major. I can't tell you why it is - whether he just doesn't play well when cold, whether he plays better when he has time to feel out the game, or if he just plays better with a certain group of guys - but there is a major difference in his production when he's getting steady minutes and when he isn't.
A coach who is as obsessed with analytics as Brad Stevens should be able to look at the past 2 years of statistics and recognise that Rozier clearly struggles when he isn't getting steady minutes - versus Smart, who pretty much produces at the same level regardless of whether he's playing 20 MPG or 30 MPG. It would seem to make logical sense to make an effort to get Rozier a bigger role, in the hope that this will allow you to get the most out of him. Yet Brad continues to gift big minutes to Smart while letting Rozier strew on the bench.
I understand that not everybody loves Rozier's style of game, but facts are facts. Rozier is less turnover prone, he's a stonger rebounder, he throws less risky passes, he's more capable at stretching the floor, he's less likely to irritate officials, he's consistently healthier, and in the games he's started the Celtics win record has been off the charts.
I think that's a pretty compelling case.
Topic: Are We Really Bringing Back Rozier?? (Update: Nope! Phew) (Read 19790 times)