Clutch Gene Found: Terry Rozier

[GreenCoffeeBean]

Bigs look good because people just pay attention to box scores and bigs are taking high percentage shots, so with a little bit of statistical variance it's easy to look good as a big in SL. If you watch guys like Rozier and Hunter play you can tell they have a way better feel for the game than Olynyk did in his first SL.

[PhoSita]

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.

[Rondo9]

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.

I bet if Karl Anthony Towns dominated summer league you would be praising him. 

[Tr1boy]

This is not about overall SL play but clutch execution

KO did not have many clutch SL moments (late 4)

Rozier carried the offense with 3 min left

I need to see more but he is def looks like a confident player with 5 or less min.

[LGC88]

This is not about overall SL play but clutch execution

KO did not have many clutch SL moments (late 4)

Rozier carried the offense with 3 min left

I need to see more but he is def looks like a confident player with 5 or less min.

I agree with that.
Although, our best clutch guy is Brad, always find the right play and the right player to score at the end of the games. That was interesting to see that we had multiple players that make the buzzer beater or the huge bucket near the end or regulation. Man, I love that team play the Celtics are producing. Very pumped up for next season already.

[PhoSita]

I bet if Karl Anthony Towns dominated summer league you would be praising him. 

Heheh.

I like to think I'd still temper my enthusiasm.  Though I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to be less reserved about guys who showed more in college and were regarded as top prospects.

I certainly got excited about Smart last year, despite his low field goal percentage.

[SHAQATTACK]

Nice to see somebody on the Celtics that can get a shot off the last few minutes .

IT is great during most of the game .  But when it's do or die ......he is so short ...it's hard for him to get decent looks  with ALL the attention and length focused on him.  He struggles in that situation.

With Rozier and Smart in back court we should be able to get a drive to rim or decent shot off.   



I'm still not comfortable with Bradley at the end of a game ......he is such a poor ball handler .

I dread ET even being on the team .

[Big333223]

The idea of Smart and Rozier together is really enticing. As of today, it seems like Smart has more on the PG mentality, offensively, which is fine because he can guard SG's and Rozier can handle the ball if the opposition puts a real ball-hawk on Smart (I'm thinking about Iman Shumpert giving Smart some problems in the playoffs last year). It seems like it could be a really perfect fit of both players covering the other's weakness.

And that kind of makes Avery expendable. If Rozier can, indeed, translate these skills to the NBA (and it might be a year or two, remember) then we have two really good PG defenders and Avery is the worst offensive player of the trio.

[Greenbean]

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.

I agree with what you said first. The summer league confirmed that these guys have potential and some NBA ready skills. All about development baby.

This is an important season for Stevens. He has proven to be a good "on court" coach in my opinion. Lets see what 2 going on 3 years of player development under him looks like.

Unless Ainge gives the roster the revolving door treatment again during the season. Its tough for players to develop in that environment.

Such a fine balance to be kept of mining for talent by keeping your roster and cap flexible, but building stability and a "program" at the same time. It aint easy this rebuilding thing.

[walker834]

I'm excited for Rozier.  He's fast has a good shot and isn't afraid to take it.  He's also athletic.  I don't see why he wouldn't continue to surprise with that kind of mindset.

[walker834]

What I like about that last shot is he was trying to get to the basket.  He gave the ball up and got it back and just shot it.  He has that crossover and he's very quick at getting to the rim.  As his shot improves and he plays under more control he's going to be very good.  He has that lift on his shot where he is able to get separation and get his shot up. Hunter does too although hunter has a different release. Both are going to be good shooters though.

[Al91]

It's summer league. Without major movement on the Celtics roster I doubt that Rozier will be on the floor during crunch time this season. As others have mentioned, let's not forget about Summer League All Star Kelly Olynyk...

And for what it's worth (saw people mention Towns above), Towns can't pass out of a double team to save his life. Needs work but I expect him and WCS to be much improved come the regular season. These games are glorified pickup events.

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

It's good to see Rozier stepping up.  He's the anti-KO by all indications so far.

Still, let's not get carried away with summer league.

It doesn't matter if it's SL or not. He's got the entire package and he shows it with or without going for 19 in a summer league game. You could see it even if he didn't make a shot.

The athleticism, the speed, defense, the big time wingspan....the tools he has can't be taught. What he does need can be taught. It's no wonder Ainge picked him. Him and Coach Stevens were probably drooling after the two workouts. Who wouldn't want to work with and mold this talent ?

I feel the same way bout RJ Hunter. If you can look pass RJ's box score and 3 pt shooting % and clearly see he will thrive in the NBA , you can do the same for Rozier.

[Rosco917]

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"

[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.