The fact that the rookies are already contributing says a lot about Stevens

[straightouttabahstun]

I couldn't add the full title due to space, but I meant in a playoff scenario. Yes we picked some good players and naturally they are playing like first round picks should, but the fact that Terry and RJ are already making plays on both ends in big postseason games like this says a lot about Brad's system. You can still develop the youngins while playing to win. It's been really fun to watch. I'm really hoping we can keep him here after his contract is up.

[droopdog7]

No Avery.  No KO.  Marcus can't shoot.

It says that he's out of options.

[rondofan1255]

Rozier was fearless and clutch (if you believe in clutchness) at Louisville. Played like an upperclassman as a freshman. Fun to watch too when he doesn't try to force things and go hero ball.

[PhoSita]

Rozier has had some moments.  RJ has yet to look like an NBA player to me.  Honestly I think Chris Babb looked better.

Seeing what Rozier has done when pressed into emergency service, I have to wonder what he might have looked like if he got 15-20 minutes as the backup point guard once in a while this season.

In any case, it's given me some hope that he and Marcus could be a solid bench duo next year.

[the TRUTH]

Rozier has been a pleasant surprise thus far. I'd love to see him keep that up on Sunday and when the series returns to Atlanta. As others have said, the C's desperately need anything he can contribute.

Hunter's playing hard and mixing it up, but doesn't seem quite as confident offensively at this point. I'm sure that'll come in time, whether that's this postseason or next season.

[max215]

RJ has been bad, but Terry has continued his strong play from the last month of the season. Terry is, without a doubt, an NBA player.

[SHAQATTACK]

Raj needs lots,of court and shots to get his shot going .  He is getting no where the court time he needs to be like AB ...... I remember when AB could not not hit a barn with a basketball.

[PhoSita]

Raj needs lots,of court and shots to get his shot going .  He is getting no where the court time he needs to be like AB ...... I remember when AB could not not hit a barn with a basketball.

AB could always play pressure defense on the ball, and he was a pretty great cutter from day one.

The only thing I trust RJ to do is pass the ball shortly after he gets it.

[LarBrd33]

The main thing this team has going for it over the past couple years is depth.  Pretty much everyone on the team can play.  There's redundancies all over the roster.  That's why you can experiment and start Jerebko and it might actually be successful.  It says a lot about the roster parity.  While Sully was great this season, an argument could have been made that Olynyk should have started over him.  And while Crowder proved to be excellent this season, an argument could be made that Evan Turner deserved just as many minutes.   There was so much decent NBA talent on this squad that the young guys basically got buried by default.  I said right away that Rozier, hunter and mickey would spend almost all of their time in D-League.  Even if they were good, it was unlikely they'd see minutes until the log jam was cleared or guys went down with injuries.   Injuries are the main reason you're seeing the rookies finally get minutes. 

On a lesser team with less depth they might have seen minutes sooner.   There was a thread here recently about Devin Booker.  Booker was taken just a few picks ahead of Rozier.  The 19 year old averaged 20 points after the all-star break.   It's possible he would have worked his way up the depth chart on Boston, but it's also possible he would have spent most of his time in D-League and never got a real opportunity.  Booker played on a bottom 4 team and spent the first half of the season playing in 48 games and averaging 23 minutes.   Rozier, on the other hand, appeared in only 18 games over the first half of the season and averaged less than 6 minutes per game during that time.  Not really enough time to show anything.  Would Rozier have found a statistical groove with bulk minutes on the Suns?  Would we be seeing our first signs of Booker's talent in the playoffs had he ended up on Boston?   There's maybe a little of that. 

All we can really do is compare their summer league stats (since Booker never played in D-League this year)

Rozier - 12.2 points, 3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.25 steals with 35%/40%/83%
Booker - 15.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 40%/40%/88%

Sure, Booker was probably a little better - hence why he was taken 3 spots higher - but who knows what kind of production they'd have if roles were reversed. 

[dannyboy35]

I've been daying all year Sully hasn't deserved a minute and serves nothing for our future. While I really like Jerebko and Zeller I don't think they are part of the future either. I think the coach deserves some criticism, not praise for nothing but garbage time for the rooks.

[dannyboy35]

I also think young has a future but I realize not everyone can play and there IS redundancy. I expect young to have a Gerald green like career where it takes him awhile but he'll be a quality rotation player somewhere eventually. But who knows.

[manl_lui]

RJ has been good if not neutral when given playing time which I am quite impressed with. He has very long arms which helps during some defensive schemes.

Rozier on the other hand I am extremely impressed with. Second game I was not a fan of because of the stupid technical he got, but he quickly adjusted in game 3, made the right passes and knocked down some good shots. Very impressed. Yes Brad is running out of options due to injuries but he could've just had the regular players play more minutes, but instead developed and trusted his rookies and while that may not help now this year, but next year I think they will see significant minutes

[jambr380]

Watching Rozier brings back glimpses of 06-07 when Rondo was a rookie. Yes, I realize Rondo proved a lot more then than Rozier has this year (basically what LarBrd was saying with Booker), but to see a guy so athletic also have such great rebounding instincts and, dare I say, a knock-down three from the corner almost gives me chills.

A lot of us were like, "Who?" when Rozier's name was called on draft night and thought he made up for it by drafting RJ and Mickey later on, but clearly Ainge knew something a lot of us didn't.

I am obviously jumping ahead a bit and Rozier may fizzle out into nothing, but he seems to have produced when given minutes, and that is all you can ask for from a [young] rookie.

One question we should be asking is, does his emergence make a trade of Smart or Bradley more palatable? Still too early to tell, I suppose...

[Chris22]

Rozier should have been playing all year.

[2short]

Rj needs to hit his shots consistently than he is a good solid rotation player.  I was very impressed with all aspects of his game all year EXCEPT he wasn't hitting shots.  Funny thing is as far as I was concerned he came in as a scorer.
Rozier looks to me like he'll be the wave good bye to another guard, be it Isiah, Marcus or Avery (put those three first names together, we have odd names on this squad!). I feel next year rozier will be pushing for quality minutes