The Boston Celtics are in a comfortable situation after their opening win before game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers. An important factor was Terry Rozier, who almost made Kyrie Irving forget. Despite some sideshows, the Point Guard cannot be deterred.
After an outstanding performance during their first-round success against the Milwaukee Bucks and another brilliant performance in their opening game against the Philadelphia 76ers, not only Eric Bledsoe, but the entire NBA world should know the name “Terry Rozier”. The 24-year-old Point Guard is one of the main reasons why the Celtics season just won’t end – despite the thin staff.
When it was announced that Kyrie Irving would miss the entire postseason, all but very passionate Celtics fans wrote off a serious chance for the Celtics to play a role in the playoffs. “Where should the offensive come from without Kyrie”, neutral observers asked themselves and many already saw the Celtics as at least a slight outsider in the opening series against the Bucks.
At that time, however, hardly anyone was quite aware of Rozier’s performance in the playoffs. “Scary-Terry”, as he was affectionately christened in the meantime, already showed strong approaches in the Regular Season, when he scored 33 points against the Sacramento Kings and was about to break the franchise triple record – but such performances were followed again and again by strong inconsistency.
Rozier did not manage to keep his level constant during the playoffs, but Celtics coach Brad Stevens has always been able to count on a strong performance from his interim guard, at least in front of a home crowd. Rozier scored an outstanding 23.4 points per game in five home games, with sensational efficiency (52.6 per cent FG, 56.8 per cent threesome). Rozier has also taken a big step forward as a ball distributor and is unexpectedly careful with this.
The main reason for Rozier’s strong form is the trust his head coach Brad Stevens has placed in him: “He told me that I could keep up with any player in the league,” Rozier explained. “I had this in mind the whole time – my self-confidence is just huge at the moment. That’s why I wasn’t afraid of those big moments. I was ready to go.”
Steven’s primary task for Rozier was very simple: “I just told him to be himself,” said the Celtics coach. “Ever since he started for us, he’s been playing really great and we’re going to need that level from him.” Stevens also talked about Rozier taking a step forward not only in sport but also in character. “Last year he played great against the Wizards in the series, but then Brandon Jennings managed to get into his head and I think that got him out of rhythm. This year he is much more constant and the story with Bledsoe could have ended quite differently, but he has remained calm all the time”.
The Drew Bledsoe fiasco became the big storyline of the series. After Rozier sent Bledsoe into the void in the crunchtime of Game 1 by killer crossover and hit an important threesome, Rozier later confused Eric with his namesake “Drew Bledsoe”, a No.1 pick and QB of the New England Patriots, in the press conference and set the ball rolling. The Point Guard of the Bucks reacted a bit offended and pretended in an interview not to know who Terry Rozier was and had to listen to some mockery in the course of the series when Rozier outdoed him in terms of performance.
Rozier not only had his last laugh when he won Game 7, but also fired a last arrowhead towards Bledsoe before the series start against the 76s – Rozier wore a Drew Bledsoe jersey of the New England Patriots on his way to the arena. After the game he explained his choice of clothes: “Drew Bledsoe is my husband. I just like him – even though we haven’t talked yet. I think he knows who I am and I know who he is.”
The fact that Rozier did not let himself be distracted by the Bledsoe topic and showed a passionate but also focused performance speaks for the maturity mentioned by Stevens. With 29 points (11/18 FG) Rozier rewarded himself with a new playoff-career high and underlined his great presence on the floor with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Starting another small war with a player from the 76s could be difficult, as Philly did not use a permanent opponent against Rozier. Robert Covington, Marco Bellinelli, Dario Saric, Ben Simmons – all were allowed to try their luck against the nimble playmaker. This disorder may have contributed to Rozier’s unmanageability, especially in the transition from the Sixers. How Rozier went from dribbling to a trio several times at full speed only underlined his current self-confidence.
A Rozier in this form also reveals perhaps the greatest weakness of the otherwise so strong Sixers-Defense. There is no defender agile enough to keep Rozier constant in the Sixers’ huge starting lineup. If the Celtics then manage to pull the Embiid ring protector onto the perimeter, paths open up for Rozier, which he can use either for his own terminations or for passes into the gaps resulting from the rotating defense.
Of course, Rozier won’t meet seven threesomes in every game, and if he stays cold, the rooms will get smaller again for him – but Brett Brown will have to make an adjustment for game 2. One solution could be to hope Covington regains its defensive form. Maybe T.J. McConnell could also get a bigger role as a poisonous defender or Ben Simmons actually gets into a real point guard duel.
One thing is certain, however, that the 76ers will not act so weakly again. “Defensive, offensive – that wasn’t the basketball that really made us special,” coach Brown described the uncharacteristic appearance of his protégés.
Whether it will be enough in the end to take out the next team with more star power remains questionable – but everything that comes along now should be a bonus for the Celtics. What Boston, Rozier and especially Brad Stevens have achieved despite the decimated squad is already great and only makes Boston fans fantasize how good the Celtics will be next year, when hopefully the whole squad will be fit on the floor. But as long as Scary-Terry continues to deliver like this, these thought games will have to wait and the Celtics reality remains here and now – or as Terry Rozier himself says: “I just enjoy the moment”.