With Marcus Smart sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Boston Celtics have been forced to rely more heavily on Terry Rozier. That hasn’t manifested into much offensively, but Boston doesn’t need Rozier to put up points — not usually, at least.
He’s on the floor to help set the tone defensively. Get stops when relieving Kyrie Irving and take the load off Boston’s superstar guard when shares the floor with him.
Brad Stevens told reporters after Wednesday’s win Rozier is doing that and more.
I think he can — I think sometimes when it’s going like that (in the fourth quarter), you need to be able to score, obviously, but you also need to be able to pick the ball up, make them a little bit more comfortable, do those types of things. And I think Terry obviously does a good job of that
Stevens continued:
That’s one of the advantages of playing a little bit lesser minutes is you’ve got more energy to do stuff like that. And when we’re at our best, he does a good job of that. And he was huge in that comeback, way more than the stats. I don’t always think the plus/minus tells us the most accurate story, but tonight I think, with him, it’s very accurate.
To say he has filled in fully for Smart is a stretch. However, it looks like Boston is getting the best-case scenario with Smart out and Rozier healthy and ready to contribute.
