It’s awards season at Celtics.com! We’re handing out six awards over the next
few weeks as we roll through this year’s Celtics.com Awards Series. We may not
have trophies or acceptance speeches, but we do have some top-flight Celtics
performances to outline. Here we go…
BOSTON – The rookie-to-sophomore transition is a critical period for young,
developing NBA players. Just ask Celtics guard Terry Rozier, who, in one year’s
time, blossomed from a rarely-used rookie into a significant role player on a
contending team.
From his first season to his second, Rozier displayed a massive boost in
confidence and saw his numbers spike across the board. For that reason, he is
our 2017 Most Improved Player.
Rozier only played 39 games for the C’s during his inaugural campaign, largely
because he spent a solid portion of the season traveling between the NBA and the
D-League. When he was in Boston, he rarely saw significant action as he was
often dealt garbage-time minutes.
Rather than let all of that discourage him, Rozier sat down after the season was
over, gathered his thoughts, and set his goals high for his sophomore campaign.
“I did a lot of thinking,” he reflected last October as he entered training
camp. “I wanted to clear my mind for a little bit, then I started watching film
and seeing what areas I could improve on and things like that.”
Rozier noticed that he was often rushing his decisions on the court, so he
slowed down his approach to the game. As a result, he evolved into a much more
reliable option at the point, and Brad Stevens began leaning heavily on his
support off the bench.
Rozier’s numbers doubled in nearly every major statistical category from Year 1
to Year 2. After tallying 1.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists over 8.0 minutes
per game during his rookie season, he boosted his averages to 5.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG
and 1.8 APG over 17.1 MPG as a sophomore.
The greatest development for Rozier was his shooting. He increased his 2-point
percentage from 29.1 percent to 40.5 percent, while also upping his 3-point clip
from 22.2 percent to 31.8 percent.
All of those improvements came during the regular season. Then the Playoffs
arrived, and Rozier took his game to an even higher level.
Stevens tightened up his rotation a bit during the postseason, but Rozier
remained a key component as he played the seventh-most minutes on the team. He
posted nearly identical averages during the postseason (5.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 1.9
APG) as he did during the regular season, all while his shooting numbers
continued to climb (43.2 percent from 2 and 36.8 percent from 3).
Rozier’s most notable playoff contribution was his elite ball handling. He did
not turn the ball over a single time until Game 3 of the second round against
Washington, and only committed a turnover during five of Boston’s 18 postseason
games.
Boston benefitted greatly from Rozier’s reliability while he was on the court,
and he had a postseason team-high plus/minus rating of plus-55 to show for it.
By comparison, no other player on the team had a total plus/minus rating that
exceeded plus-16.
The 6-foot-2 23-year-old proved that he could be a dependable option to turn to
when leading scorer Isaiah Thomas needed a break, as he ran the point with
veteran-like poise.
It’s not easy for a young, inexperienced player to carve out a role on a
contending team, but Rozier found a way this past season. He showed magnificent
strides from Year 1 to Year 2, and should only continue to improve as the
2017-18 season approaches.
Player: Isaiah Thomas
Media Content:
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rozier
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Boston Celtics, Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
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Taxonomy: offseason, 2017 Awards Series, Summer
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