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Terry Rozier # 3 of the Charlotte Hornets watches before their game against the Dallas Mavericks.
A sprained foot is expected to keep Gordon Hayward out for the next month. That means the former Celtic is unlikely to fit into each of the three Charlotte v Boston matchups for the next four weeks, the first of which ends on Sunday. That doesn’t mean the Cs won’t be welcoming a familiar face to Beantown, though.
Terry Rozier, who spent his first four NBA seasons with the Celtics before being sent to the Hornets for Kemba Walker in 2019, is in in the middle of its most productive season to date. The veteran point guard averages the best 20.3 points of his career per game while knocking down 41.0% of his 3-point points.
While his standout game has helped Charlotte raise expectations this season exceed – currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference – he still managed to keep an eye on his former team. And sonically, he thinks the Celtics’ scathing reviews have been a bit of an exaggeration this year.
« To be honest, I think they’re not that bad, » said Rozier of Mark Murphy of Boston Herald. « I think people in town sometimes overreact because they’re the Boston Celtics. I think they expect more, but I don’t think things are that bad. »
The Celtics are of course with title aspirations started the season. So far, however, these lofty goals have not been achieved. In 49 games they are only on the verge of a playoff team that is currently number 8 in the East.
Nevertheless, despite all the problems this season, Boston remains only one game behind the Hornets in the profit column and could work upward quickly in the next month and a half. In doing so, however, they have to significantly strengthen their product on the pitch. Since the All-Star hiatus, the Cs have a record of only 5-8, while only one of those wins was against a team with more than 20 wins a year.
Initially, the Celtics were almost unanimously hailed for their ability To flip Rozier for Walker and add a perennial all-star to their lineup alongside Jayson Tatum. Despite being named the Eastern Conference starter in the All-Star Game in his first season in Boston, injuries, age, fit, and finances have left many wondering if the team actually made the right decision.
While he begins to show flashes of its pre-injury shape, knee problems are never ideal for a 30-year-old point guard. Additionally, Walker is still owed $ 73.6 million on his $ 141 million contract for the next two seasons ($ 37.7 million for players in 2022-23). Quite a financial commitment, especially for a player who has clearly fallen behind Jaylen Brown in the offensive pecking order.
Rozier is three years younger than Walker and is in the books for $ 17.9 million next season, $ 18.1 million less than Walker. We mentioned earlier how important Rozier was to the Hornets’ success this season. He has already exceeded his contract. However, his performance over the next month will be critical to his future bottom line. If he can take the team’s offensive load with Hayward and LaMelo Ball off the line-up, Scary Terry could be heading for a hugely lucrative payday.
For now, we’re going to be Celtics fans this statistical breakdown of Walker and Rozier’s results since the beginning of the 2019-20 season left via Boston Sports Info.
Ref: https://heavy.com
