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Boston Celtics backup point guard Terry Rozier only played 15 minutes Monday night against the Orlando Magic. The Celtics lost by a final score of 93-90. Rozier finished the game with just five points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field.
Rozier knows head coach Brad Stevens has a tough job this season. The Celtics have one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the NBA. Stevens will be tasked with the challenge to distribute his minutes throughout the season efficiently and, so far, Terry Rozier hasn't been getting the minutes that he would like.
“It's not the easiest,” Rozier said about not playing that many minutes, via CLNS video. “You know, me being a competitor, me being who I am, I wake up everyday and I wanna be the best I can be. I wanna win in everything. It's tough when I don't get the minutes that I may want. Like last night for example, I didn't play that many minutes.
“But like I said, coach, he's not in a easy…he don't have the easiest job. He's got the toughest job out of all of us, and I can respect that. I control what I can control. I still come in everyday and bust my butt off because I know it may be different on Thursday. So I just gotta be ready, stay ready. And it's tough. Like I said, I'm competitive.”
Terry Rozier will make $3 million this season and become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019 if Boston offers him a $4.29 million qualifying offer. The 24-year-old scoring guard started for the Celtics during the 2018 playoffs because Kyrie Irving was injured, and Rozier flourished, averaging 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Rozier probably views himself as a starting-caliber point guard in the NBA, but he won't get that title in Boston since Irving is on the roster. Irving informally announced he is planning on re-signing with the Celtics next offseason. The five-time All-Star will easily command a max contract. Boston is already paying both Gordon Hayward and Al Horford max money, and they will have to take care of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in a few years. Could that make Terry Rozier the odd man out in Boston this summer? It's very possible.
