Terry Rozier Must Build Off of Summer League Success

Is Terry Rozier’s success a product of the summer league, or a glimpse of his potential?

For what it’s worth, Terry Rozier has far and away been the Boston Celtics‘ best player in summer league. Having appeared in six of their seven games, Rozier holds averages of 20 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The question is now whether he can build on this.

Most people are aware that summer league is a completely different environment than the NBA. Obviously the competition is much greater in the regular season, but the atmosphere is also something that can’t be replicated in the summer league. Most summer league contests are played in half-empty arenas, and the emotions and intensity that exist in a regular season NBA game cannot be matched in July.

Bottom line, success in the summer league isn’t necessarily an indicator of success when the games count. Examples can be found on both sides of this argument. Glancing quickly at the top performers of last year’s summer league, while some struggled to crack NBA rotations during the regular season, others were able to earn regular minutes and contribute to their respective teams.

Boston drafted Rozier out of Louisville with his defense in mind. He struggled mightily offensively in his rookie year. It was a very limited sample size, but he shot just 27 percent overall. Rozier quickly learned that getting to the rim in college, and getting to the rim in the NBA are two completely different things. That makes life difficult for a guy like Rozier who struggles with his shot.

The summer league is an opportunity for guys to earn training camp invites, but for players like Rozier – whose roster spot is safe, barring a trade – it’s a time to work on the weaker aspects of their game. For Rozier, that means shooting.

As a rookie last year, he had an adequate summer league, but the presence of Marcus Smart limited Rozier’s ability to run the team. With Smart gone, this has felt like Rozier’s team throughout the summer and he has played like it.

Not only is he Boston’s leading scorer in the summer league, but he has been very efficient, shooting better than 54 percent from the field, including 45 percent from three. He’s attacked the basket consistently, shown off some flashy moves and has amassed 49 free-throws in six games.

Defensively, Rozier has come as advertised this summer, showcasing his quickness and active hands to really disrupt opposing guards. Offensively, he facilitated well in the Utah summer league, but has taken a shoot first mentality in Las Vegas.

One thing that Rozier did extremely well as a rookie last year, to the surprise of many, was rebound. Boston’s guards are very talented rebounders, and Rozier is at the heart of it. In a game against the Houston Rockets last season, he pulled down seven rebounds in just 10 minutes. He has rebounded well during summer league too.

Last year, Smart’s summer league performance was very similar to Rozier’s this year. Smart made it a point to be more aggressive offensively, by taking more shots and attacking the basket more. While his shooting wasn’t quite as efficient as Rozier’s has been, Smart attacked, got to the free throw line and was the offensive catalyst.

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However, it didn’t feel like the progress he made in the summer league carried over into the regular season. While Smart’s free-throw attempts increased in his second season, his shooting percentages dropped a bit. Yet, Smart impacts the game in so many other areas that it helps mitigate his offensive struggles.

A strong finish to Rozier’s rookie season is reason for optimism. He struggled to crack Boston’s rotation early on, but earned more minutes at the end of the year, and in the postseason. Part of that can be attributed to injuries, but in his limited minutes, his play led to more opportunities.

He has followed that up with a strong summer, and appears headed in the right direction. Now, it’s about finding a way to produce when it counts.

Next: Should the Celtics Trade for Blake Griffin?

Rozier isn’t going to duplicate these numbers once the regular season starts. However, his summer league success will earn him more opportunities earlier in the season, and give him more chances to contribute.

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