Robb: Terry Rozier's criticisms about the Celtics deflected from the real problem

The Celtics have had Terry Rozier’s back since Day 1 of his NBA career. Danny Ainge surprised the world by selecting Rozier with the 16th pick overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, far ahead of his projected spot in most mock drafts. The Celtics used four draft picks in 2015 and Rozier was the only one who panned out for Boston, to his credit, beating out the likes of R.J. Hunter, Jordan Mickey and Marcus Thornton (never played in NBA) for a meaningful role.

It was a slow start for the 6-foot-1 guard in his opening two seasons in Boston as he played behind a deep backcourt and struggled tremendously on the offensive end (32 percent shooting from the field, sub 30 percent shoot from 3-point range) while adjusting to the NBA game. However, Rozier’s athleticism was striking and he was a strong contributor out of the gate in other facets of the game (rebounding, defense, low turnover rate) which made him a useful playoff piece in Boston’s first two playoff appearances under Brad Stevens in 2016 and 2017.

Last season, Rozier had a very strong year off the bench and then performed above expectations in a starting point guard role once Irving went down. The Celtics went 11-5 in his regular starts with Irving sidelined as Rozier posted very solid per game averages (15.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists) with those extended minutes, while shooting better from 3-point range (38.9 percent) than the field (38.1 percent).

The strong play (for him) continued (16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists) in the 2018 postseason even though Rozier’s shooting averages were rather pedestrian (40% FG, 35% 3-pt) compared to other guards. The way Rozier references his abilities and sacrifices makes it seem like he was putting up All-Star numbers. In reality, Rozier played well enough to be considered a potential starting point guard in the NBA.

Rozier overachieved like the rest of that squad in 2018 but he was also maybe the fourth- or fifth-most important contributor in that postseason run. The Celtics were still a better team with him off the floor in the regular season in 2017-18 and the team had just a +.6 net rating in the postseason when he did play (sixth on the team). For as good as he was against the Sixers (and their lack of true point guards) in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he struggled just as much against the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals (37% FG, 22% 3-pt) capped off by a horrific 2-of-14 performance in Game 7.

This all served as a backdrop to Rozier’s current season of ‘sacrifice’ and subpar play, along with his venting on several ESPN programs this week. I won’t rehash the specifics of those comments here but I felt like it was important to create an accurate backdrop for his career to date before making a few closing points about the 25-year-old guard who felt like taking subtle shots at the coaching staff, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward was warranted on the heels of an ugly 4-1 series loss to the Bucks. Some final thoughts on the matter:

1. The Celtics were upfront with Rozier since Day 1 this year about his role: It’s completely understandable why Rozier was frustrated in his role this season. You can’t fault any guy for wanting more opportunity on the heels of success and it’s fair to say the Celtics' front office miscalculated how much Rozier would be able to handle a normal bench role after last postseason (they probably would have traded him if they had a second chance to). However, Rozier always knew this was going to be the deal for the 2018-19 season. Of course an All-Star like Irving is going to get priority over him. For as good as Rozier was last postseason, he still came nowhere close to the numbers that Irving was putting up while healthy. The C’s were incredibly successful with Irving on the floor in 2017-18 so it’s hard to envision what Rozier was expecting to be different this time around with a top-20 NBA player coming back.

There was plenty of competition for minutes and opportunity on the rest of the roster and Rozier flat out was beaten out for those minutes in 2018-19 by guys like Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. Yes, Hayward played more than he should have over Rozier and others at the beginning of the year but his track record earned him that right. For the second half of the season, Hayward outplayed Rozier anyway so there really wasn’t anyone on the Celtics roster that Rozier was losing minutes to without proper cause. If the fourth-year guard would have played better, he would have played more. If anything, Rozier was playing a lot more than he should have based on his own performance.

2. No one had Rozier’s back more during the 2018-19 season than the coaching staff:

This was perhaps the most maddening part of Rozier’s interview (taking a shot at Stevens and his staff by questioning rotations and saying they catered to others on the team). With the reserve guard posting some of his worst numbers since his rookie year and terrible on/off numbers for the team (he was a big reason the C’s blew big leads all year long), the calls were loud to play Brad Wanamaker over Rozier (including from yours truly) in the second half of the season. Stevens never paid attention to them though. He stuck with Rozier despite his struggles, failing to even bench the athletic guard for even a half despite questionable shot selection and overall struggles. He knew Rozier was in a tough spot and wanted to maintain his confidence in hopes that he would be able to put things together in the postseason. After Irving and Hayward, Rozier was probably the most disappointing Celtic on the roster against the Bucks as he was dominated by George Hill and Pat Connaughton over the final four games of the series. Stevens’ faith in him clearly did not pay off.

3. Rozier’s unwillingness to take any sort of accountability for his own struggles: While some of Rozier’s criticisms may have been valid (though none should have been aired out publicly like that), it’s hard to ignore the fact that Rozier did not once point the finger at himself for the team’s struggles all year long. The 25-year-old played just three minutes fewer per game compared to last season and still had one of the worst seasons in the NBA for a guard that saw regular minutes. His 2-point shooting percentage (42.2 percent) ranked among the league’s worst, he failed to get to the free throw line (1.2 attempts per game) with any regularity and the C’s offense and defense showed a huge dropoff in performance whenever he was out on the court. Despite these issues, Rozier not once questioned his own performance and instead only spoke about the sacrifices he made and his unwillingness to come back next season with this current team. Rozier had shown in past seasons that he could thrive in a bench rule but his inability to succeed in one over the course of 82 games was telling.

While people will love to point to his win-loss record as a starter in 2018-19 (11-3), the more important record worth noting though is the 3-3 record with him starting against playoff teams (two of those were home wins against undermanned Brooklyn and Detroit teams). Rozier looked like a starting caliber guard against the Cavs and Wizards of the world but his inability to give the C’s steady minutes at point guard off the bench helped sink this season. There was a reason that Rozier didn’t have the ball in his hands as much and that’s because the team floundered with him as a primary ballhandler with the bench unit in 2018-19. Taking some accountability for that in the course of these interviews would have made his other remarks easier to swallow.

An irrational confidence

All of these comments over the past week may simply be a calculated effort by Rozier and his reps to help ensure he leaves town. I wouldn’t expect Danny Ainge to be heavily influenced by these remarks as he decides Rozier’s eventual fate (fences can always be mended) but after a disappointing season, they could be the final straw for the C’s to move in another direction, even if Irving leaves or Marcus Smart is dealt (for Anthony Davis).

An increased opportunity could certainly have been waiting for Rozier next year in Boston if he didn’t decide to air some of the team’s dirty laundry. Now, he has to hope rumors like the one Darnell Mayberry wrote about indicating the Bulls showing interest in him (guessing that one came from his agent), lead to a payday. He really didn’t do much to deserve a deal that’s close to the one he turned down from the Celtics last fall ($12 million per year) and it’s hard to find a team out there that would be willing to give him a starting point guard job after the season he just had.

All things considered, it’s unfortunate to see Rozier vent about a franchise that has had his back throughout his career. Days later, it’s hard to see what exactly Rozier’s candidness accomplished for his future beyond potentially creating a lower price tag for himself this summer and maybe one less suitor in Boston. For a team that took the easy way out all year long, Rozier took that path again this week.  The fact that he’s clinging to a slightly above-average performance for three months of his career as a measuring stick for his ‘sacrifice’ will probably only lead other teams to wonder what happens if he doesn’t end up getting the minutes he thinks he deserves somewhere else.