How Terry Rozier Made Case Celtics Should Have Kept Him Around

Hindsight is 20-20.

No one really blamed the Boston Celtics in the moment for moves made in the aftermath of Kyrie Irving’s departure, but a few seasons removed, it’s clear they had more options at point guard than they thought.

Terry Rozier offered a great reminder of that Wednesday night.

The Hornets guard went off for a 28-point, 10-assist double-double to lead Charlotte for a 111-102 win over the team that drafted him, adding another great performance against the Celtics to his résumé.

“He was having way too much fun out there,” Jaylen Brown admitted after the game.

“I didn’t say nothing to him after the game because we lost but you know Terry’s a good player. That’s my guy. We did a solid job on him but he just felt too comfortable out there. You know? He’s made some shots in this building before so he got hot. We can’t let that happen. But Terry Rozier has been playing well, has had a great season.”

This season, Rozier is averaging 18.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists — following up the best year of his career where we put up 20.4 points per game.

In Boston, he didn’t quite have that opportunity. But with three seasons in Charlotte, he’s proven himself to be a starting point guard.

Especially against Boston, where he averages 16.1 points, 6.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds in seven games.

“He looks forward to coming back here,” Ime Udoka said after the game.

Perhaps it has something to do with Rozier feeling slighted by Boston’s quick decision to replace Irving with Kemba Walker, which didn’t work out, when they already had Rozier and Smart in house.

Did they jump the gun in replacing Irving with Walker? Or did Rozier just make a huge jump in his game? Either way, he got that last laugh Wednesday.

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