With injury, Rozier a Smart choice
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Marcus Smart had another day to rest his sprained left ankle yesterday, but the Celtics are being understandably cautious about working the point guard back into the mix too soon, with Wednesday’s season opener against the Brooklyn Nets at the Garden coming up fast.
It helps that Terry Rozier may be having the best training camp of anyone on the roster. The second-year guard, called “the surprise of training camp” by C’s president Danny Ainge, is already absorbing the minutes and role of the departed Evan Turner.
Though Rozier doesn’t possess Smart’s ability to defend bigger wings and frontcourt players, look for him to consume some of Smart’s time if the latter isn’t ready to go on Wednesday.
“Obviously he’s going to have the ball with us,” coach Brad Stevens said. “He’s really, really improved as a shooter and scorer, and that’s been something that he’s worked hard on. So he’s a grinder. He works hard at the game and it’s no surprise that he’s having success. But we need him to, to be quite candid. We’re going to rely on him.”
Smart’s injury only magnifies that fact. Rozier could also emerge as a more consistent outside threat than the notoriously sweet and sour Smart.
Rozier averaged 9.6 points over seven preseason games, and has been especially hot from downtown, where he shot an even 60 percent.
“Just consistency and putting the ball in the basket, what I would say would probably be the greatest area of growth,” Stevens said. “He’s gotten better defensively; we need him to continue to grow in that area, we need him to be a really good defender for us — especially at that position, coming off the bench in the league. But putting the ball in the basket would be his area of greatest improvement.”
Brown belongs
Jaylen Brown continued to look like he belonged through the preseason after an outstanding summer league performance.
The next step is the real thing, obviously, though the added complexity of playing with veterans thus far doesn’t seem to have affected the rookie.
“You want to keep things as simple as you can for the young players so they can play free and just play,” Ainge said. “The defensive systems in the NBA are very sophisticated and different than most colleges so that’s usually the biggest transition, but Jaylen has shown he can contribute to an NBA team right now. We’re going to need him, especially with Marcus out. We’ll need his strength and athleticism and to provide us with some help.”
Brown’s highly regarded basketball IQ is helping the transition.
“I’ve learned a lot. Just being on the floor — I think I can see when I watch myself in film I can see how each and every day I’m getting better and things like that and I like it,” Brown said. “Now the regular season is here, so now it’s time to be even more locked in and take it to a whole other level.”
Thus far, though, there haven’t been any surprises, even though Stevens seems to like matching the rookie up against power forwards.
“I think the Celtics did a really good job preparing us,” Brown said. “Everything we’ve always been prepared for. Just give credit to our coaching staff and organization. Everything we faced in preseason, or so far, and training camp, I’ve been ready for.”
Smooth transition
Al Horford’s seamless fit into Stevens’ system has clearly been a testament to the veteran center’s reputation as the ultimate complementary player.
“I’m sure he would tell you he’s not like 100 percent comfortable, but he doesn’t appear to have much of a transition to our team,” Ainge said. “He just really knows how to play. He’s an efficient scorer and he takes care of the ball. He holds down the fort, communicates on defense and does all the little things that we would expect a veteran to do.
“Every practice it’s like whoever plays with Al seems to look better. Sometimes we’ll have a player like Ben Bentil who will get eight shots in a scrimmage and Al won’t get one, but he just knows how to play and he plays 100 percent for the team. Those are some of his greatest characteristics. He’s a good player, but he’s all about winning and the team.”