Terry always makes a point of being ready for anything
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As a free agent heading into his 17th NBA season, Jason Terry could have searched for more certain playing time than he had waiting for him with the Rockets.
As much as the Rockets wanted him back, they could not offer that.
By the time Terry needed to make his decision, with the start of training camps approaching, the Rockets had traded for Ty Lawson and had re-signed Pat Beverley at point guard and locked up Corey Brewer and Marcus Thornton as backups to James Harden at shooting guard.
Terry, 38, returned to the Rockets anyway, accepting a somewhat ambiguous job description that he knew suited him and one that he has embraced since.
“Whatever they need me to do is what I’m here to do,” Terry said. “I’m enjoying it. When I’m not in there, I’m still actively involved, helping guys throughout the game. It’s good for me.”
A backup quarterback
Terry’s job on the Rockets’ Friday-Saturday trip to face the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers is to be Lawson’s backup at the point with Beverley back in Houston going through the NBA concussion protocol. Terry is often out of the rotation, forcing him to step in with little notice after not playing for two weeks but be as sharp as if he had been playing every night.
“It doesn’t matter for me,” Terry said. “I’m always in the gym. My routine never changes. That’s the thing guys in my position kind of take for granted. They’re like, ‘Well, I’m not playing. I won’t do my game-day workout.’ That’s when you get caught offguard. Your number is called and you’re not ready.
“I look at it like a backup quarterback in football. Those guys, you never know when they’re going to get in. But when they’re called, they’re ready. So I’m always steady in film. I’m always putting in extra work.”
The Rockets would rather not need Terry to take on the role that fell to him in the postseason, when he became the starting point guard with Beverley going out in March.
But there is a comfort in knowing Terry can be pressed into duty and bring his shot and a steadying influence as needed, particularly while injuries force the Rockets to play changing lineups and young players going through growing pains.
“Jet is going to play for us,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He’s going to have big minutes for us at times. He’s very important for us. He’s just a veteran guy. Nothing is going to surprise Jet. He’s seen it all. He’s the least of my (concerns). I don’t worry about him.”
“Montrezl (Harrell) and Clint (Capela), every night is a new thing for them. I worry about the young guys a lot more than the older guys.”
NBA elder statesman
Terry is the sixth-oldest player in the NBA, behind Andre Miller, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter and Pablo Prigioni.
As with most of the NBA’s elder statesmen, Terry serves a leadership role with his team.
That can be easier to do when he is in position to contribute on the court, but Terry has learned to pick his spots.
“It depends (on) the mood of the team,” Terry said. “I always gauge it. I gauge the temperament of the team. I find it easier when I’m out there, especially when you saw things from the sideline. You go in and you’re like, ‘See, this is what I was talking about.’ ”
Terry prefers his playing time come at shooting guard, rather than the point. It rarely worked out that way last season.
In the three games in which he played heading into Friday’s 116-110 victory over Sacramento, he played limited minutes in the first two at shooting guard to provide ball movement when the offense was bogging down before he played the point in the second half against Orlando on Wednesday.
“I love playing off the ball because then I’m free to roam and do what I do,” Terry said. “But in this system, everybody is off the ball at some point or another. This system caters to my style.”
It also fits his role on the roster — to be ready for whatever comes.