When the 2019-20 NBA season tips off, there will be just 30 players slotted into starting point guard positions across the league. And the Charlotte Hornets are banking on theirs having a breakout year by taking advantage of a hard-earned, long-time-coming opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited,” said sign-and-trade acquisition Terry Rozier in an interview with Hornets.com. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about how important of a position I’m in. I’m blessed. I’m ready to turn heads.”
Rozier has certainly done just that across 30 career regular season starts the last two years, posting averages of 14.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.4 SPG and shooting 39.6% from long range. His playing time fluctuated based on the availability of first-string All-Star Kyrie Irving, a situation that sometimes lead to pressing and forcing things too much. Such is no longer the case, though.
“I don’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder,” he said. “I can be me. I can play my ball. I can play Hornets ball. I can play myself. That’s the most important thing that I want to do. I can play ball, I can score, I can defend, I can do whatever the coach needs me to. I think people are going to fall in love with how hard I play on both ends.”
The best stretch of his now four-year career came during the 2018 playoffs when he averaged 16.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.7 APG and 1.3 SPG for a Boston team that missed the NBA Finals by just one game. Rozier credits a lot of his success from backing up Irving and Isaiah Thomas, both of whom were All-NBA honorees up in Beantown.
“Just being professional and knowing what it takes night in and night out,” Rozier said when asked about what he learned most from the pair. “No matter if you were playing against the best point guard in the league or the worst point guard in the league, you have to have the same approach. I watched them every night. After the game, they’re watching film whether they had a good game or a bad game. I just soaked that in as a young player.”
Rozier isn’t known as a score-first point guard. Instead, he focuses on the little things – rebounding, facilitating and most especially, defense. He measures in at 6’1”, although owns an abnormal long 6’8 ¼” wingspan, a perfect length for antagonizing opposing players. The Louisville alum’s biggest weakness has been his offensive efficiency. Over the last two seasons, he’s shot 39.2% from the field, although drained an encouraging 36.8% of his three-pointers.
“The number one thing you can say about him is that he competes every night,” stated Hornets Head Coach James Borrego. “He’s a very competitive kid. He will drive our defense, he will drive our competitive spirit on a night-to-night basis. I recognize this is going to be the first time he starts on a regular basis. We’re going to have to work through that and grow and help him develop in that area. As far as competing every single night and being a two-way player, I’m extremely excited about [what he brings].”
Even though he’s only 25 and entering his fifth professional season, Rozier will be taking on a big leadership role, particularly with seven players on the current roster having three-or-fewer NBA seasons under their belts. Rozier is renowned for his dog-eat-dog, killer mentality on the basketball court, a characteristic that hopefully rubs off on his new teammates.
“I think we all want the same thing,” he stated. “I think we all want to come in with a clear mind, play hard and just let everything else take care of itself. We can’t control what people are saying out there. We’re obviously very young, but we’ve all got the same mindset and you can see it in our workouts. We’re all working out and we’re all playing hard.”
He added, “Every day, I’m coming to work. Coming in with the energy. I’m a young guy, too. I’m still learning. Just getting ready for the year. I am the starting point guard, so not a day goes by that I don’t think about that. I’m just ready for the challenge.”
He’s spent time in the G League, backed up two All-NBA players and willed an injury-depleted team to the brink of the NBA Finals last year. Now, Terry Rozier’s time is here and this opportunity, this “blessing” as he calls it, won’t be taken for granted.