Terry Rozier keeps proving the Hornets didn’t settle when they brought him to Charlotte
Terry Rozier didn’t know precisely what the Charlotte Hornets were running on their last possession, even with him as the focus of that play.
There was good reason for that: While teammates huddled with coach James Borrego, Rozier was making two free throws, off technical fouls against Golden State’s Draymond Green, that tied the game with nine seconds left.
After that, Rozier got a pick from teammates P.J. Washington, dribbled toward the left baseline, and launched a leaning 20-footer that swished at the buzzer. Ballgame: Hornets 102, Warriors 100.
In 1 1/2 seasons as a Hornet, Rozier has demonstrated lots of talent. More importantly, he provides will. He isn’t the most entertaining Hornet — that’s rookie LaMelo Ball — nor does he have the widest skills set — that’s Gordon Hayward.
But if you’re measuring mental toughness, Rozier is Charlotte’s beacon. No other player comes close.
“More than anything, it’s a winning spirit: Winning mentality, never give in, never die. That’s as simple as I can put it,” coach James Borrego said of Rozier.
When Rozier agreed to become a Hornet in the summer of 2019, it seemed as if the franchise was settling; replacing Kemba Walker with a cheaper alternative (if you can call $19 million a season cheap) and hoping for the best.
There has been no settling. Rozier is different from Walker, the Hornets’ career scoring leader, but not lesser. Rozier might never be the ballhandler Walker was here, but he’s a better defender, more positionally versatile and every bit the same competitor.
Rozier’s numbers have been stunning: Over his last four games, Rozier is averaging 36 points on 60% shooting from the field and 59% from 3-point range. He scored 20 of the Hornets’ 33 points in Saturday’s fourth quarter, in which Charlotte overcame a 10-point deficit.
Product of your work
I wonder if other Hornets get tired of hearing Borrego remind them how rigorously Rozier prepared for training camp. It’s a recurring theme.
“You’re a product of your work,” Borrego said Saturday of Rozier. “Nobody worked harder in the offseason.”
When the Hornets’ season was paused by the pandemic last March 11, it never resumed. While most of the league was brought to Orlando, Fla., to finish the season in a bubble, the Hornets were one of eight NBA teams left out. That meant nine months of virtually no team activities.
While the rest of the world stayed home eating Moon Pies and Girl Scout cookies, Rozier actually lost 15 pounds during the pandemic. He already had an offseason training base established in Miami — he’d worked out there as far back as pre-draft in 2015 — so he stuck with what he knew. He invited a number of Charlotte teammates to join him there, and several accepted.
When Rozier was drafted 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in 2015, he was no sure thing: Neither a pure point guard nor a great shooter. But there was persistence in how he played at Louisville that caught general manager Danny Ainge’s attention.
Through most his four seasons in Boston, Rozier was “that other guy,” backing up Isaiah Thomas first, and then Kyrie Irving. When Irving chose to leave, Ainge pursued Walker rather than turn the job over to Rozier.
Since the Hornets weren’t comfortable paying Walker $35 million or more, Rozier became the placeholder, the bridge, whatever you choose to call it.
Except his performance exceeded any of those labels.
A little bit of Marvin Williams
On the court, Rozier has been a go-to scorer this season while simultaneously guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer most games.
Off the court, he’s begun speaking up more in huddles and in the locker room; bringing leadership to a team that lost a key veteran voice last season. Marvin Williams was important both in showing young players how to be professional and directing traffic on the defensive end.
Rozier doesn’t yet have Williams’ gravitas, but he’s becoming the core of this team’s personality: Adapt to what the group needs and hold yourself accountable.
“Wins are all that matter in this league,” Rozier said Saturday.
Winning grows from toughness. Toughness on this team grows from Rozier.
