Your Morning Dump… What do the Celtics need from Terry Rozier?

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Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

His offense is on the upswing, but as evidenced by Rozier’s first double figures (11) rebound performance of the season, which he paired with three steals during the Celtics’ 113-105 win in Atlanta Saturday night, his energy is also building.

Rozier’s last three performances have been marked by a bent for hitting the opposition with full-court pressure as well as an ability to alter the pace of games.

“Energy, just try to bring energy off the bench, control what I can control, show smiles and have a lot of fun. Make my guy work,” said Rozier, who can see the most important result – the spread of his aggression through the lineup.

“Definitely. I’ve got that trust from my coaches and definitely my teammates, and I’m picking up the energy, picking up guys full,” he said. “I can see from their reaction that I’m bringing my guys up.”

Herald

Scrolling through Terry Rozier’s game log is a wild ride. Good luck to anyone who can deduce any sort of pattern.

What’s most shocking to me is that Rozier’s assist to turnover ration is a career-best 3.2.

His rebounding and assists are up for January, but he’s shooting a season-low (35%, 28% 3FG) this month.

I guess the real question is… what do we need from Terry Rozier? I thought the Memphis game (10 points, 4 assists) was a good example.

With Terry, I think it’s less about the stat line and more about playing smart and giving the game what it needs; applying pressure defense, making the right decisions in transition, cutting back on horrible pull-up 3s, never throwing lobs, etc.

On Page 2, some good teams are coming into the Garden.

And that more than anything else is why this upcoming stretch of games prior to the All-Star game has a make-or-break feel to it for Boston. 

Between now and then, the Celtics have 12 games with nine being at the TD Garden. 

Of those 12 foes, seven are currently among the top eight teams in their respective conferences and are thus a playoff-caliber foe. 

While that might make most a bit apprehensive about Boston’s chances of success against good competition, here’s what we know about this team. 

The better the opponent, the better they tend to play.

NBC Sports

I won’t read anything into the upcoming schedule because this team remains too unpredictable. But… Golden State, OKC, and Philly are the top games over the next 12. The Lakers (9th in West) are coming on Feb 7th.  Maybe LeBron’s groin will be healed by then.

I’ll be joining 98.5’s Adam Jones on FanCred‘s 4th Quarter Live at 7:45pm tonight for some unfiltered commentary as the Cs host Miami. Bring your take!

And finally, the Celtics celebrate with the Patriots.

That was a helluva game.

The rest of the links

Globe – When Baynes plays, the defense gets downright stingy

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