Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“Obviously he’s going to have the ball with us,” head coach Brad Stevens said Wednesday night after Rozier concluded his preseason with 13 points (on 5-for-7 shooting) over one half of action. “He’s really, really improved as a shooter and scorer, and that’s been something that he’s worked hard on. 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 need — we’re going to rely on him.”
The Celtics bench is young, bouncy and — except in the frontcourt — largely unproven. Jaylen Brown still hasn’t appeared in a regular season game. Marcus Smart will be shouldering some new responsibilities. Rozier has never played a consistent role, but will be needed to create offense and put the ball in the basket. That’s all new to him at the NBA level, but he appeared comfortable during the preseason, taking efficiency with him everywhere he went.
That shot chart shows that Rozier’s shooting well above the league average on roughly 67% of his shot attempts. And before one cries foul, about this being the preseason and all, it’s worth noting that Rozier’s shooting above the league average for the preseason, meaning this is something of an apples-to-apples comparison. We’re not talking about summer league play against guys who aren’t going to make an NBA roster, this is minutes accrued against guys that have contracts and–at least on Wednesday night–minutes logged against the other team’s starters.
Shots in the paint need to improve, but honestly, it’s not surprising that area needs work. Rozier’s not big and he’s not a veteran. The slightest hesitation about whether you can either successfully score over a big or avoid being called for a charge is going to throw off your mechanics. Time and practice should iron out that part of Rozier’s game.
Page 2: Where the cuts have started and nobody’s surprised.
The Boston Celtics made their first player cuts of training camp by waiving Marcus Georges-Hunt, Damion Lee and Jalen Jones on Thursday.
The Celtics roster now stands at 17, two more than the league-maximum which Boston has to get down to by Monday at 5 p.m. EST
Ben Bentil, who was selected by Boston with the No. 51 pick in last June’s NBA draft out of Providence College, is expected to be the next player waived by Boston.
“Johnny, will you tell our parting contestants what they’ve won?”
“They’ve won a case of Campbell’s Chunky Soup and the play-in-Portland version of the Boston Celtics!”
Page 3: More Horford
As the Celtics biggest free agent signing since then, Horford — with his four-year, $113 million contract — is now the centerpiece of the franchise as it chases banner No. 18.
He enters the 2016-17 campaign no longer the wide-eyed rookie that arrived in Atlanta nine years ago. He’s now a veteran four-time All-Star that team president Danny Ainge believes can provide leadership to a young core led by Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder. The immediate goal is to help Boston advance past the first round of the playoffs for first time since 2012.
“I know that I’m gonna help our team be better,” Horford said. “I’m gonna try to come in and try to gel as fast as I can and just make sure that we’re playing at a high level, and that we’re working every day. And we’ll see what happens.”
I like this Horford guy so far. I think he’s going to do okay. That’s also the gist of the above article over at Boston.com.
Finally: Boston fans
From the sublime….
WATCH this young Boston youth absolutely give it to Joakim Noah about his ugly set shot. #Knicks #JoakimNoah pic.twitter.com/WUqLL6opm5
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) October 20, 2016
To the ridiculous…
I’m on TV! What do I do? What do I do?
Wait — I GOT IT!
📹@TheCauldronhttps://t.co/oze8MLNzGlhttps://t.co/pZ9ddsF8Wt— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 20, 2016
H/T: MassLive / Boston.com
The rest of the links
MassLive: Boston Celtics roster moves: Jalen Jones, Damion Lee, Marcus Georges-Hunt all waived | Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko throws down NBA’s play of the day over Kyle O’Quinn (watch) | Boston Celtics injury updates: Marcus Smart not ruled out of season opener; mid-November ‘optimistic’ for Kelly Olynyk
CSNNE: Five reasons why Terry Rozier should replace injured Marcus Smart | Bubble watch: Down to wire for Celtics’ final roster spot
Bonus Bruins Stuff
#NHLBruins Bobby Orr and Milt Schmidt discuss who the greatest Bruin in history is. (📽: NESN) pic.twitter.com/0kTFCwrcrY
— Weekend at Bergy’s (@weekendatbergys) October 20, 2016
Guys, Milt Schmidt’s first game as a Bruin was 80 years ago. 1936. The final year of FDR’s first term as president.
H/T Wysh.
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