New approach, new ceiling? Terry Rozier spent offseason with trainer that works out some Miami Dolphins – Chris Mason CNHI Sports Boston | Oct 25, 2017
BOSTON – During his first two seasons as a Celtic, Terry Rozier showed flashes of brilliance.
Now, the goal shifts to sustaining it.
To play meaningful minutes on a team with NBA Finals aspirations, Rozier knew he needed to raise his personal bar.
So this offseason the 23-year-old guard took a different approach. A regular training regiment wouldn’t cut it.
Rozier flew to Florida to work out with Andy Luaces, a strength-and-conditioning trainer that works with a number of the Miami Dolphins. Rozier kept his basketball specialists, too, but knew he needed to add another element to his game.
“The guy is legit,” Rozier said. “We hit it hard.”
Rozier’s workout was tailored differently than the football players, but the core goals remained the same: be more explosive, and above all, be more consistent.
Replicate your success in the gym and it will translate to the court.
“I tried to stay consistent all summer with the things I was doing, the things I was working on. The times of me getting to the gym, putting the emphasis on a lot of things I wanted to get better at,” Rozier said. “Consistency is one of the things we’d talked about, me and my crew.
“We put a lot of emphasis on shooting and finishing, things like that,” Rozier added. “Trying to take my game to another level. Trying to be more explosive.”
It’s still early, really early, but the first round of Rozier reviews have been excellent.
After devoting an offseason to unorthodox workouts, the guard is off to the best start of his career. Rozier cited Luaces’ training repeatedly.
When asked about Rozier’s impact off the bench, coach Brad Stevens repackaged the question to heap praise on his all-around game. He wanted to go deeper.
“I just like the way Terry is playing,” Stevens said. “Terry has been as consistent as anybody we’ve had all the way through the preseason. I’m really looking forward to his continued growth. He’s an important part of our team. He can play with Kyrie (Irving), he can play with Shane (Larkin), he can play by himself as the primary point guard out there. So we’re going to need him to continue to score, and we’re going to need him to continue to defend for us.”
Rozier has been utilized off the bench in each of the first four games, but he’s seen plenty of playing time. He’s got no qualms with a sixth-man role.
“It’s a lot of fun. We’re out there flying around,” Rozier said. “We’re only (a few) games in but it’s going to be an exciting season.
“The second unit is just as important as the first unit, if not more important,” Rozier continued. “We’ve got to come in with the same energy and actually beat their energy. We’ve gotta have them, when they come back in the game, feeling good about themselves.”
So Rozier has started off strong. Now he needs to to maintain it. Whenever Stevens calls his name, the 23-year-old guard has vowed to bring his best.
“I’m just always ready for my time,” Rozier said. “If the minutes are increased or they’re not increased, I’ve just gotta be ready. That’s the most important thing, no matter how much time I play.”
After an offseason of newfound workouts, Rozier has started the season with a newfound consistency. If he continues to deliver, those minutes will only get bigger.
Chris Mason is a Red Sox beat writer for CNHI Sports Boston that decided to write about basketball last night. Email him at cmason@northofboston.com, and follow him on Twitter at @ByChrisMason.