Charlotte Hornets: Terry Rozier’s ability to adapt to different roles

Charlotte Hornets‘ guard Terry Rozier is a player that has played multiple roles throughout his NBA career. In his initial stint with the Boston Celtics, Rozier was a backup point guard for Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas. His job as the backup was to set the table for his teammates, but also to score the ball against second units. However, during his career in Boston, Rozier would sometimes start due to injuries to these players and even saw action in the playoffs as a starter.

Even back in his high school days at Hargrave Military Academy and collegiately at the University of Louisville, Rozier was a player accustomed to having the ball in his hands. He has been a point guard throughout his whole career and was given the opportunity to be a starter at that same position in Charlotte.

With his background across all levels, it was assumed Rozier was going to be the starting point guard for the foreseeable future, but Devonte’ Graham developed a lot faster than expected. With Graham being more comfortable on the ball and showing more ability as a passer, Rozier willingly accepted his role as the shooting guard and has flourished this season.

According to Basketball-Reference, Rozier has accumulated a career-high in points per game with 20.6 PPG and is shooting nearly 40% from three on eight attempts per game. It has been pleasant to see Rozier transition smoothly over the last two seasons with the move to shooting guard, however, his ability to adapt to different roles in the past month has been incredible.

The Hornets have been hit hard by injuries to LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, PJ Washington, and Graham. Miles Bridges is also missing time due to the league’s health and safety protocols. With all these injuries occurring, players have had to step up and take on more responsibility, and most importantly, adapt.

Rozier has had his role changed consistently over the past month and a half, especially with Graham getting hurt on and off. Ball also missed all games from March 22 to April 28, which also caused huge shifts and disruption within the backcourt rotation. Due to these injuries, Rozier has played off the ball at shooting guard, he has played point guard while taking on the role of scoring and creating for his teammates, and he has been the primary scorer at times as well.

To give an idea of what Rozier has been doing in the absence of these two players, let’s dive into Rozier’s statistics when Graham has missed time. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Graham has missed seven games since April 16. In those seven games, Rozier has had the ball in his hands both as a scorer and a playmaker and averaged 27.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 6.1 APG.

In Ball’s absence, Rozier played in 20 of those 21 games and averaged 20.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 5.9 APG, which is almost two assists higher than his average for the season. Also, in four of those contests, Rozier had four games of double-figure assists and ten games of at least six assists or more.

With all the playmaking lost between Graham and Ball, Rozier adapted and took on the role to not only score but to make plays for others. Also, from a scoring perspective, even though Rozier has the ability to create his own shot, Rozier has been the beneficiary of catch and shoot opportunities for the majority of the season with these playmakers. However, he once again adapted to the absence of these players and showed his scoring package. He can hit floaters in the lane, can pull up from three or the mid-range, or can get all the way to the basket with finishes on either side of the rim. As evident when Graham wasn’t healthy, Rozier has the ability to adjust and take on more scoring responsibility, scoring 27 or more points in five out of the seven games Graham missed, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

Rozier’s impact is more important than ever. With multiple injuries on the roster, Rozier will have to take on the role of the primary scorer. Luckily, he has shown the ability to take on that role and his impact will be crucial to the winning or losing this week and into the play-in tournament.