Terry Rozier rising as a Hornets facilitator and scorer

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) has picked up his productivity during LaMelo Ball’s recovery from an ankle injury. Rozier is on pace for a career season, averaging 23.1 points per game on 47.2% shooting accuracy.

Eight weeks into the NBA season Steve Clifford and the Charlotte Hornets have slotted nine different starting lineups.

Due to a flurry of injuries and player availability issues, there hasn’t been a single opening-night starter not to miss time through 24 games. Despite missing nine consecutive games with a groin injury and exiting Saturday night’s loss to Philadelphia after taking an elbow to the face, Terry Rozier has been Charlotte’s most consistent piece.

The ninth-year guard has been playing the best basketball of his career, adding yet another round of trade rumors to Rozier’s Charlotte tenure. But it’s becoming clear that just as LaMelo Ball is integral to the Hornets’ success, Rozier might be equally important.

Prior to exiting Saturday’s loss against the 76ers, the largest in franchise history at 53 points (135-82), Rozier had been on a tear in Ball’s absence.

Known primarily as a shooter who can create space in a phone booth, Rozier has taken the role of facilitator over the past 10 games, averaging 8.2 assists per outing with a 3.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, including three performances of 13 assists – tying his career-high.

“He’s just picking up where (Ball) left off,” forward Miles Bridges said. “Terry is a true point guard; he just scores the ball really well. I think people forget that.”

While the 6-1 Rozier has served as more of a floor general without Ball, he is currently on pace for the best season of his career shooting the ball, averaging 23.1 points on 47.2% from the field, 38.1% from beyond the arc and 86.4% from the charity stripe.

Charlotte has scored just two victories since Ball’s ankle injury against Orlando, both of which Rozier was the Hornets’ catalyst. He became the first player in franchise history with 30-plus points, 10-plus assists and eight-plus three-pointers in a single game in a loss against Miami Dec. 11, totaling 34 points, 13 assists and connected on 8-of-13 three-point attempts for a season-high.

Toggling between putting pressure on the rim, creating shots for himself and distributing to others hasn’t been a challenge for Rozier, knowing that Charlotte has multiple shot-creators to spread the wealth.
“The way the league is, you obviously start the game off and you know everybody’s spots and try to get everybody involved,” Rozier said. “Being a scorer, you obviously don’t turn down those shots or anything like that. I’m just taking whatever the defense gives me, but obviously want to get guys involved at the beginning, but I’ll find ways to get mine, too.

“Obviously, guys aren’t as creative as (Ball). We’re going to miss that night in and night out, but we’re working with what we got.”

The defensive end has been Charlotte’s biggest issue all season, and Rozier is routinely asked to defend the opponent’s best perimeter player. His production has matched his salary, as Rozier is the second-highest-paid player on the roster in the second year of a four-year, $96 million deal, behind only the expiring contract of Gordon Hayward at $31.5 million annually. Rozier will fall behind Ball once the former All-Star’s extension kicks in next season at $35.5 million per season.

With the Hornets 13th in the Eastern Conference and 2.5 games out of a play-in spot, it’s clear that they will need a stroke of good luck to break the NBA’s longest playoff drought of seven years.

“One thing about the NBA, you tell them the truth,” said Clifford. “Look, we’ve got to get our guys back. It’s a brutal stretch. This stretch here – the next two weeks – there’s no easy weeks in this league, but if you look at the upcoming schedule, it’s going to be hard and we’re not sure when those guys will come back.”

After being hurt on Nov. 26, Ball is making progress and hopes to return to the court before 2024 begins.  

“I’m making progress,” he said. “Doing the treatment every day, just trying to get better. From when it happened, I feel a little better. I’m doing everything you can think of.”

Charlotte’s longest win streak of the season is two games, which was a starting lineup of Rozier, Ball, Bridges, Mark Williams and rookie wing Brandon Miller. It seemed that Charlotte had started to turn the corner prior to Ball’s injury, scoring an overtime victory over Boston with minority owner J. Cole in attendance, followed by a come-from-behind victory against the Washington Wizards. Now 10 games removed, Charlotte is 2-8 and trying to stay within striking distance as the hopes of a top-six seed in the East fade.

Clifford has been honest with his team through the struggles, understanding that Charlotte’s roster is not built to withstand consistent injuries from top to bottom – and there are not many teams in the NBA that are.

“We’ve got to find a way to win enough so that when we get everybody in full strength and then a little time to kind of get a game together, we’re not too far out. And right now, we’re not. So much of your record, and this is every year, depends on how good the East is, and right now this year, the East is brutal. If you can get close to .500, I bet you that’ll be good enough to get in.”

The Hornets play just one home game in the next 22 days, with the final game at Spectrum Center in 2023 being a date against the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Clifford’s team starts a West Coast tour following Christmas, playing five straight playoff teams from a season ago with the Clippers (Dec. 26), Lakers (Dec. 28), Suns (Dec. 29), Nuggets (Jan. 1) and Kings (Jan. 2).

With a brutal road stretch on the horizon, Charlotte needs to get healthy – and fast.

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