BOSTON -- Terry Rozier saw the early morning text from Kyrie Irving, one that he has received a handful of times this season when Irving knows he won't be playing that night.
And after reading the text from Irving on Wednesday morning, one thing was clear: the text from Irving was good news for fantasy owners who had Rozier in their lineup for Wednesday's game against Cleveland.
“He (Irving) texts me early in the morning just about every game that he’s out just so I can get mentally prepared, and he’s been good with that,” said Rozier, who got the start on Wednesday against Cleveland in place of Irving, who was out with flu-like symptoms. “He’s been a good mentor all year since we’ve been together, and he’s giving me that confidence early in the day.”
That confidence usually translates into strong play, which was evident on Wednesday with Rozier delivering one of his best games this season in leading Boston to a 123-103 win over the Cavs.
Rozier led all scorers with a season-high 26 points, which included scoring Boston’s first eight points of the night. He also had eight rebounds (sharing team-high honors with Aron Baynes) along with a team-high six assists.
☘️CELTICS 123, CAVALIERS 103
“He was good,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Rozier. “The first half, he kept us in the game. When everybody else was struggling to get it going, he really played well. He was good on both ends.”
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Rozier had 22 points at the half while making all eight of his field goal attempts, which included four 3-pointers.
When asked whether it was one of his best starts of the season, Rozier responded, “I guess we could say that. Like I said, my coaches and my teammates made it happen for me, you know, setting good screens, play calls, stuff like that. You know, just giving me that confidence. So, we could say that it’s one of my better starts.”
And while Rozier is no stranger to starting, he hasn’t been nearly as effective when playing with the first unit this season as he was a year ago in helping lead the undermanned Celtics to the Eastern Conference before falling to the LeBron James-led Cavaliers in seven games.
This season, Rozier came in averaging just 12.6 points with five rebounds and 5.2 assists in the five games he started.
Last season, he averaged 15.6 points as a starter, along with 6.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
☘️CELTICS 123, CAVALIERS 103
Rozier acknowledges that getting acclimated as a starter versus coming off the bench does take a little getting used to.
“I wouldn’t say it’s different, but I know that I’m going out there right away (as a starter), so I can get myself ready for that,” he said. “It’s kind of different, but at the same time I’m just trying to be effective either way.”
For Rozier, each start has to be cherished, knowing that it’s a matter of when -- not if -- he will be back to the bench playing fewer minutes behind Irving.
“He makes it tough for me, because all them points he’s scoring in the first quarter, first half, so when I come out there it’s like, ‘Damn.’ It put a lot of pressure on me,” Rozier said. “But he’s great. Like I said, I just want to go out there and be effective whether I’m coming off the bench or starting.”
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