UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Terry Rozier has shown himself to be capable of changing a game’s momentum with his defense, but what happened Saturday against Charlotte probably wasn’t what he had in mind.
With Boston clinging to a slim 2-point lead and Charlotte looking to tie the game up, Rozier tried to draw a foul against Charlotte’s Christian Wood who was driving into the lane.
Rozier succeeded, but it would be the final play of the night for him.
On Wood’s drive to the basket, his elbow connected with Rozier’s lips, sending the Celtics’ guard to the floor.
It was one of the many momentum-changing plays by Boston which eventually led to them cruising to a 104-86 win over Charlotte.
Rozier would later return to the bench after receiving seven stitches to his upper lip.
“It happened so fast,” said Rozier who had four points in seven minutes. “It came across my face and I thought it was my nose but it was my lip.”
And that was indeed a good thing.
Had the blow been slightly higher on his face, Rozier could have suffered a broken nose or potentially a concussion depending on the severity of the contact and whether Rozier’s head would have hit the floor.
Fortunately for both him and the Celtics, that’s not something they have to worry about going forward.
Rozier said this wasn’t the first time he was hit in the face and required stitches.
“No, the second,” he said. “The first time my eyebrow came over my eye. It was really bad the first time.”
Instead of thinking about the injury, the Celtics’ thoughts are more directed towards continuing to build off of yet another strong preseason performance.
“I thought our guys did a pretty good job,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens.
Among the key performers for Boston was Gerald Green who was making his preseason debut with the Celtics after being sidelined with a hip flexor injury.
Green, who was part of the starting unit on Saturday, had 13 points in about 20 minutes of court time.
“Gerald looked like he got his rhythm in the third stint like we had thought,” Stevens said.
In an effort to rest most of his starters and give his bench more chances to play, Stevens went with a first unit that included Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Gerald Green, Jae Crowder and Tyler Zeller.
The new-look starting unit played well.
Boston got big-time contributions from the revamped second unit.
And when all was said and done, the Celtics came away with the victory.
As the Celtics continue to build towards the regular season, these are the kind of nights that leaves all involved feeling good about themselves.
“Every day in the preseason is a practice,” Stevens said. “It’s about trying to become the best version of yourselves. It’s a great chance for the young players to get a chance to play more. It’s a great chance for our older guys to impact the game vocally, or in the locker room. It’s positive for everybody if you can play the right way.”
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