Celtics Select Rozier, Hunter, Mickey, Thornton In NBA Draft
By HOWARD ULMAN
AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Celtics have taken guard Terry Rozier from Louisville with the 16th pick of the NBA draft.
At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Rozier lacks bulk. He averaged 17.1 points per game as a sophomore last season but hit only 41 percent of his shots.
Boston also has the 28th choice in the first round and two second-round picks _ the 33rd and 45th overall.
The Celtics have stockpiled draft picks. From 2015-18 they have a potential 21 choices, 10 of them in the first round.
They missed out on the draft lottery last season when they finished with a surprising 40-42 record and got the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They were swept 4-0 in the opening playoff round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Celtics have drafted shooting guard R.J. Hunter of Georgia State with their second pick in the first round of the NBA draft.
Hunter is known for his 3-point basket with 2.7 seconds left that gave No. 14 Georgia State a 57-56 win over No. 3 Baylor in this year’s NCAA Tournament. His coach and father, Ron Hunter, fell from his stool during the play while coaching with an Achilles tendon injury.
The 6-foot-6 R.J. Hunter averaged 19.7 points as a junior last season and hit 39.5 percent of his three-point attempts. For his college career, he averaged 18.4 points.
Hunter is the second guard drafted by the Celtics on Thursday night. They took Terry Rozier of Louisville with the 16th choice.
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BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Celtics have drafted shot-blocking forward Jordan Mickey of Louisiana State in the second round of the NBA draft.
The 6-foot-7 Mickey led the nation with 3.64 blocks per game last season while averaging 15.4 points and 9.9 rebounds.
Interior defense was a major problem for the Celtics last season when they finished with a 40-42 record but were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.
Mickey was taken with the 33rd overall pick after two seasons at LSU. He is the second player in school history, following Shaquille O’Neal, to block at least 100 shots in a season. He blocked 106 as a freshman and 113 as a sophomore last season.
In the first round, the Celtics drafted guards Terry Rozier of Louisville and R.J. Hunter of Georgia State. They also had another second-round pick, the 45th overall.
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