Terry taking off in new offensive system

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BOSTON -- The jet had been on the runway, but it wasn't going anywhere.

Jason Terry had been struggling since joining the Boston Celtics last summer. The former Sixth Man of the Year had made a name for himself as one of the league's best sharpshooters off the bench and looked to bolster the C's second unit this season.

Instead, Terry (nicknamed JET) battled with consistency and missed his mark on several occasions, raising question when -- and if -- he would hit his stride in the Celtics system.

The 14-year veteran has averaged 15.9 points per game over his career, including 44.7 percent from the field (5.8-for-13.1 FG per game). He opened this season shooting 52.1 percent from the field in November, but dropped in December to 37.4 percent. His stats increased in January to 41.2 percent, although his shot averages fell to 2.7-for-6.5 attempts per game.

He struggled with his long-range shooting, as well, averaging just one trey per game last month.

A new Terry has emerged in the past week, though. Following the season-ending injury of Rajon Rondo (ACL), Terry has stepped up offensively and began to find his rhythm. In the last three games, he is shooting 14-for-22 from the field (63.6 FG) and 5-for-11 from three-point range (45.5 3PG), averaging 12.3 points. The absence of their point guard has led to more players handling the ball, and therefore a new variety of looks on offense.

"(The new style of offense) is much more open, it's free-willing," Terry said following the Celtics 106-104 win over the Clippers on Sunday. "The defense can't sit on particular plays. This league is great with scouting and they get used to you, they kind of know your tendencies. But in this offense, it's very unpredictable. You don't know who's going to get a shot, but we know we're going to get a good one."

Terry did get a good one on Sunday, draining a fadeaway jumper with 1:09 to go that pushed the Celtics lead up to five points and helped fend of the Clippers late-game surge.

"It's a lot of fun," said Terry. "Winning's fun. So we've just got to continue to do the things we need to do to be successful every night. That's play defense, get out in transition, and spread the ball around."

After spending most of the season stuck on the tarmac, the JET is ready to take off the runway.

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