When the Miami Heat made a trade for Terry Rozier, the goal was to stabilize a position in steady decline.
Kyle Lowry was at the tail end of his career, his scoring punch losing power every season. The Heat’s bench was more potent than in recent seasons with Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s breaking out. However, the second unit backcourt hasn’t been able to bring the heat since Tyler Herro was coming off the bench in 2021-22. Herro, who has missed at least 15 games every season and missed 40 games in 2023-24, exacerbating Miami’s most glaring issue.
They can’t score.
Pat Riley Offers Thoughts on Terry Rozier Injury
Over the past two seasons, Miami has been among the worst five teams in points per game, ranking 30th in 2022-23 (109.5) and 26th in 2023-24 (110.1).
So, when the Heat sent Lowry and a first round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Rozier, they were hoping to have him available for more than just 31 games. Averaging a career-high 23.2 points per game before being traded, Rozier offered Miami far more than Lowry as a scorer. However, fortune wasn’t on the Heat’s side.
He missed the last four regular season games and the entire First Round with neck spasms. Thought to be caused by traveling and sleeping, Rozier was “week to week” with the injury. With that prognosis, it’s possible he would’ve returned had Miami had a longer playoff run. However, there’s no certainty about that.
This week, Heat president Pat Riley addressed myriad topics after Miami was eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs. From Herro to Erik Spoelstra and everything in between, no rock was left unturned.
Here’s ‘the Godfather’s’ thoughts on the injury that took Rozier down:
“It’s a process; it takes time,” Riley says, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson.
“He said he feels good. When you’re dealing with a spine, you’re not going to mess around with it. It’s going to heal. Doctors convinced us and him that in time it will heal and go away… Terry was everything I expected.”
Riley is a realist.
Often, injuries occur that are outside of anyone’s control. Furthermore, there’s only so much anyone can do to accelerate a player’s recovery. Lastly, as Riley notes, there are certain injuries where precautions must be taken. To that point, those involving areas such as neck and spine can be career-threatening.
Nonetheless, injuries undermined the Heat’s highly-touted conditioning, discipline, and defense. Injuries to specific players, like Herro, Rozier, and Jimmy Butler, limited them offensively. Regardless of whether they would have actually defeated the Boston Celtics, they never got a fair shot.
Now, Miami will be focusing on finding ways to improve their player’s durability.
The Last Word on Terry Rozier
Two seasons remain on Rozier’s contract. Consequently, he’ll be around long enough to help maximize the Heat’s chances of winning a championship in the Jimmy Butler Era. If Butler doesn’t reach a contract extension with Miami, his deal is set to carry him through 2026.
That said, a full offseason to gel with the Heat’s core will benefit Rozier heading into 2024-25. Miami’s first point guard capable of scoring 20 points per game since Goran Dragic in 2016-17, Spoelstra also gets a chance to rework his offensive playbook.
