As Heat searches for answers, Terry Rozier accepts move to bench: ‘I’m going to roll with it’
As an individual player, this is not the start to the season that guard Terry Rozier was hoping for. As a team, this is not the start to the season that the Miami Heat was hoping for.
That all led to the Heat’s decision to move Rozier out of the starting lineup, as coach Erik Spoelstra searches for answers amid the team’s underwhelming 7-8 start to the season.
Rozier played off the bench for the first time this season in Tuesday night’s 106-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center, returning to a different role after missing the previous two games with right foot discomfort.
“Just trying to get out there and give my team my best effort, and just see what’s there,” Rozier said following Tuesday’s defeat when asked about his approach to the switch.
Rozier, 30, played well in his first game as a reserve after struggling to find his shooting rhythm early in the season.
Rozier entered Tuesday’s game averaging 12.9 points per game on 38 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent shooting from three-point range in his first 12 appearances of the season before missing time because of his foot injury and then returning to a bench role.
Rozier closed Tuesday’s loss with 17 points on 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) shooting from the field and 3-of-4 (75 percent) shooting on threes in 21 minutes off the bench. He got hot in the fourth quarter of the close game, scoring 13 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 shooting from behind the arc in the period while playing the entire final quarter.
“He’s a competitor and he’s an X-factor player,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat right back at it Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun) to complete the back-to-back set. “We saw that in the fourth quarter. He’s a dynamic offensive talent. We want to feed him confidence, allow him to be who he is and he can be a disruptive defender in our system.”
Spoelstra understands that the move to the bench isn’t necessarily what Rozier was hoping for, though.
“It’s not easy,” Spoelstra said. “I feel for Terry because, well one, he got hurt. And we’re at the beginning of a season right now where we’re searching. So the starting lineup is not an indictment at all on him. We had something that worked for two games. So, of course, we’re going to stick with that right now because we’re not where we want to be.”
What worked for two games while Rozier was out was the Heat’s starting group of Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith and Bam Adebayo, with Robinson starting in place of Rozier.
The Heat went 2-0 with that starting group while Rozier was out before that lineup started its third straight game together in Tuesday’s home loss to the Bucks. But dig a little deeper and that new starting lineup has been far from perfect, as it has now been outscored by 21.4 points per 100 possessions in 33 minutes together during this three-game stretch.
“Pro’s pro, winner,” Butler said of Rozier’s approach to the role change. “Him still doing what we need him, what we want him and what he does do. Get buckets, run the squad, get some stops. Who knows where he’s going to be come the next game and the game after that. But whatever it is, I know he’s going to help us win games.”
If Rozier continues to be used as a reserve, there’s going to be an adjustment period because he hasn’t played an extended stretch of games off the bench since the 2018-19 season when he was with the Boston Celtics.
In fact, Tuesday represented just the second game that Rozier has played off the bench since the start of the 2019-20 season. He started in each of the 298 regular-season games that he played for the Hornets between his time with the Celtics and his trade to the Heat.
“It’s who finishes the game. It ain’t who starts,” Rozier said, downplaying his move to the bench.” I think a lot of people want to start in this league. I’ve started for a while, and it’s not final. Like coach said, it’s nothing against me. It’s just trying something new and I’m going to roll with it.
“It’s a little adjustment that I’m willing to make as long as coach needs me to.”
Rozier is also still dealing with lingering pain in his right foot, and playing off the bench helps the Heat manage his minutes.
“It’s getting there,” Rozier said after Tuesday’s loss when asked about his injured foot. “Playing games on it, it’s going to be tough. But that’s just part of it. I know it’s going to heal as the time goes.”
The Heat traded Kyle Lowry’s sizable $29.7 million expiring contract and a first-round pick to the Hornets to land Rozier midway through last season. With that move, the Heat traded any salary cap flexibility it was on track to have in free agency last summer with the vision of Rozier stepping in as its starting point guard.
For one game on Tuesday, Rozier played as a reserve. Whether Rozier continues to be used off the bench or returns to the starting lineup remains to be seen.
“Like everybody has to, you have to just do what’s best for the team right now,” Spoelstra emphasized. “Nothing is in concrete. We’re not where we want to be. That’s the bottom line.”
INJURY REPORT
The only Heat players ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Hornets on the second night of a back-to-back are Kevin Love (back spasms) and Josh Christopher (G League).
The rest of the Heat’s roster is also expected to be available to play Wednesday.
The Hornets will be missing a handful of rotation players against the Heat, as Miles Bridges (right knee bone bruise), DaQuan Jeffries (right hand fracture), Tre Mann (low back inflammation), Jared Rhoden (G League), Nick Richards (right first rib fracture), Grant Williams (right ACL tear) and Mark Williams (left foot tendon strain) have all been ruled out.
This story was originally published November 27, 2024 at 11:57 AM.
