Terry Rozier

Heat Notes: Butler, Rozier, Love, Martin, Wright

April 29th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are trying not to focus on being shorthanded as they look for a way to upset the top-seeded Celtics, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. An already difficult task is being made even harder by the absence of starters Jimmy Butler, who sprained his MCL during a play-in game, and Terry Rozier, who has been sidelined with neck issues. In addition, Duncan Robinson has been limited by a lingering back injury he suffered late in the season.

“We have our guys, we have enough to get the job done,” coach Erik Spoelstra insisted after a 20-point loss in Game 3. “We understand the challenge and that’s what our competitors love about this series. We know we have to play hard and we also have to play well.”

Butler and Rozier have already been ruled out for tonight’s Game 4. Spoelstra told reporters on Sunday that Rozier is considered “day to day,” but no timetable has been set for his return. Butler was projected to miss “several weeks” after getting hurt on April 17, but he sounded optimistic in an interview with TNT’s Chris Haynes during Saturday’s game.

“I don’t know about a timeline, but we’ve been working,” Butler said. “I want to hoop. I want to get out here. I want some of this.”

There’s more from Miami:

Spoelstra appears to be pivoting away from Kevin Love, who is facing a bad matchup against Boston, Chiang adds. The veteran big man, who was limited to one four-minute stretch in Game 3, is minus-24 in his 23 minutes of action in the series. “I was looking for a spark once we were down 20,” Spoelstra said in explaining the decision to bench Love. “This is not an indictment on anybody. Things move fast in a playoff series.”
Caleb Martin plans to “just be assertive and not be passive” tonight after he followed a 21-point Game 2 with five points on four shots in Game 3, Chiang states in a separate story. Martin, who starred against Boston in last year’s conference finals, said he needs to look to score more often. “I think there were sometimes I passed up shots,” he said. “I felt like I was trying to get the ball moving a little bit more, being a little bit less aggressive in letting it go. So that’s on me. I can’t be as passive. I got to let the ball go.”
Delon Wright, who missed Game 3 for the birth of a baby girl, has returned to the team and will be on the active roster tonight, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Herro, Rozier, Richardson

April 27th, 2024 at 5:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

With Jimmy Butler sidelined by an MCL sprain, the Heat are comfortable relying on Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro to be their on-court leaders, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Both players responded when they were asked to expand their games in Wednesday’s surprise victory at Boston. Adebayo scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and frequently served as the primary defender on Jayson Tatum.

“He had big responsibilities defensively,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Then on the road, yes, it was really important that we had a place where we could just throw the ball and just kind of get settled, especially when they would go on runs or the crowd would get in it and he produced. He was great when we needed to get it settled and he went right to his spot and was able to get some relief points for us.”

Herro took a larger role in running the offense, handing out a career-high 14 assists to go with 24 points and five rebounds. Ten of his assists came on three-pointers as Miami set a franchise record by sinking 23 threes in a playoff game.

“We need his aggressiveness, we need his scoring, we need his shooting, we need his play-making,” Spoelstra said. “Depending on the possession, it can be any one of those things. But he was good on both ends of the court. He was very good defensively, he was competing on that end, a lot of winning things.”

There’s more from Miami:

A greater emphasis on three-point shooting was one of the adjustments Spoelstra and his staff made after the Game 1 loss, Chiang adds in a separate story. The Celtics were sending extra defenders at the Adebayo-Herro pick-and-roll, which created open shots from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Heat concentrated on switching rather than the combination of blitzing ball-handlers and drop coverage they used in the opener.
Terry Rozier will miss his ninth straight game today with a neck issue, but he hasn’t been ruled out for the rest of the first-round series, Chiang states in a mailbag column. Rozier has undergone numerous tests to determine what’s causing the neck pain, and the Heat are being “very cautious” about his condition, Chiang adds. Rozier was a starter before being sidelined, but Chiang doesn’t believe he’ll automatically be inserted back into the starting lineup if he’s able to return.
In the same piece, Chiang says it’s likely that Josh Richardson will pick up his $3.1MM player option and return to the team next season. Richardson owns a house in Miami and enjoys playing there, and Chiang points out that his market value will be limited after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in March.

Heat Notes: First-Round Series, Robinson, Rozier, Draft, Lillard

April 21st, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

If the Heat have any advantage heading into their first-round series with the Celtics, it comes from being more battle-tested, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. While Miami was fighting its way through a pair of high-stakes play-in games this week, Boston was resting up and preparing for its playoff opener. Chiang notes that the Celtics wrapped up the top seed in the East weeks ago, and their regulars haven’t played at all since April 11. Meanwhile, the Heat maintained their intensity through a late-season battle for seeding.

“I love this position, honestly,” Tyler Herro said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to win [Friday against the Bulls] and that’s part of it. I feel like we’re better when our backs are against the wall anyways. So we’re going to go to Boston and come up with a game plan with the coaching staff to stop one of the better teams, pretty much ever really, on paper.”

With Jimmy Butler sidelined by an MCL injury and Terry Rozier still out with neck spasms, the Heat are missing two key components from an offense that ranked 21st in the league and often struggled to produce points. Miami’s best chance to duplicate last year’s surprising playoff run is to start by being physical with the Celtics, who led the NBA in offensive efficiency.

“Naturally with some of our firepower out and some guys banged up, it’s going to be an uphill battle,” Kevin Love said. “But different guys are just going to have to step up. You saw it last year with guys going down. But we just have to continue to weather the storm and understand we’re going to be in for a big fight.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Duncan Robinson, who has been dealing with back issues, has been cleared to play in today’s series opener, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, who posted a video of Robinson testing out his back while shooting this morning. Robinson logged 12 minutes and scored eight points in Friday’s win over Chicago.
The official diagnosis hasn’t changed for Rozier, Winderman adds (Twitter link), with coach Erik Spoelstra telling reporters, “We’ll continue to treat him day-to-day.” An earlier report described Rozier’s injury as week-to-week.
The play-in results have Miami locked into the 15th pick in this year’s draft, Chiang states in a separate story. The Heat won’t be permitted to trade their selection before the June 26 draft because they owe a lottery-protected first-rounder to Oklahoma City in 2025. It will be Miami’s highest draft choice in five years, and Chiang lists Purdue center Zach Edey, Duke center Kyle Filipowski, Providence guard Devin Carter, Colorado forward Tristan da Silva and Duke guard Jared McCain as players who might be available in that range.
After trying to trade for Damian Lillard for most of last summer, the Heat could renew that pursuit this offseason if the veteran guard decides he wants out of Milwaukee, Winderman notes in another piece. Winderman expects team president Pat Riley to go star hunting again, listing Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Pascal Siakam among a large group of potential targets.

Terry Rozier Week-To-Week With Neck Injury

April 20th, 2024 at 10:30am CST by Tristan Tucker

While Terry Rozier‘s neck injury is improving, he’s not healthy enough to return yet, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Rozier is considered week-to-week, with Jackson emphasizing that the injury is not considered career-threatening.

Rozier has missed the past six games for the Heat in addition to the fourth quarter of a crucial regular season game between Miami and Indiana. He later said he felt he hurt his team by trying to push through the injury.

The Heat traded for Rozier at the 2023/24 deadline in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick, and he averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game for the team.

It seemed he was getting comfortable in Miami prior to the injury, averaging 23.6 PPG, 3.2 APG and 1.6 SPG while shooting 57.1% on his 9.8 three-point attempts in the five games before the Indiana matchup.

It’s another setback for an injury-plagued Miami team that is already without Jimmy Butler and Josh Richardson. While Rozier could still return in the first round, it’s a downgrade in designation from his previous day-to-day status. It seems as though Rozier will miss at least the first couple games of the series against his former team.

Given that Jackson felt the need to specify that Rozier’s injury isn’t career threatening, it may be a more serious injury than previously thought, so the Heat appear to be taking a cautious approach.

Jimmy Butler Suffers MCL Injury

April 18th, 2024 at 3:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

APRIL 18, 3:46pm: Butler has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and won’t be available for Friday’s play-in game, according to Heat PR (Twitter link). As was reported this morning, he’s expected to be out multiple weeks, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Rozier has also been ruled out for Friday’s play-in game with his neck injury.

APRIL 18, 8:15am: There’s now an expectation that Butler will be out for multiple weeks, according to Charania (Twitter link). That means he’d likely miss some or all of the first round of the playoffs even if Miami wins on Friday.

APRIL 17: There are concerns that Heat forward Jimmy Butler may have suffered an MCL injury in his right knee, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Butler told reporters after tonight’s play-in loss at Philadelphia that he plans to undergo an MRI on Thursday morning to learn the extent of the damage, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler had a protective sleeve on the knee after the game and said he was having difficulty moving.

The initial diagnosis is a knee sprain, but the MRI will provide more clarity, Chiang adds (Twitter link). Butler needed help walking as he left the arena after tonight’s game (video link from Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports).

Butler played nearly 40 minutes and contributed 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals in Miami’s 105-104 loss, though he shot just 5-of-18 from the field. The Heat will host Chicago in an elimination game Friday night, and Butler’s status appears to be in doubt regardless of the MRI results.

When asked about his knee, Butler responded, “It had me feeling that I couldn’t do too much,” tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel.

Butler fell to the court and grabbed his knee in pain late in the first quarter, Chiang writes in a full story. After Kelly Oubre jumped on a pump fake, he landed on Butler and they both crashed to the floor. Butler remained down for a few minutes and limped to Miami’s bench. He was able to stay in the game, but he continued to limp and occasionally grabbed at the knee.

Although Friday’s contest will be at home, the Heat face a difficult path with the potential of an extended absence for Butler combined with the loss of Terry Rozier, who is sidelined with neck spasms. Friday’s winner will face the top-seeded Celtics in a series that starts Sunday afternoon.

Heat Notes: D. Robinson, Love, Rozier, Jovic, Adebayo

April 17th, 2024 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Duncan Robinson has been dealing with a back issue for several weeks, but he’s been cleared for the Heat’s play-in game tonight at Philadelphia, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The team’s medical staff made the decision after watching Robinson in warm-ups, and coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed it in a pregame session with reporters.

“He’s ready to go,” Spoelstra said. “It definitely won’t be what he was doing earlier in the season, that’s for sure. But it’s pretty simple right now – the rotation is the rotation. It’s all hands on deck.”

Kevin Love will also be available after missing the second half of Sunday’s game with an arm contusion. Love, who had also been dealing with an ankle injury, explained that the decision on Sunday was just a precaution.

“Arm’s not an issue, ankle’s not an issue,” he said. “I’m ready to go. So turn the page on the regular season and now we’ve got some work to do. … We were up 21 at half, so it just made sense for me to focus on this. But I feel good and I think that extra day helped.”

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Terry Rozier didn’t travel with the team to Philadelphia after missing the last four games of the regular season with neck spasms, Winderman adds. Team officials aren’t certain when Rozier might be able to return. “He’s been making a lot of progress,” Spoelstra said. “He’s not ready to play in an NBA playoff-level game right now. But I’m encouraged, we’re encouraged. I feel for him. He’s such a competitor. I know how badly he wants to be out here for these kind of moments that I’m talking about. But we’ll continue to treat him and see how he feels.”
Nikola Jovic only logged 13 total postseason minutes during Miami’s run to the Finals last season, but he’ll have a much larger role this time around, Winderman states in a separate story. The second-year power forward has claimed a spot in the starting lineup, bringing more versatility to the Heat’s frontcourt. “This is his opportunity,” Bam Adebayo said. “He’s being aggressive. He’s figuring out how to space the floor, how to cut, really read the game. It’s one of those things, you get enough minutes, that game starts to slow down for you. And I feel like it’s slowed down for him a lot. He’s making it hard not to play him. He sets the tone every night. He makes plays. He makes the right play. He gives those extra efforts that we need.”
Adebayo’s selection to the U.S. Olympic team gives him the chance to become the first player to win multiple gold medals as a member of the Heat, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo captured gold in Tokyo in 2021.

Injury Notes: Embiid, Sixers, Cavs, Hornets, Rozier

April 14th, 2024 at 12:15pm CST by Rory Maher

After previously being listed as questionable, reigning MVP Joel Embiid was subsequently ruled out by the Sixers ahead of Sunday’s season finale against Brooklyn, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. Embiid’s official injury designation was left knee injury recovery, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

When asked if he expected Embiid to play as long as he didn’t have any issues pregame, head coach Nick Nurse shifted around a bit while saying, “Yeah, same on the (other) questionable guys” (Twitter video link via PHLY Sixers).

De’Anthony Melton (back injury recovery) and KJ Martin (left great toe contusion), the other two players with questionable tags, were later ruled out as well.

In his fifth game back following a torn left meniscus in January, which required surgery, Embiid appeared to tweak the same knee in Friday’s win over Orlando, calling to be subbed out a couple minutes before the first half ended. He returned for the second half and finished the game, but was noticeably grimacing at times.

Sunday’s game has major playoff implications for the 76ers, who currently have the same record as Orlando and Indiana at 46-35 but are the No. 7 seed due to tiebreakers. Still, Embiid’s health outlook is much more critical for the postseason and the future — Philadelphia went just 15-27 without the 30-year-old this season.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

The Cavaliers, who have secured at least the No. 4 seed in the East and could move as high as No. 2, will be without some of their top players on Sunday, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Donovan Mitchell (knee), Darius Garland (lower back contusion), Caris LeVert (knee soreness), Sam Merrill (neck strain) and Dean Wade (knee sprain) are all out. “It’s not rest,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said prior to tipoff. “Those guys have things they are dealing with that we are trying to protect over the long term. Not guys who are just taking today off. That was the thinking going into it — if we can get them yesterday and today and get out throughout this week, hopefully by Saturday or Sunday, whenever we play, that’s an advantage for us. We will go out and compete our tails off to make sure whatever may happen. So much is out of our control. It’s not a situation where we are going in and saying, ‘We need to do this or do that.’ We don’t control the outcome. So many other teams that have their own plans and own minds that they are trying to make up. We’re going out and trying to compete our tails off and see what happens.”
The Cavs are facing the Hornets on Sunday, and Charlotte will also be very undermanned, the team announced (via Twitter). Miles Bridges (right wrist), Brandon Miller (right wrist), Davis Bertans (left Achilles), Nick Richards (right plantar fascia) and Grant Williams (right ankle) were all downgraded from questionable to out, joining four other players who are dealing with long-term injuries.
Heat guard Terry Rozier underwent additional testing on his neck injury in recent days, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscriber link). Head coach Erik Spoelstra continues to refer to Rozier as day-to-day, but he’ll miss his fourth straight game on Sunday, leaving his postseason status up in the air. Rozier has been taking anti-inflammatories to deal with the issue, Winderman adds.

Southeast Notes: F. Wagner, Rozier, Butler, Hayward

April 8th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Rory Maher

The Magic got good news on Monday, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, who reports (via Twitter) that Franz Wagner will be questionable for Tuesday’s contest in Houston. An MRI confirmed the initial diagnosis of a right ankle sprain, Beede adds, but the fact that the third-year forward has a chance to suit up tomorrow after exiting Sunday’s contest with the injury is a positive development.

Wagner, who helped Germany win a gold medal at last year’s World Cup, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason. The 22-year-old has averaged 19.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.8 APG and 1.0 SPG through 70 games (32.4 MPG) for Orlando, which is currently 46-32, the No. 3 seed in the East.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Heat guard Terry Rozier said he hurt his team by suiting up in Sunday’s loss to Indiana due to a neck injury that limited his effectiveness and caused him to sit out the entire fourth quarter. He’s questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Atlanta, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscriber link).
Wizards guard Jared Butler was recently promoted from a two-way deal to a three-year standard contract. His new contract pays him $1.25MM for 2023/24, but it doesn’t feature any guaranteed money beyond this season, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Washington, which completed the signing using a portion of its mid-level exception, will hold a team option on Butler for ’25/26, Scotto adds.
Sunday marked a homecoming of sorts for Gordon Hayward, who signed a lucrative long-term deal with the Hornets four years ago before being traded to the Thunder in February, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Perhaps fittingly in an unfortunate sort of way, the oft-injured veteran sat out the game with a lower left leg injury. Boone argues Hayward’s $120MM contract should be a cautionary tale for the new front office to spend wisely when signing free agents going forward.

Heat Notes: Playoff Prospects, Rozier, Depth, Herro

April 8th, 2024 at 9:20am CST by Arthur Hill

Sunday’s loss at Indiana was extremely damaging to the Heat‘s hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami slipped into eighth place at 43-35, a game-and-a-half behind Indiana and a half-game back of Philadelphia. The Pacers clinched the tie-breaker with the Heat, now holding a 2-1 advantage in head-to-head games, and Indiana will get the sixth seed if the teams finish in a three-way tie.

Miami’s long-shot hopes of escaping the play-in involve winning its final four games while the Pacers lose two of their last three. The Heat’s schedule is favorable with a trip to Atlanta on Tuesday, followed by a home game with Dallas the next night and a pair at home against Toronto to end the season. The Pacers will play at Toronto and Cleveland before finishing up the season at home against Atlanta. A complete collapse by Cleveland, Orlando or New York over the final week is Miami’s only other chance to finish in the top six.

There’s more on the Heat:

Terry Rozier sat out the fourth quarter on Sunday due to neck stiffness that caused him to be listed as questionable heading into the game, Chiang adds. Rozier played just 22 minutes and was limited to four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field. “I never like to make excuses, but I shouldn’t have went today,” he said. “I shouldn’t have played. I felt like I hurt the team by trying to be a warrior and get out there.”
The Heat’s season-long injury issues have resulted in significant minutes for numerous players, which could be an advantage heading into the postseason, Chiang states in a separate piece. “It’s a good thing that we can go 10 people into the rotation and everybody feels comfortable,” Jimmy Butler said. “Everybody knows the plays and everybody knows where they’re supposed to be at. … That’s a good problem to have whenever you’re going into the playoffs. It’s a good problem to have whenever you’re trying to be as deep as possible.”
Tyler Herro credits a decision to rest with helping him return after missing more than a month due to a hyperextended left knee and medial tendinitis in his right foot, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The time off, combined with a platelet-rich plasma injection, enabled him to resume playing over the weekend. “So the PRP shot was kind of bringing it some extra reinforcement, to kind of hopefully release some pressure on the tendon,” Herro explained. “And I was able to do that with some weeks of rest after the PRP shot. And, ultimately, that’s what got me back on the floor.”

Heat Notes: Herro, Starting Five, Defense, Love, Bryant, More

April 6th, 2024 at 7:50am CST by Luke Adams

While Thursday’s loss to the Sixers was a disappointing one, the Heat had a good day on Friday, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, as Tyler Herro returned following a 20-game absence and scored 17 points in a convincing, much-needed victory over Houston.

“It’s just great to have him back,” Erik Spoelstra said of Herro. “His head coach didn’t forget what he brings to the table. That skill level, the creativity, the speed, the quickness, all that stuff is what we need.”

Herro came off the bench for the first time this season in his return to the court, as the Heat stuck with a starting lineup of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, and Nikola Jovic. No five-man unit has started more games (13) or played more minutes together (170) for Miami this season than that one.

However, the results for that group have been mixed, as Chiang observes, with a -4.9 overall net rating, so Spoelstra won’t necessarily feel the need to stick with it now that the team is healthier. Herro had started 103 consecutive regular season games prior to Friday — it could just be a matter of time before he returns to the starting lineup.

Here’s more on the Heat:

The Heat had another strong night defensively on Friday, according to Chiang, who wrote earlier this week about the way the team has been performing on that end of the court during the second half. Since January 30, the Heat rank second in the NBA (and first in the East) in defensive rating and have now moved up to No. 4 for the season. “It’s been a goal all season to get to top five and stay top five,” Caleb Martin said. “So it’s good that it’s starting to come around at the right time. I think that we always understand when it really comes down to it, that’s our ticket to winning the game, whether that’s in the playoffs or getting in a position to where we don’t have to worry about the play-in.”
Kevin Love, who has been back in the Heat’s rotation for the past three contests after missing 16 games due to a heel injury, went out of his way this week to praise his replacement, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “You got to tip your hat to TB (Thomas Bryant). He’s been playing awesome,” Love said. Bryant has been a DNP-CD in the three games Love has played, but earned praise from Spoelstra as well for the minutes he gave the club during Love’s absence: “It takes a professional like Thomas to have an understanding of that, this is what depth is all about. And obviously we’ve used all of our depth. But the depth becomes more complex when you have more guys available. He really gave us such tremendous minutes the last six weeks when Kevin was out.”
Haywood Highsmith didn’t open the season as a regular rotation player for Miami, but has become a trusted contributor and played nearly 27 minutes on Friday even with Herro back and the roster relatively healthy. “He’s so inspiring right now,” Spoelstra said this week, per Winderman. “He just continues to grind, continues to work, continues to get better. And he just does all the little things for our team, to help you win. You need players like this to win in this league.” Highsmith will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension by June 30.
While the Sioux Falls Skyforce were eliminated from the G League playoffs on Friday, the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate earned a pair of end-of-season awards earlier in the day. Two-way player Alondes Williams, who was the runner-up for the G League’s MVP award, was named the NBAGL Most Improved Player (Twitter link), while Skyforce general manager Eric Amsler was the league’s Executive of the Year (Twitter link).

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