Terry Rozier was expected to make a huge impact for the Miami Heat following the midseason trade that brought him to South Beach from the Charlotte Hornets. However, Rozier ended up missing the final four games of the regular season, which then prevented him from suiting up at all in the play-in tournament and in the playoffs. It was a neck injury that did Rozier’s season in, as a seemingly minor neck spasms ended up being a season-ending blow.
With training camp not being too far away, Rozier’s health will be of utmost importance to the Heat, as he is expected to start for the team at point guard when healthy. Over two months ago, the Heat guard already told reporters that he has been cleared to play, and this was confirmed by Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, who wrote that Rozier was “recently cleared to play 5-on-5 basketball and is expected to be ready to take part in training camp next week”.
The good news is that Rozier is not recovering from a lower-body injury that could have long-term effects. Injuries involving knees, feet, hamstrings, and calves, just to name a few body parts, tend to sap the athleticism of professional athletes. And with Rozier being 30 years of age, it’s not as if he’s still a spring chicken.
Thus, Rozier is confident that he’ll be the same player he has been over the past few years even if this offseason has been different to previous years since he spent a few months rehabbing from injury.
“I’m still the same old Terry when I play. Whatever happened in the past, I won’t let it affect how I play. … I’m going to play how I play. But nothing affects how I go now. I’m still myself, so I feel good,” Rozier said.
With the Eastern Conference shaping up to be very competitive for next season, the Heat will need the very best out of Terry Rozier, especially when their depth isn’t particularly the best.
The Heat will need peak Scary Terry
It’s not always the best idea to count out the Heat. After all, the core players (Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo) of the team that made it to the 2023 NBA Finals are still on the roster. But their depth looks very shaky, and there are always injury concerns hovering over Butler as well as Tyler Herro, with those two combining to miss 62 games last season.
Terry Rozier has missed his fair share of games over the past two seasons. Nonetheless, it’s promising that none of Rozier’s injuries seem to be chronic. During the 2022-23 season, Rozier missed time after spraining his ankle, and then neck spasms ended his first half season with the Heat prematurely.
The Heat, however, will need to get the best out of Rozier if they were to keep up with the big guns of the East. Rozier is hopeful that his partnership with the team will be a fruitful one, especially with a full training camp ahead of them to build chemistry.
“But it’s a fresh start. You get to be around the guys for a full season, be around the coaches for a full season, learn the plays and really just get that camaraderie with the other guys. So it’s going to be super helpful. I think we just let last year go, and just focus on this year and move on,” Rozier said.
