The Boston Celtics finally defeated their nemesis the Miami Heat in the playoffs last season, but fans are still quick to mention the injury to Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier as the main reasons for their loss. Butler sprained his MCL during the play-in tournament against the Philadelphia 76ers, while Scary Terry had suffered neck spasms in the final leg of the regular season. With training camp just a few weeks away, Terry Rozier made a striking admission about recovering from his neck injury.
“I would say not totally fully, fully, fully cleared playing five-on-five,” the point guard said, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “But I am doing every on-court activity, playing a little bit three-on-three. But I figure in the next couple of weeks I'll be graduating to five-on-five.”
The Heat's injury woes
Recently, fans have learned not to trust the Heat's regular season record to judge their playoff performance. However, last season, something was different, for the Heat looked like they stumbled onto the postseason, without the swagger they used to have.
Jimmy Butler being out since the play-in may have had something to do with it, but Terry Rozier's neck injury also affected the team's lackluster showing and speedy elimination. The Heat had traded for Rozier in exchange for veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, an upgrade across the board as an effective backcourt partner to Tyler Herro.
Besides youth, Rozier was also clearly more athletic at the point guard position than Lowry, and could also defend at the point of attack. Meanwhile, the team also wanted him mainly for his offensive production, for his scoring could take a lot of defensive pressure off Butler and big man Bam Adebayo.
Likewise, the departure of Gabe Vincent for the Lakers also opened up a need for the Heat. However, they never got to see their squad at full strength, thanks to all the injuries. With only a couple of weeks left before training camp, Rozier's slow recovery could worry some fans.
They certainly could have used his scoring punch against the Celtics' lanky defenders who kept them to only 92.2 points per game on an offensive rating of 100.7.
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On-court return
Still, Scary Terry said that he was going to be ready to play, no matter what.
“I'm a gamer, I'm a hooper,” he said, via Jesse Cinquini of Heat Nation. “I think getting my wind up is the most important thing. But once we all come into camp together, just getting that full camp together is the most important thing…. I think it's just me getting with the other guys and getting on that level so we can play the right way, play together.”
Terry Rozier and Jimmy Butler returning to the court should be welcome news to the Heat. However, it remains to be seen whether they can square up against the other contenders in the East, such as the 76ers with Paul George and the New York Knicks with Mikal Bridges.
