Injury-plagued Heat face another setback

While Terry Rozier‘s neck injury is improving, he’s not healthy enough to return yet, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. He’s considered week-to-week, but Jackson emphasizes 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 he averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He was starting to come into his own before the injury, averaging 23.6 points, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals 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 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 of games of the series against his former team. Given that Jackson specified that Rozier’s injury wasn’t career-threatening, it’s a more serious injury than previously thought, and thus, the Heat appears to be taking a cautious approach.