Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is expected to be week-to-week with a sprained right knee, per Shams Charania. Rozier suffered the injury in Miami's 110-106 loss to the Celtics on Sunday, a game in which the Heat also lost Josh Richardson, who will be sidelined for a few weeks with a dislocated right shoulder, per Charania.
Rozier's injury occurred in the third quarter, when he fell awkwardly after driving to the rim and elevating for a floater. After that, he immediately began grabbing at his right knee in pain, and you could tell Heat players and coaches were dejected with what many thought was a far more serious injury. Rozier lay on the ground for some time, before limping back to the locker room with help of Heat staffers.
Terry Rozier is headed to the locker room after landing on his leg. pic.twitter.com/rP521Sh8vL
— ESPN (@espn) February 11, 2024
Leading up to that moment, Rozier had 13 points and six assists, as the Heat were trying to come back from a 15-point deficit against Boston. However, Miami couldn't keep up with the high-powered offense of the Celtics, and dropped its ninth of its last 13 games.
Rozier was traded to the Heat in late January to provide some additional scoring for a Heat team that has had a rather disappointing season. Sitting in the No. 8 spot in the East, the reigning Eastern Conference champions have put together a 28-25 record, and have not looked like the team that ran through the Bucks, Knicks and Celtics en route to an NBA Finals appearance. They have the No. 23-ranked offense, but a top-10 defense, which has kept them in most games. Rozier was expected to come in and help with the offensive struggles, but through 10 games, he was averaging just 12.6 points on 35.9% from the field. But while Rozier was struggling, not having him for the time being is a big blow to a Miami team that is also without Jimmy Butler who was granted a leave of absence to grieve a death in his family.
"It's tough to see guys like that go down," Miami's Duncan Robinson said after the game. "And then Jimmy dealing with what he's dealing with is unfortunate, to put it lightly."
With the number of injuries and absences that the Heat are facing right now, they are certainly a team that could use the upcoming All-Star break for their players to rest up before the final push of the season. Miami has two more games before the break in action -- road matchups against the Bucks and 76ers, of which it will likely be down two key role players in Richardson and Rozier, and potentially Butler too.
