Terry Rozier Deal Reached by Celtics Rival
The Miami Heat signed a player that meets their ideal scoring guard profile, having missed out on Damian Lillard this summer. Two days before the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat meet for the second time this season, the first being a 119-111 victory for the former in its home opener, the latter’s struck a deal to acquire Terry Rozier.
That report comes via ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds that the 2027 first-round pick Miami’s sending with Kyle Lowry to the eight-year veteran’s now former team, the Charlotte Hornets, is lottery-protected. It becomes unprotected if it conveys to 2028. Granted, the Heat’s top players not named Bam Adebayo have all missed time this season, but Rozier’s joining a team in need of more offensive firepower. Miami is 26th in points per game, producing 110.9 per contest.
Known mostly for his scoring prowess, the 29-year-old guard is averaging 23.2 points, 6.6 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals so far this season. On 7.7 attempts, he is shooting 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. This is consistent with his career three-point shooting percentage of 36.7 percent on 5.7 attempts. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Rozier chose to bring his skills to South Beach. He joins a group of players that are led by unselfish players like Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, who don’t mind sharing the scoring load
The former is infamous for maintaining his composure, especially during postseason matches. It’s also a safe bet that he will appreciate the assistance, even though the latter has developed in that area out of necessity in the 2023–24 campaign as a result of the Heat frequently playing with a shortage of players. The six-foot-one guard from Youngstown, Ohio, will now have to wait to see if the trade is completed in time for him to play against the team that selected him in the Thursday draft.
Although this author believes that will happen, Miami, which is currently 24-19 and sixth in the Eastern Conference, has added a player that matches the type of a scoring guard that it was aiming for in order to help make a run at the NBA Finals after missing out on Damian Lillard during the summer.
While it’s reasonable to speculate as to whether the Heat may reroute Tyler Herro, head coach Erik Spoelstra often used a zone defense that frequently gave the Celtics difficulties in the Eastern Conference Finals, which reduced the defensive worries of a backcourt that included Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in the 2023 playoffs.
Even though Rozier and Herro are very different from Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, Spoelstra is the one who can limit the harm that results from having them on the floor together on defense. Even so, Boston has what is regarded as the most skilled top six in the NBA after defeating the Dallas Mavericks 119-110 on Monday. In that game, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for at least 30 points for the 29th time. Boston’s record now stands at 34-10.
The Celtics team from the previous season, which began the Eastern Conference Finals down 0-3, is also more experienced. The head coach Joe Mazzulla has also made significant progress; in his second season as bench boss, the club has seen greater comfort and personalization from the veteran leader.