Tim Hardaway seems to think that Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is being underutilized in the team’s offense.
“Terry Rozier, you gotta let him go,” said Hardaway to hosts Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller on The OGs. “You gotta let him go. He knows what to do. He’s a point guard. Go be him. He’s a point guard. He’s a young guy that can go out there and get it done. … He’s the only one that can really break somebody down and make it work and make it happen. So, I think you gotta let him go, do what he needs to do in the confinement of the offense.”
The 29-year-old was arguably playing the best basketball of his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets earlier this season. In 30 games played with the team, he averaged 23.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field.
But Rozier has yet to find his confidence on the offensive side of the ball since the Heat traded for him last month. The Heat traded guard Kyle Lowry — who was subsequently bought out by Charlotte and ended up joining Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers — plus a 2027 first-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for him.
The guard’s scoring average with the Heat has been nearly cut in half compared to what he was averaging as a Hornet. It’s worth mentioning that Rozier has played in only 10 games with Miami, and he is averaging just 12.6 points per game. His scoring efficiency has taken a major dip too, as he’s shooting 35.9 percent from the floor and 23.4 percent from 3-point range.
Rozier missed the Heat’s last two games leading up to the All-Star break against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 13 and 76ers on Feb. 14 due to a knee injury he sustained against his former team in the Boston Celtics on Feb. 11.
Without Rozier, the Heat still managed to beat both the Bucks and 76ers on the road. The Heat earned a blowout win over the Bucks, considering they won by 26 points. But Miami’s matchup against Philadelphia was much more competitive, as the Heat came out on top by just five points.
If Rozier can replicate his production with the Hornets from a few months ago with the Heat during the tail end of the 2023-24 regular season, Miami fans should be optimistic about the team’s chances of making another playoff run in the 2024 playoffs, despite the team’s struggles. After all, the Heat didn’t play at a very high level during the 2022-23 regular season, yet they managed to reach the 2023 NBA Finals.
