Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Rozier undergoes further testing amid uncertainty with neck injury
MIAMI — With the absence of Terry Rozier now continuing for a week, the Miami Heat guard moved forward with imaging on what has been listed as neck spasms.
Initially believed to be the result of travel and sleep, concern with the neck grew to the point where the guard acquired in January from the Charlotte Hornets underwent additional testing.
Sunday’s season finale against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya marked the fourth consecutive game missed for Rozier, who initially was limited by the neck issue in last week’s critical road loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The current approach with Rozier, who has moved beyond much of the discomfort, is a course of anti-inflammatories, as the Heat turn to postseason mode amid the uncertainty.
Still in question is the timing for a potential return.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Rozier remains day-to-day.
“We will give you an update when we get one,” Spoelstra said before Sunday’s game.
The Heat also remained without guard Duncan Robinson, who on Sunday missed his fourth consecutive game due to the recurrence of the back issue that previously had him out five games before he returned for five games.
Robinson had been upgraded to questionable prior to Sunday’s change in status.
Of Rozier and Robinson, Spoelstra said, “It’s been good for both of them. Both those guys, their bodies will let us know. They’re making progress. I know how bad both want to be out here right now. But we’ll just continue to treat them.”
Roster copacetic
The Heat did not make any additional moves by Sunday’s final NBA personnel deadline.
That will have the same 15-player standard roster in place for the postseason.
That, in turn, made Sunday the final day of eligibility for two-way players Cole Swider, Jamal Cain and Alondes Williams. Players on two-way contracts are ineligible for the postseason.
Swider, Cain and Wiliams will become restricted free agents this summer if the Heat exercise qualifying offers. All three are on expiring contracts.
That leaves the Heat with a playoff roster of Bam Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Kevin Love, Caleb Martin, Patty Mills, Duncan Robinson, Orlando Robinson, Delon Wright, Rozier and Josh Richardson, who is out following season-ending shoulder surgery.
The long road
Spoelstra was asked before Sunday’s game whether his team’s path from Game 1 to Sunday’s Game 82 had prepared his team for the postseason.
“The playoffs will let us know,” he said. “But we’ve certainly experienced a lot together, that’s for sure. It’s been an eventful season and many different things have happened.
“But I think as long as your team approaches all those experiences the right way, you’re gaining something from it and developing some collective grit and toughness. And all of that, it definitely can be a benefit. And we’ll find out.”
Veteran experience
Spoelstra also spoke pregame of roster continuity and having the presence of playoff-tested veterans on his postseason roster.
“I think, in general, our overall experience is high, and that’s one of the positives with this group,” he said, “We have a lot of corporate knowledge of how we want to play and we’ve had a lot of playoff games together, with our core guys.
“Those guys have been in a lot of playoff moments, home and away, that tends to matter in this league. It doesn’t guarantee anything, obviously. But you can turn to that when you have a lot of moving parts during the regular season, you know that the core group has been together for a long time.”