Terry Rozier’s Heat acclimation a unique case of fast track and slow go

MIAMI — It has been an acclimation slowed by a knee injury of his own and a pair of injuries of his running mate.

So how does Terry Rozier fit into Erik Spoelstra’s preferred Miami Heat rotations? The only grade to this stage is one of incomplete.

In his six weeks with the Heat, Rozier went into Sunday night’s game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center having played 180 total minutes with Tyler Herro, who remains sidelined with a foot ailment. As a matter of perspective, Duncan Robinson and Orlando Robinson had played more minutes together. For that matter, Rozier went into Sunday having played 416 minutes alongside Bam Adebayo.

With Rozier having missed four games with a knee sprain and Herro now a combined eight with knee and foot issues, footing has been somewhat of an abstract for Rozier.

“I’ve definitely picked up a lot,” Rozier nonetheless said of the acclimation process. “I think I have a better idea of what guys like to do offensively and where I can fit in, versus to when I first got here. And I think that’s kind of normal for anybody stepping into something new.

“I’ve said these guys have been great and they make it easy for me. So I’ll definitely be further along than I was when I first got here, for sure.”

With the Hornets having faced the Heat four times before Rozier was traded from Charlotte on Jan. 23, Rozier already was familiar with scouting reports of his new teammates. But he said it is not the same as learning alongside

“When you’re a teammate, that’s when you really learn, unless that’s your matchup,” he said. “Someone you’re matched up against, you kind of want to learn as much about ’em as you can, to try to take things away.

“But as far as this team, these guys you don’t really know until you get over here. But I think that’s for anybody. I’m glad to be a part of it.”

On replacing Kyle Lowry, who was referred to by Spoelstra as “QB1,” Rozier said he appreciates the unique responsibilities at point guard.

“I think the coaches, they’re going to do a great job of making sure everybody’s going to fit in where they are supposed to, because when we get into crunch time in the playoffs, we don’t really have time to make sure everybody is coming along. You kind of got to catch up to speed,” Rozier said.

“But this organization, they do a good job of making sure guys are up to speed, that we’re learning stuff, but not in a hurry, and you still get all that you want to get out of it.”

With so many ballhandlers alongside, such as Adebayo, Herro and Jimmy Butler, Rozier said there is reduced pressure to make sure he is on time, on target with his playmaking.

“It’s more so, they want me to shoot the ball, ” he said with a smile. “They want me to be myself. Eventually, it’ll mesh perfectly.”