Miami Heat fans are so fed up with Terry Rozier they recently held a contest for a new nickname.
A social media post drew hundreds of responses but the best may have came from a user named "DEPRESSED miami sports fan. The name: The Undertaker.
While that name is reserved for the former WWE star, it takes on a new meaning for Rozier because of his recent struggles. As DEPRESSED miami sports fan explained, "The Undertaker, because the only way to successfully bet on him is take his under."
The Undertaker, because the only way to successfully bet on him is take his under.
β DEPRESSED miami sports fan (@SofloJon77) March 6, 2025
Brilliant
β Anthony DiNardo (@AnthonyD_heat) March 7, 2025
ππππ
β πππΌπ ππΌππππ (@HeatvsHaters) March 6, 2025
SPOELSTRA DEFENDS ROZIER
Rozier has failed to meet expectations on every level since he was acquired from the Charlotte Hornets last midseason. He is averaging 11.6 points on 40 percent shooting this season. He's had seven single-digit scoring performances since Feb. 1, a span of 12 games.
Despite the lack of production, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra refuses to single out Rozier.
βI don't want Terry to be a target right now, that's easy,β Spoelstra said. βI mean, this is the thing, when we're playing all these tight games and really close, competitive games, and this is what I remind the locker room, we have to stay so laser focused into the process and not just the result. Everybody just watches the end result. Any one of these games, if we finish it off and a lot of this narrative, a lot of the dialogue, it just quiets on its own. And that's the lesson. If we want to quiet the noise, we find a way to win, we have to take all the responsibility if we don't.β
BILL SIMMONS ROASTS ROZIER
The Kyle Lowry for Rozier trade last year went from seemingly a steal for the Heat to an absolute waste of a first-round pick for second-round pick production.
Last season, while on the Charlotte Hornets, Rozier played the best basketball of his career. He averaged 23.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.6 assists on 45.9 percent shooting and 35.8 percent from three-point range. Rozier had career highs in points, assists, and two-point percentage.
Once traded to the Heat, his numbers decreased in several categories, which was expected considering he went from a top-two option with the Hornets to sharing the court with three 20-point scorers in Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo.
Itβs a year later, and Rozier has only gotten significantly worse. On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons hosted a draft of the worst contracts in the NBA with Ethan Strauss and Wosny Lambre. They explained Rozierβs remaining two years for a $51.5 million contract as one of their highest picks in this draft. Strauss explained why he understood the appeal for trading for Rozierβs production in Charlotte, even though it has been to the Heatβs detriment this season.
βOn the face of it, $25 million bucks for a shooting guard who is capable of being a prolific scorer is okay,β Strauss said. βThe problem is, we have a sizzle reel from this season that shows him actively undermining the ability of the Miami Heat to win basketball games.β
Simmons went into greater detail and questioned if he can still play the sport effectively based on watching him play this season.
βIt looks like he completely lost his ability to play basketball,β Simmons explained. βI looked up when they made the trade last year because I remember thinking, getting for what they gave up, I would much rather do that than give all the (expletive) you had to for Damian Lillard, which included Tyler Herro. When they traded for him last year, he played 30 Charlotte games: 23.2 points, 36 percent from three, and he was playing awesome. This year, his stats are almost half: 11.8 points a game, shooting 40 percent, and shooting 29 percent from three. Eye test wise, he might be the worst rotation guy in the league.β
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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