Rozier makes strong return from knee injury. What Hardaway, Heat people want from him

It’s a fine line Terry Rozier is walking, trying to fit in with his new teammates while maintaining a semblance of the offensive aggressiveness that had him averaging 23 points per game before Charlotte traded him to the Heat on Jan. 23.

“For sure,” Rozier said of trying to find that balance. “Not trying to do too much, but you got guys over there screaming at me, telling me I need to shoot the ball. Just trying to figure it out. Wins is all we really care about.”

Returning after missing four games with a sprained knee, Rozier was efficient and productive in Tuesday’s 106-96 win in Portland, delivering 19 points (on 7 for 14 shooting), with four assists, a steal and two blocks, as Miami won for the fifth time in a row and moved to 3-0 on this Western Conference sojourn.

“We’re definitely better when he’s aggressive, when he’s in attack mode, and we also like it when he’s putting pressure on the rim and making the appropriate plays,” coach Erik Spoelstra said late Tuesday, before the Heat traveled to Denver for Thursday’s 10 p.m. game against the Nuggets. “He was already in a great groove before the injury. You could see the possibilities.

“I love his motor and I think that’s going to get better. Right before he got hurt, the motor was getting to where we wanted it to. He has that speed. He has that quick twitch. He has the ability to break a defense down or at least get a defense to over-react.”

Rozier’s overall offensive numbers are significantly down from Charlotte. He’s shooting 37.3 percent in 11 games with the Heat, compared with 44.1 in 41 games with the Hornets this season. He’s at 25.5 percent on threes (13 for 51) since joining the Heat after making 35.8 percent in Charlotte.

He’s averaging 13.2 points for the Heat, compared to 23.2 in Charlotte, and taking 12.9 shots per game, nearly six fewer than he did in Charlotte. To an extent, that reduction in attempts is to be expected, because he’s playing with better players in Miami.

But some inside - and outside - Heat headquarters want him to be more aggressive.

“Terry Rozier, you gotta let him go,” former Heat guard Tim Hardaway said on Udonis Haslem’s and Mike Miller’s podcast recently. “Go be him. 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 happen. So I think you got to let him go and do what he needs to do, in the confinement of the offense.”

Rozier said recently that he doesn’t want to shoot a lot of pull-up threes like he did in Charlotte because he wants to fit in.

“He doesn’t have to overthink it,” Spoelstra said Tuesday night. “Everyone wants him to be him. He can shoot some pull up threes. His head coach wants that. His teammates want that.”

On Tuesday, he hit three big jumpers (including a three pointer) in the fourth quarter, finishing with a flourish after a 1 for 5 start.

“We want him to continue to be aggressive, shoot the shots you work on,” Jimmy Butler said. “We need him to shoot those shots. We need him to get up as many attempts as possible. When he sees a couple go in, he’s very, very ignitable, can catch fire.”

As a playmaker, he has been very good, with 60 assists and 13 turnovers in his 11 games with the Heat.

The knee injury against Boston looked worrisome at the time, and Rozier said Tuesday that he was initially very concerned.

“Up until I got my MRI, I thought it was pretty serious,” he said. “The burning and stuff like that. I feel good and hopefully I stay healthy for the rest of the season. The medical staff does a great job of making sure I’m fully healthy before I get back. I’m happy to be back. Hopefully I can stay healthy for the rest of the season.”

Spoelstra, noting how much Rozier working on rehabbing the knee during the All Star break, said: “I respect how much time he put into this to get back and fast track this. It was All Star break when everybody else was off and he was doing three a days just to hopefully get a chance to be ready earlier. It’s a credit to his work ethic.”

THIS AND THAT

Looking ahead to Thursday’s NBA Finals rematch in Denver, Butler said: “We got another one coming up and all want that one.”

But asked if it’s more significant than a typical regular season game, Butler said: “Not at all. They’re a really good team. We realize what happened in the Finals against them. We’ve got to let that go. We’re trying to make it there again, as are they.”

Denver beat the Heat, 4-1, in the NBA Finals, closing out the series in Colorado.

▪ Only TNT will carry Thursday’s game, with Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller on the call.

▪ With Tuesday’s win, Miami improved to 16-5 when Duncan Robinson starts.