Heat’s Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez Jr. ruled out for must-win Game 5 vs. Celtics

Wednesday will mark the 11th straight game Rozier will be missing due to a nagging neck injury that is specifically labeled as “neck spasms.” His last game played was on April 7 against the Indiana Pacers where he even admitted after the game that he “shouldn’t have played.”

Rozier has been sorely missed for the Heat as he was acquired right before the NBA trade deadline and has been an upgrade at the point guard position over Kyle Lowry. However, he has not played one postseason game yet for Miami, even though his presence is being felt as told to ClutchPoints by Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.

“I mean, Terry is a competitive spirit. You always feel it,” Spoelstra said about how Rozier is a factor even off the court for the Heat.” He feels a certain way about this matchup and all that stuff is good, but you feel for him not being out there because this is what all the competitors want to be out there for this.”

A new injury for Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.

When it comes to the Heat’s star rookie in Jaquez, it was tumultuous Monday night as he went to the locker room towards the end of the game. He would come back into the game later, but was then taken out once again, limiting him to just 22 minutes where he scored nine points making four shots out of 10 attempts from the field.

Jaquez has actually been in the most games for a player wearing a Heat uniform as he played in 75 games during the regular season. He did miss time mostly from a groin injury, but this time around, it is being listed as a “right hip flexor strain” which prompted the UCLA product to speak to then media and recount how he knew he was injured.

“I just felt something, felt something give in the hip, and we’ll take it day by day as of now,” Jaquez said. “It was really just my hip, my right hip. I felt something give in the beginning in the third quarter going up for a rebound. I tried to get back in there, tried to give it everything I had.”

Jaquez taking the hip injury “day by day”

Jaquez had been a regular starter for the Heat in the post-season ever since Jimmy Butler was hurt in the first play-in tournament game against the Philadelphia 76ers, but now with the absence, Spoelstra will have to make another change. The goal right now for Jaquez is taking it “day by day” as the injury is “something definitely a little new.”

“I think just take it day by day,” Jaquez said following Game 4 when asked about the hip injury before being ruled out for Game 5. “This is something definitely a little new. I don’t think I’ve had an injury up here before. But like I said, day by day.”

The rookie has been one of the bright spots of the season for the Heat as they took Jaquez with the 18th overall pick with some people marking him the steal of the draft. He has filled in for a fair share of Miami’s injuries throughout the season and now his teammates will look to do the same as Jaquez said that in these type of situations, it brings the team closer.

“This is when guys come together and get tighter as a group,” Jaquez said. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”

Caleb Martin talks about the Heat’s current position

A player who has been seeing an uptick in opportunity already with the other injuries who will be keyed in on more by the Celtics will be star Caleb Martin as he has had an up and down series with two solid performances. Now being down 3-1 in the series to Boston, he mentioned how the Heat have “guys who have been fighting to even get to this point” which serves as motivation to hurdle obstacles in their way.

“Nobody wants to be in this type of position,” Martin said. “But we got a lot of guys who have been fighting to even get to this point in their careers or whatever. So this isn’t the worst we’ve seen when it comes to this basketball stuff.”

Miami looking to perform a miracle and bring series back home

While there is no doubt that the wall to climb over is as tall as it gets, the Heat’s mindset is as strong as ever. Martin said that the team embraces the tough challenges and is grateful that they are in the playoffs “while a lot of guys aren’t playing right now.”

“At the end of the day, we’re getting to play one of the best teams in the East and we’re in the postseason while a lot of guys aren’t playing right now. So we don’t have a lot to complain about. We just need to go out and have fun and play, compete.”

There have been 13 teams in the history of the NBA to come back down from a 3-1 deficit and win the series as Miami looks to be the 14th. However, with the injuries to Butler, Rozier, and now Jaquez, it could be the end of the team’s playoff hopes, one year removed from their miraculous run from the eighth seed to the NBA Finals.

Game 5 between the Heat and the Celtics will take place Wednesday night at TD Garden where the goal is to bring the series back to the Kaseya Center. The sole goal of the whole team which was a reoccurring sentiment stated after the ugly Game 4 loss is that they want to give their fans something to root for. Time will tell if that becomes a reality.