MIAMI – With the Miami Heat facing the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, the team looks to come off the All-Star break on a good note, especially for a player like Terry Rozier. As the Heat looks to contend hopefully for a big playoff push, Rozier spoke to ClutchPoints after Thursday’s practice on mentally and physically where he is at after the break.

There is no doubt that Rozier has had a disappointing season where after having a stay in the starting lineup, he is coming off the bench as usually one of the first handful of players to do so. To get back on track, the break was “well-needed” and calls this time of the year “exciting.”

“Well needed, well needed,” Rozier said. “I ain’t got to see these guys’ face for a couple days. Wake up, get the time I need. But you know, I’m happy to be back and get another crack at it, make this last push. So, you know, this is an exciting time of the year for me. So, um, you know, I’m happy.”

Terry Rozier believes he can be a “big help” to the Heat

So far this season, Rozier has been averaging 12.4 points, 4,1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 40.7 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc. While Rozier acknowledges the frustration he’s had with Miami in terms of his performance, he still believes he can be a “big help” in terms of getting this team to the postseason with 29 games left.

“I mean, that’s just what you trying to get out,” Rozier said of becoming his best self. “Teah, I know I could always be better. You could always be better. And obviously, the season wasn’t going like I how like, but you know, it’s not over. You can still make this push, and I know I can. I can be a big help with that.”

Heat’s Terry Rozier envisions he’ll “appreciate the struggle”

Rozier was traded to the Heat before the trade deadline last season where it was in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets. At one point, Rozier was considered to be the piece for Miami that could take them over the hump alongside Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro.

Even the starting backcourt duo of Herro and Rozier was showing flashes last year especially to start the current season, but that has since faded away. Add on the disappointment with Rozier in a federal investigation connected to sports betting, though the NBA found no wrong-doing, it’s another hurdle for the 30-year-old star to jump over, though he mentioned he can “appreciate the struggle.”

“I think it’s just going to make when everything settles in and have a successful season, I think I can appreciate the struggle even more,” Rozier said. “So it’s part of it, not I’m not even worried about it. I move on from it. I don’t get caught up on the s*** that happened, you know, a week ago or last week, just keep moving forward.”

As Rozier looks to turn his and Miami’s season around, it doesn’t matter where on the floor, but he wants to make a “huge impact” with the team around him.

“Just make a huge impact, whatever that takes, whatever that looks like,” Rozier said. “Whether it’s offense, defense, make a huge impact on the team.”

At any rate, the Heat are 25-28 which puts them ninth in the Eastern Conference as they start a three-game road trip in Toronto on Friday.