Terry Rozier says Heat culture is ‘total opposite’ of Charlotte’s losing mindset: ‘It’s kinda your DNA’

It’s only been weeks since Terry Rozier landed in South Beach after playing four campaigns in Charlotte, and he’s already noticing many differences in mindset between both basketball cities. The Heat culture is a well-known atmosphere that the Florida organization pressures onto their players and staff to live up to their highest standards, which is something non-existent within the Hornets. 

This Tuesday, the 29-year-old attended the press and compared both franchises’ commitment to winning, stating that there is a stark difference. “It’s the total opposite,” he revealed. “When you’re in Charlotte, you’re kind of used to losing. It’s kind of your DNA. … Over here, it’s the total opposite. No one wants to lose. No one is fine with it.”

“It’s no secret. Everybody knows the difference between some organizations in the league,” Terry then added, despite the fact that Miami has lost their last seven matches.

Terry Rozier says losing in Miami is the "complete opposite" 😅

The Heat are on a 7 game losing streak pic.twitter.com/Kn1aQa6qox

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 30, 2024

While the Heat endure their longest-franchise drought since 2008, as they haven’t won a game since January 15, the rest of the squad seem to be feeling quite frustrated over their last performances.

The team’s core is mostly comprised by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, who are in their fifth campaign together as teammates. However, roles as well as supporting casts change as players naturally grow individually.

This growth has their three stars re-learning how to maximize their teammate’s potential this season, especially on their offensive end. The Miami center acknowledges this need to adapt to each other and explained how they are dealing with it.

“The thing is nobody comes back the same, everybody comes back with something added to their repertoire, skill set, different way of taking care of their body, something,” Bam shared this week. “You have guys out, you get used to the usage. And then guys get back healthy and you kind of got to not take a backseat, but basically we got to figure out how we can make these puzzle pieces fit again and get back to being on the same page.”

Miami hope to break their first seven-game skid since 2008 when they play Sacramento this Wednesday night

The South Beach club hopes to beat the Kings this Wednesday evening at home in the Kaseya Center, and hopefully break the longest-losing streak they’ve endured since late in the 2007/28 NBA campaign. Back then, the Heat ended the season with the NBA’s worst record at 15-67.

“We’re still figuring it out,” Tyler Herro told the press before the matchup against Sacramento. “During a seven-game losing streak, it’s not really easy to pinpoint what we’re going to do going into each night when we’re losing. But we’re just trying to win and figure out what works and what doesn’t.”

The Miami squad has scored 113.3 points per 100 possessions during the 323 minutes that Herro, Butler and Adebayo have played together this competition, which is only a bit higher than their overall offensive rating. The ideal scenario would be that when all the are sharing the floor, the Heat’s numbers would skyrocket.

“Just being more aggressive and then also all of us not trying to operate in the same areas – in the midrange and in the paint,” Herro insisted on playing alongside his co-stars. “Just being aggressive, trying to figure out ways where all three of us can be aggressive in the same game.”