Boston Celtics superfan Bill Simmons has made it clear that he’s scared of the Miami Heat, remarking multiple times this season that he has a healthy amount of fear for the team that eliminated his Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals this season.
Now Simmons is doubling down on his praise for the Heat, saying he likes the addition of Terry Rozier more than what Damian Lillard could have given them had they pulled off a trade last summer.
“I’m not saying Rozier is better than Dame, but gave up 25% of what they were ready to give up for Dame,” Simmons said on his podcast. “They got to keep Jaquez, they got to keep other first-round picks. Rozier is going to give them 80% of the offensive production of Dame and better defense.”
Bill Simmons thinks the Miami Heat's trade for Terry Rozier could mean trouble for his Boston Celtics.
Lillard is averaging 25.3 points and 6.9 assists this season for the Milwaukee Bucks while shooting 42.7% overall and 35.1% from 3-point range.
In 30 games for the Charlotte Hornets, Rozier averaged 23.2 points and 6.6 assists on 45.9% shooting and 35.8% from 3-point range.
As for the price tag, the Heat were rumored to have dangled two first-round picks, swaps, Tyler Herro and a young player such as rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. or second-year forward Nikola Jovic.
The Heat traded only Kyle Lowry’s expiring contract and a protected, 2027 first-round pick for Rozier.
So when looking at the stats and what it cost the Heat to get Rozier, Simmons’ point – though surprising – makes some sense. There’s no doubt, however, that the Heat got better with the trade.
Now whether Rozier and the Heat meet the top-seeded Celtics again in the playoffs remains to be seen, but even a die-hard Celtics fan like Simmons wants nothing to do with the Heat come playoff time.