As the Miami Heat deal with murky injury updates ahead of Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls, there is no denying how undermanned the team will be in the rematch from Thursday night. While the Heat are looking to get out of eighth seed purgatory, the team needs to be healthy, with Saturday being another hurdle, as key guards will miss the contest.
The key starter that's in question is point guard Davion Mitchell, who will be absent for the game against the Bulls, as he continues to deal with a left shoulder sprain.
Saturday will mark the ninth in the last 11 games that Mitchell has missed, and also his sixth straight. He's been vital as Miami's starting point guard, leading the Heat by averaging 7.2 assists to go along with nine points per game on 47 percent shooting from the field.
Along with Mitchell, Miami will also miss other guards such as Norman Powell due to “personal reasons,” as he leads the team in averaging 23 points per game. Plus, in what has been an unfortunate common occurrence, Tyler Herro will be missed with a rib injury that is listed as “Right Costochondral; Injury to the Ribs,” making Saturday his ninth straight absence and 39th total missed game.
Heat's Erik Spoelstra doesn't want to rush Davion Mitchell's recovery
Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) dribbles down the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Paycom Center.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Article Continues Below
There's no denying Mitchell's importance to the team as the Heat gave the guard a $24 million contract last offseason after he stood out in the latter half of the season, after being traded to Miami in the multi-team Jimmy Butler deal. Head coach Erik Spoelstra would speak on wanting to be careful with Mitchell's injury and how rookie Kasparas Jakucionis and Dru Smith have done well filling in.
“He's our point of attack defender, and our pace is great with him. While he's been out, I think Kas [Jakucionis] and Dru [Smith] have done a very good job with both of those things,” Spoelstra said before Wednesday's loss to the Orlando Magic. “They just do it in a different way. We miss him, but we want to be smart about it. I think if he was just doing non-contact right now, he'd be fine. So we're just going to continue to treat him, and then he's doing more and more on the court…”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about Davion Mitchell missing another game, if it’s long-term, and what the team misses when he isn’t there:
“He’s a point of attack defender and our pace is great with him…we miss him, but we want to go be smart about it…” #HeatNation
Full response: pic.twitter.com/lRrb3JdU5c
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) January 28, 2026
The Heat are 26-23, putting them eighth in the East as they take on the Bulls Saturday and Sunday.