Just as the Miami Heat was finding some stability in its rotation, more injury issues have popped up ahead of Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.
Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic and Dru Smith did not travel with the Heat to Philadelphia on Friday for the start of its three-game trip because of injuries. And Kevin Love remains away from the Heat because of personal reasons.
While Robinson (left sacroiliac joint dysfunction), Jovic (broken right hand) and Smith (left Achilles surgery) have been out, Wiggins’ injury is new.
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Wiggins remains in Miami and will miss Saturday’s contest because of what the team has listed as “right hamstring tendinopathy.” This comes after he played in the last four games following an injury-riddled start to his Heat tenure.
After being traded to the Heat on Feb. 6 in the Jimmy Butler deal, Wiggins has already missed eight of his first 23 games with Miami because of injuries or illness. He missed one game due to a stomach illness, five games due to a sprained right ankle and two games due to a left lower leg contusion.
When Wiggins has been available, he has been one of the Heat’s best players. He has averaged 19.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game in his first 15 appearances (all starts) with the Heat since the trade.
In addition, Robinson will miss his third straight game Saturday because of a back issue that was first listed as “lower back pain” by the Heat and is now being listed on the injury report as “left sacroiliac joint dysfunction.”
What’s concerning about Robinson’s ailment is the fact that a back injury also limited him toward the end of last season, missing nine of the Heat’s final 14 regular-season games last season because of what the team termed “left facet syndrome.”
When asked if there’s any concern that Robinson could be dealing with a similar back issue late this season, Spoelstra said Tuesday: “He feels better today. I’m not going to go there mentally and I’m sure he doesn’t want to.”
The Heat has not ruled out the possibility of Wiggins and/or Robinson rejoining the team during its three-game trip that continues Monday against the Washington Wizards and ends Wednesday against the Boston Celtics.
Jovic has missed the Heat’s last 18 games because of a broken right hand, but he was cleared this week to resume work on the basketball court. There’s still no timetable for Jovic’s return, though.
Smith is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his ruptured Achilles in late December.
Along with missing Wiggins, Robinson, Jovic, Smith and Love on Saturday against the 76ers, the Heat also ruled out Josh Christopher (G League), Keshad Johnson (G League) and Isaiah Stevens (G League).
The Heat listed Alec Burks as questionable for Saturday’s game because of lower back discomfort. Burks has started the last two games in place of the injured Robinson.
With just nine games left to play this regular season, the Heat stands in 10th place in the Eastern Conference at 32-41. Miami has won three straight games after snapping its long 10-game skid.