While the Miami Heat are on a four-game winning streak after beating the Philadelphia 76ers last Saturday, the team did it without a key piece in Andrew Wiggins. With the Heat missing such players as Wiggins and Duncan Robinson, head coach Erik Spoelstra speaks on possible updates regarding the former Golden State Warriors star.
Wiggins is currently suffering from “right hamstring tendinopathy” which is his fourth issue since joining Miami despite a relatively durable career in the NBA. When asked about Wiggins' status at Monday's shootaround ahead of the contest against the Washington Wizards, Spoelstra would say he is making progress even if a “timetable” is unclear according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“I don’t have any timetable on it,” Spoelstra said. “But he’s definitely making some progress.”
Spoelstra will be followed up about the chance Wiggins returning before the end of the regular season as there is seven games left after Monday night's game which he is already ruled out. He would simply say “I don’t have an update” in regards to Wiggins' hamstring injury for which he missed the last two games.
ClutchPoints was told before the road trip that Wiggins didn't travel with the team for the road trip though didn't rule out a possibility of the 30-year-old joining the team, though there is one more chance next Wednesday. This is not the only time Spoelstra has complimented Wiggins in how he impacts the team when on the floor, especially as the third option besides Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
Andrew Wiggins makes the Heat “different” per Erik Spoelstra
Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) reacts after shooting the basketball against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter at Kaseya Center.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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As Wiggins was looking for a fresh start with the Heat after being traded from the Warriors, it has been a frustrating one so far due to the availability. When he's on the floor, he has been productive as with Miami, he's averaging 19.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three-point range in the 15 games played for the team out of 24 since being on the roster.
“Yeah, we feel really good about where our game is when he’s available,” Spoelstra said on Wiggins. “So we’re just focused on getting his body feeling right. We’ve all seen it and that’s enough. We have the continuity, enough of it, because he’s a plug-and-fit-in guy. He just makes us different. We all feel it, we all see it. So the priority is just getting his body right.”
Before the win over the 76ers, Spoelstra would mention how the hamstring had “been getting tight” and that him being out “is the right step.”
“It’s been getting tight the last two games,” Spoelstra said. “We feel this is the right step, right now. We will see how he progresses. There’s been a lot of things this year that you can’t even explain, different guys going out at not the most ideal times. I know Wiggs just really wants to be out here. And everybody can see it – when he’s out there, he makes us different.”
At any rate, Miami looks to make it five straight wins on Monday night when taking on the Wizards as the road trip finishes on Wednesday when they face the Boston Celtics.