The Miami Heat are struggling to stay healthy as their 2023-24 regular season comes to a close. Tonight, they’ll be without several key pieces as they square off against a mostly-healthy Golden State Warriors squad.
According to the NBA’s latest injury report, Miami will definitively be without wings Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Josh Richardson this evening. Richardson is out for the year, but the other two are expected to return at some point before the regular season wraps up. Herro remains shelved due to right foot medial tendinitis, while Robinson is dealing with left facet syndrome.
Several other Miami contributors are merely questionable to suit up for what should be a fairly winnable contest. All-Rookie First Team shoo-in Jaime Jaquez Jr. has already been upgraded to that status after missing the last couple contests due to left ankle discomfort. Backup stretch five Kevin Love (right heel bruise) and forward Caleb Martin (right ankle discomfort) have also been elevated to merely questionable. Jamal Cain, meanwhile, is available to play through a left thumb sprain.
When it comes to the Heat’s two best players, fans have a mixed bag of news ahead of them tonight. All-Star center Bam Adebayo will be available to play through his lower back contusion. All-NBA swingman Jimmy Butler is questionable due to a non-COVID-19 head illness.
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With the absences of Martin and Love, particularly, the Heat have had to lean on lineups heavy on raw talents Nikola Jovic and Haywood Highsmith in the frontcourt. There are just 11 games remaining on Miami’s schedule. There’s just not a big grace period for the hurting Heat pieces to heal.
The team’s defense remains stout, but its offense has had trouble to gel, even after Miami picked up key upgrades mid-season, like point guard Terry Rozier and combo guards Patty Mills and Delon Wright.
The Warriors, meanwhile, have only one player listed on their injury report as of this writing: young reserve center/power forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who’s questionable to play through a sore left knee.
Miami won the two teams’ previous encounter at the Chase Center, 114-102, on December 28, 2023. Thanks to all these injuries, the 39-32 Heat are listed as -3.5 underdogs at home today against the 36-34 Warriors, per The Action Network. Golden State’s own issues with erratic scoring, plus its inflexibility on the other end, may help tip the scales in the Heat’s favor, especially if Butler does play.
The game is slated to tip off at 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Fans can tune in on Bally Sports Sun in Miami and NBC Sports Bay Area in the Northern California area.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.