Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ellington out versus Magic, return is close
MIAMI —Just when Heat guard Wayne Ellington started to reach a comfort zone, he was dealt yet another setback.
Ellington will miss his second consecutive game because of a strained right hamstring when the Heat play Tuesday against the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“He did a workout [Monday], but he didn’t do anything on the court,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday. “I don’t anticipate he’ll play, but we’ll still have him day to day.”
The Heat are also listing guard Rodney McGruder as questionable after he aggravated a sprained ankle. For Ellington, it marks the second injury that has caused him to miss multiple games. A sore quadriceps kept him out 16 games at the start of the season.
“It’s just a mild strain,” Ellington said. “I think I’m being more cautious than anything. It’s not something that I’m in a great deal of pain or anything like that. It’s just something I felt in the third quarter of the Clippers game. I went to make a sharp cut. I was playing defense. And I just felt a little pain in a certain area in my hamstring. I guess we’re going to monitor and make sure I don’t go out there and injure it worse.”
The injury occurred at the worst possible time. Ellington had made eight consecutive starts before the setback. He said this was the most comfortable he had been in Miami since being acquired during the offseason.
“I wouldn’t say [I’m] behind, but I did miss the first 16 games,” Ellington said. “But I feel like I’m finally hitting some game shape. It takes a little while. You can do all the conditioning you want, but there’s nothing that simulates playing in the game. I feel like I’m finally in the game shape I want to be at.”
Injuries have been the story for the Heat most of this season. Center Hassan Whiteside is the only rotation player not to miss a game due to injury.
“We’ve been a little injury plagued, but it’s not an excuse for us,” Ellington said. “We’ve got a lot of guys at a lot of positions. So, it’s always the next man up. We’ll give other people opportunities and we just have to take advantage of it. I’m sure when we get everybody out there healthy we’ll be able to show what we can do together.”