Derrick Jones Jr. has neck strain, hopeful for playoff series,
Less than 24 hours after Heat forward Derrick
Jones Jr. left the court on a stretcher following a hard collision in the third quarter of Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers to close the regular season, Jones said Saturday that he was feeling “just a little sore.”
Jones and the team received relatively positive news after the game, with the Heat announcing Friday night that an MRI, CT scan and concussion test revealed a neck strain. Jones will be re-evaluated over the weekend, with Game 1 of the Heat-Pacers first-round playoff series set for Tuesday at 4 p.m.
While Jones said he’s hopeful to play in the upcoming series, he added that he’s “just going day by day right now.”
There was obviously a feeling of relief from those around Jones after the scans revealed a neck strain and not a more serious injury.
“Certainly seeing him on his own two feet joking and smiling and walking around today was very uplifting,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following Saturday’s practice. “I was able to actually meet him in the lobby last night when he was coming back from getting checked out by the doctors and I was relieved seeing him there.
“All of us, when it happened and you see one of your guys being taken out on a stretcher, that’s just a horrible and awful feeling. But thank goodness, he has what he has [Saturday], which is just he’s sore. We can eventually manage with that.”
Heat guard Goran Dragic said of the encouraging news regarding Jones’ injury: “That was the news of the day for everybody. DJ is a big part of this team and we know what he can do, so you now, [Friday], what happened, everybody was worried. Luckily for us, it’s good. So can’t wait to get him back.”
The collision occurred when Jones attempted to run through a screen set by 6-11 and 250-pound Pacers center Goga Bitadze with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter. Jones’ left shoulder and neck absorbed the brunt of the contact.
“They were setting a double [screen] away for Doug McDermott and I saw the first screen, got around it, but the second screen, I didn’t see him,” Jones said of the play. “And just he just came out of nowhere. I hit him.”
Jones immediately fell to the ground and grabbed his neck as he laid face-first on the court for more than five minutes, with Heat teammates and coaches standing and watching on with concern just a few feet away. Jones was rolled off the court on a stretcher, as he held a towel over his face.
“I was in a lot of pain, but I could move my hands, my leg, my feet, everything,” Jones said. “So I mean I knew nothing was like really bad. So they just wanted to take extra precaution and just make sure nothing was actually fractured or anything. So, I’m glad they did.”
Jones, 23, is on the verge of the first sizable contract of his NBA career that’s expected to include an annual salary that’s substantially more than the $1.6 million salary he’s on this season. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Jones, who won the Slam Dunk Contest during AllStar Weekend in February, averaged career highs in points (8.5), assists (1.1), steals (1) and minutes (23.3) in 59 games (16 starts) this season.
If Jones is available for the start of the playoffs, he’s expected to be part of Miami’s rotation as a bench option. He played in all eight seeding games at Disney, averaging 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 15.8 minutes.
CROWDER UPDATE
Heat starting forward Jae Crowder practiced Saturday after missing Friday’s seeding game against the Pacers because of a right knee bruise. He sustained the injury on a knee-to-knee collision with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game between the Heat and Thunder. Crowder did not return to the game following the play.