Injury list lengthy as postseason looms; Jaquez bounces back with 2 good games
The Heat hopes its regular-season injury issues don’t continue in the postseason. But multiple rotation players are dealing with injuries that have put their status in question for the start of the postseason.
Kevin Love, who has established himself as the backup center, exited Sunday’s regular-season finale with 22.8 seconds left in the first quarter and did not return because of a left upper arm contusion.
Duncan Robinson, who has started in 17 consecutive appearances, missed the final four games of the regular season with a lingering back injury. He initially missed five games last month with the back issue before returning to play in five games and then again being sidelined.
Terry Rozier, who has started in 30 straight appearances, missed the final four games because of neck spasms.
The eighth-seeded Heat faces Philadelphia, the No. 7 seed, in a play-in game Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN). The winner gets the No. 7 seed in the playoffs while the loser gets one more chance to stay alive.
When asked about Love’s injury following Sunday’s game, coach
Erik Spoelstra suggested that it wasn’t too serious.
“He got hit in the arm and it was like a stinger,” Spoelstra said. “So we’ll see how he feels [Monday].”
As for Robinson, he was upgraded to questionable on the Heat’s injury report for Sunday’s game before being ruled out. That could be taken as encouraging news, but his status remains uncertain.
There’s cautious optimism that Rozier will be available Wednesday. He is listed as day-to-day.
Robinson and Rozier have both been sidelined for the last week. The last time they both played was in the April 7 loss to the Pacers in Indianapolis.
“They’re making progress,” Spoelstra said. “I know how badly both of them want to be out here right now. But we’ll just continue to treat them.”
The Heat took Monday off and will practice at Kaseya Center on Tuesday before flying to Philadelphia for Wednesday’s game.
WHAT ROOKIE WALL?
The past few weeks have been a struggle for rookie swingman Jaime Jaquez Jr., but he turned in quality back-to-back performances against the Toronto Raptors to close the regular season.
After scoring 20 points and dishing out a careerhigh nine assists in Friday’s win, Jaquez had 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field along with four rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks in Sunday’s 118-103 victory. Before this two-game stretch, Jaquez had in his previous 16 games averaged just 7.3 points and 2.1 assists while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range.
Now, Jaquez enters the postseason with some momentum.
“Really important,” Spoelstra said following Sunday’s win when asked about Jaquez’s strong two games. “I just mentioned something to him in the locker room after the game that he looked like himself from earlier in the season.
“He has his legs under him, he’s healthy. I think he has a clear mind, he has 70-plus games under his belt. He feels good ... I think he has an idea of what his role is right now. There’s clarity on that.
“We need his offensive production. We need him getting downhill, we need his postups, we need him creating something in those possessions when we get a little bit jammed up and he can create something out of nothing. You can see where he’s improved, his passing has improved, his play-making and we need all of that at this time of year.”
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang
y-Boston x-New York p-Philadelphia Brooklyn Toronto Southeast
y-Orlando p-Miami p-Atlanta Charlotte Washington Central
y-Milwaukee x-Cleveland x-Indiana p-Chicago Detroit
Southwest
y-Dallas p-New Orleans Houston Memphis
San Antonio Northwest
y-Oklahoma City x-Denver x-Minnesota Utah
Portland
Pacific
y-L.A. Clippers x-Phoenix p-L.A. Lakers p-Sacramento p-Golden State
64 50 47 32 25 W
50 49 41 27 22 W
57 57 56 31 21 W
51 49 47 46 46
18 32 35 50 57
L
32 33 41 55 60
L
25 25 26 51 61
L
31 33 35 36 36
.780 .610 .573 .390 .305
Pct
.610 .598 .500 .329 .268
Pct
.695 .695 .683 .378 .256
Pct
.622 .598 .573 .561 .561
p-clinched play-in spot; x-clinched spot; y-clinched division
PLAY-IN GAMES
TUESDAY
WESTERN CONFERENCE
L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 7:30 Golden State at Sacramento, 10
WEDNESDAY
EASTERN CONFERENCE Miami at Philadelphia, 7 Atlanta at Chicago, 9:30
playoff
SUNDAY
Miami 118, Toronto 103
Boston 132, Washington 122 Charlotte 120, Cleveland 110 Indiana 157, Atlanta 115
New York 120, Chicago 119 (OT) Orlando 113, Milwaukee 88 Philadelphia 107, Brooklyn 86 Denver 126, Memphis 111 Phoenix 125, Minnesota 106
L.A. Lakers 124, New Orleans 108 Oklahoma City 135, Dallas 86
San Antonio 123, Detroit 95 Golden State 123, Utah 116 Houston 116, L.A. Clippers 105 Sacramento 121, Portland 82
End of Regular Season
— 14 17 32 39 GB
— 1 9 23 28 GB
— — 1 26 36 GB
— 2 4 5 5