In the lane

WAITING GAME: Justise Winslow last played in an NBA game on Jan. 8 , when he went 1 6 scoreless minutes for the Heat in a road victory over the Indiana Pacers. He then went back on the Heat injured list with a lower-back bone bruise, was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline, continued his rehabilitation there, and then was forced to shut down his season in the NBA’s Disney World quarantine bubble in July due to a hip injury. Now, the wait continues for the Heat No. 1 0 pick in the 2 0 1 5 draft, with Memphis executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman revealing in the hours after Wednesday’s NBA draft that Winslow will miss the start of the season, yet to make his Grizzlies debut. “It’s unfortunate that the NBA season is starting a little bit earlier than I think we were budgeting for,” Kleiman said of the league’s Dec. 2 2 start.“I would say that Justise is going to return early this season. It might not be day one, but no setbacks. He’s been in our facility in Memphis, working out twice a day, doing an awesome job in his rehab and we’ll be excited to have him early in the season.”

NIGERIAN IMPACT: Nigerian ancestry already was a thing with the Heat and became an even bigger thing for the Heat and the NBA with Wednesday’s draft. Selected at No. 2 0 by the Heat,

Precious Achiuwa was born in Port Harcourt. The previous year, the Heat added KZ Okpala in the second round, with the forward out of Stanford the son of Nigerian parents. In addition, the fathers of Bam Adebayo and Andre Iguodala are Nigerian, with Heat guard

Gabe Vincent the first member of the Nigerian national team to advance to the NBA Finals. With Jazz No. 2 7 pick

Udoka Azubuike joining Achiuwa, Wednesday marked the first time a pair of Nigerians were selected in the first round. Others of Nigerian descent selected Wednesday were Isaac Okoro, Onyeka Okongwu, Zene Nnaji,

Desmond Bane, Daniel Oturu and

Jordan Nwora.

CANDID ARRIVAL: University School product Vernon Carey Jr., selected at No. 3 2 out of Duke by the Charlotte Hornets, found himself part of a particularly candid introductory media session. First there was Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak offering up,“I think he was a little bit out of shape,” of Carey’s play during his lone season with the Blue Devils. Then there was Carey’s revelation off a crash diet after the season.“I lost

3 0 pounds. I’m at 2 4 0 right now,” the 6 -foot-1 0 big man said.“Nothing really changed, just the portions that I eat.” Despite falling out of the first round, it still could fall into place for the son of the former Miami Dolphins tackle, with Cody Zeller the lone center under contract on Charlotte’s season-ending roster.

COURSE COMMENT: His commentary on last weekend’s Masters limited to social media, Andre

Iguodala will find himself with a more direct audience for the Friday’s edition of“The Match.”The Heat forward will serve as a TNT analyst on the charity match pitting Phil Mickelson and

Charles Barkley against Peyton Manning and Iguodala’s former Golden State Warriors teammate

Stephen Curry. Also scheduled to be featured on the broadcast are Peyton’s brother Eli Manning and LPGA golfer Michelle Wie. Tiger Woods’ niece Cheyenne Woods will serve as an on-course reporter. The event is a fundraiser for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

EARLY HOLIDAY: Even amid a pandemic and the NBA’s altered schedule, the Heat pushed through this past week for their 2 9 th Thanksgiving Celebration, with former Heat players Alonzo Mourning, Glen

Rice and Shane Battier helping to distribute 6 0 0 holiday meals in Overtown, as part of a team outreach that extended to Lauderdale Lakes.