Heat small forward Derrick Jones Jr. will be out for an extended period after an MRI revealed two right knee bone bruises, according to a team press release. He will begin treatment immediately and be re-evaluated in six weeks, the statement adds.
That means Jones won’t even begin practicing until at least early to mid-March, so the knee bruises could be a season-ending ailment. He suffered the injury during the second quarter on Sunday at New York.
Jones had emerged as a steady presence in the Heat rotation despite a logjam at the wing positions. He posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Cleveland on Friday. Jones also reached double figures in points on nine other occasions since mid-December. For the season, he’s averaging 7.4 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 18.1 MPG over 37 games.
The undrafted Jones, 21, began his career with Phoenix during the 2016/17 campaign. Jones’ injury should open up more playing time for Wayne Ellington, who started against the Knicks, and Dion Waiters. Both have been unhappy with their minutes.
Still extremely lucky it wasnt worse. That’s the 3rd or 4th time he has gotten super lucky with some kind of potential bad injury lol. I thought he arguably should have been the starting 3 moving forward. Hopefully he heals up. Would have been nice to have seen him in the dunk contest
Tough to remember a guy more aggressive going to the rim. His style is explosive, plus his 3 point shooting has improved a lot.