Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Oladipo, Yurtseven, Zeller, Butler

March 16th, 2023 at 10:06am CST by Arthur Hill

Wednesday marked the first time this season that Heat guard Victor Oladipo was kept on the bench when he was healthy enough to play, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Oladipo has missed 33 games with a variety of injuries, but he was a DNP-CD against the Grizzlies even though Miami cruised to a 19-point win.

Chiang points out that Oladipo has been ineffective since the All-Star break, shooting just 35.6% from the field, and the Heat have been getting outscored during that time by 8.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the court. Still, coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters that he didn’t intend to bench Oladipo entirely, and his absence was a result of trying to figure out rotation minutes now that the team’s injury issues have subsided.

“How it played out tonight is not necessarily what I had on my card and the first guy I talked to was Vic, obviously,” Spoelstra said. “We have not been in this situation for three or four months, where we’ve had everybody available. I had every intention to play him in that first quarter.”

There’s more from Miami:

Omer Yurtseven played just 2:11 in the first half Wednesday before being replaced by Haywood Highsmith, Chiang adds. There was hope that Yurtseven could take over the backup center role after returning from November ankle surgery, but he has struggled in his first three games back on the court. Spoelstra was visibly upset with Yurtseven’s defense in Wednesday’s game, Chiang observes, but the coach indicated that he’ll still get more opportunities. “O is working,” Spoelstra said. “He’s doing what he needs to do behind the scenes and drilling and working and preparing and watching film. There’s a lot of expectations in those minutes. But he’ll be prepared, he’ll be ready.”
Cody Zeller sat out Wednesday with a broken nose, but the team is expecting him back in “a couple of days,” Chiang tweets. When he returns, the veteran center will likely wear a mask, just as he did when he broke his nose last season with the Trail Blazers.
Jimmy Butler, who had been averaging 26.1 PPG since the All-Star break, continued his outstanding play with 18 first-half points Wednesday, but got a much-needed rest in the fourth quarter with the Heat leading comfortably, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Butler’s recent outburst has kept Miami in the race to avoid the play-in tournament, trailing the Nets by just two games with 11 left to play.“We need every bit of it,” Spoelstra said of Butler’s aggressiveness. “He’s not going to take his foot off the pedal.”

Southeast Notes: Richards, Carter, Lowry, Yurtseven

March 12th, 2023 at 3:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hornets center Nick Richards has enjoyed a career year in Charlotte, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Boone wonders if Richards, who is eligible for restricted free agency this summer, has carved out enough of a role to warrant consideration as a long-term member of the rebuilding club’s roster. Richards is averaging a career-best 7.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.0 BPG this season.

“I’m just trying to be more consistent,” Richards said of his improvement this season. “I’m just getting as many blocks as possible, getting as many rebounds as possible. That’s my job, that’s what I’m here for. So, I’ve just got to do it to the best of my ability.”

Boone tweets that Richards will most likely earn another start tonight, as nominal starter Mark Williams is considered doubtful to play through a right thumb sprain.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

In his first contest back with the Magic following a three-game absence, a big overtime victory over the Heat, starting center Wendell Carter Jr. helped galvanize his team, writes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. The 6’10” big man scored 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Orlando’s 126-114 win. Price notes that the Magic’s defensive efficiency suffered mightily with Carter sidelined.
After being sidelined for 15 straight games with a sore knee, Heat point guard Kyle Lowry played off the bench for the first time since January 2013 in Saturday’s loss to Orlando, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (subscriber link). Gabe Vincent drew the start. Lowry is adjusting to the change, having started for 677 consecutive games. “At this point, I know in my heart I’m a starter,” Lowry said. “(Head coach Erik Spoelstra) and I talked and he wants to make sure I’m healthy and not have to change the lineup again and change the rotation. Great communicator he is, great coach he is, I respect (that).”
Heat reserve center Omer Yurtseven made his first appearance this season after Cody Zeller broke his nose and had to depart the Magic game, Jackson adds. Yurtseven, a restricted free agent this summer, had just one rebound, one missed shot, and a foul in seven minutes.

Injury Notes: Brunson, Wagner, Zeller, Mathurin, Kuminga, Duren

March 11th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

X-rays on Jalen Brunson‘s sore left foot were negative, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters before Saturday’s game that Brunson is feeling “a little better” and is considered day-to-day. He added that the injury has officially been diagnosed as a bruise.

“When he’s healthy enough, he goes,” Thibodeau said. “So just do the rehab, talk to the medical people and when he gets cleared, he’s cleared and then he’ll play.”

Brunson has missed three of the team’s last four games, playing just 19 minutes Thursday in Sacramento. The Knicks have now dropped three in a row, and it’s uncertain if Brunson will be available as their road trip continues Sunday against the Lakers and Tuesday vs. the Trail Blazers.

There’s more injury news to pass along:

X-rays on Magic forward Franz Wagner were negative after he left Saturday’s game with a right ankle injury, tweets Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Wagner has been diagnosed with an ankle sprain.
Heat center Cody Zeller left the same game with a broken nose after a collision with Orlando’s Jalen Suggs in the first quarter, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami was already missing Caleb Martin, who sat out the game with knee soreness, and Duncan Robinson, who was placed in health and safety protocols.
Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin sat out Saturday after spraining his ankle this week and has already been ruled out of Monday’s game, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Coach Rick Carlisle said Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and T.J. McConnell will also be held out Monday.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Jonathan Kuminga is considered day-to-day after spraining his ankle during warmups on Thursday, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kuminga didn’t play Saturday, but he was on the team’s bench without a walking boot, Slater adds (Twitter link).
Pistons rookie center Jalen Duren feels fully recovered from the bilateral ankle soreness that caused him to miss six games, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “Just being out a couple weeks, I was itching to get back and trying to play and finish out the season strong,” Duren said. “I’ve been working, I don’t know if y’all can tell but I got a little bigger. I feel good.”

Eastern Notes: Lowry, Martin, Robinson, Ivey, Bitadze

March 11th, 2023 at 4:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Kyle Lowry‘s teammates are thrilled to have him back with the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The veteran point guard has been sidelined for the past 15 games due to left knee soreness, but he was upgraded to questionable for Saturday’s contest in Orlando and is expected to play tonight, Chiang adds.

“That’s my brother. I’m glad to have him back,” Heat star Jimmy Butler said of of Lowry. “He’s going to change the game in so many ways for this team. He’s going to help us get in a groove, he’s going to help us win some games down the stretch moving into the most important part of the season.”

As forward Caleb Martin notes, the Heat haven’t had their whole roster healthy for the grand majority of the season, so he’s looking forward to seeing what they can do.

“I just want to have everybody healthy and available, and figure out where we’re going, who is going to be doing what and what roles,” Martin said when asked about Lowry’s return. “The more time we spend together as a whole, it’s going to be better for everybody. I just love when everybody is available to play and I love when everybody is healthy.”

Unfortunately, Martin was later ruled out for Saturday’s matchup due to knee soreness, according to Chiang. He hadn’t missed a game since January 14.

Here’s more from the East:

Heat swingman Duncan Robinson has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will be out for Saturday’s matchup with Orlando, Chiang relays in the same story. He didn’t play in Friday’s victory over Cleveland due to an illness, which was presumably later discovered to be COVID-19.
Pistons guard Jaden Ivey has also entered the health and safety protocols, per Alberto De Roa of HoopsHype. He will at minimum be sidelined for Saturday’s game against Indiana. Last year’s No. 5 overall pick is averaging 15.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 4.9 APG on .415/.331/.732 shooting through 62 games (30.2 MPG) as a rookie for Detroit.
Goga Bitadze signed with the Magic as a free agent last month after he was released by Indiana. The fourth-year center has played limited minutes with his new club, but he’s taking advantage of his opportunities on the offensive glass, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link). “They make it easy for me to adjust,” Bitadze said. “Whatever coach (Jamahl Mosley) wants me to do, I’m going to go out there and do it.” The fourth-year center is averaging 5.6 PPG and 4.6 RPG (2.0 ORB) in 12.2 MPG through five games with the Magic.

Kyle Lowry Expected To Return On Saturday

March 10th, 2023 at 10:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Heat point guard Kyle Lowry is traveling with the team and is expected to return to action on Saturday in Orlando, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Lowry has been battling left knee soreness, having last played on February 2. He has missed the past 15 games as a result of the injury, with Miami going 7-8 over that span.

The Heat reportedly dangled Lowry in trade talks ahead of last month’s deadline, but were unable to find any takers due to the combination of his age (he turns 37 in a couple weeks), large contract ($28.33MM this season, $29.68MM in 2023/24), and health problems.

A six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion with the Raptors, Lowry has seen his production drop off in ’22/23, likely in part due to his knee issue. He’s averaging 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.3 APG and 1.1 SPG on .396/.333/.855 shooting through 44 games (33.3 MPG).

It’s unclear if Lowry will immediately reclaim his spot in the starting lineup; Gabe Vincent had been starting in his place. The 17-year veteran has started every game in his first two years with the Heat and hasn’t come off the bench since the ’12/13 season, but it’s reasonable to assume he might be on a minutes restriction after a lengthy absence.

Lowry’s return comes at a critical time for the Heat, as they’re fighting for a top-six seed and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. After beating Cleveland on Friday, they’re currently 36-32, the No. 7 seed in the East.

Ups And Downs Of Oladipo's Season; Where Things Stand For Orlando Robinson

March 10th, 2023 at 9:30pm CST by Rory Maher

Victor Oladipo has had plenty of highs and lows in 2022/23. He missed the first 24 games of the season with a knee injury, but he played in his 35th game on Friday night versus Cleveland and appears on track to play his most games since 2018/19, when he suffered a major quad injury. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, Oladipo has struggled with inconsistency on offense, but has played solid defense thus far. “Everybody goes through stuff, everybody goes things,” the Heat guard said. “It’s about how you have resolve and how resilient you are, it really defines who you are as a person and defines who you are as a man. So I’m just going to continue to keep getting better and staying aggressive.”
The Heat signed a couple of frontcourt veterans last month in Kevin Love and Cody Zeller, which removed Orlando Robinson from the rotation. The rookie center, who is on a two-way deal with Miami, only has four active games remaining as part of his contract, so the temporary plan is to send Robinson back to the G League for playing time, Chiang writes in a subscriber-only story for The Miami Herald. The Heat have enough wiggle room beneath the tax line to convert Robinson to a standard deal if they want to, but the problem is their 15-man roster is full, so they don’t appear to be in any rush on that decision, Chiang notes.

Kevin Love Getting Minutes In Miami, But Production Lagging

March 10th, 2023 at 7:49am CST by Luke Adams

After not playing at all during his last few weeks in Cleveland, Kevin Love has started his first seven games and averaged 22.2 minutes per night for the Heat. However, he’s not getting the results he hoped for so far, posting a shooting line of just .396/.242/.875, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Nonetheless, head coach Erik Spoelstra still believes Love is a “great fit” for Miami’s starting five. “It’s a short period of time, but he really complements that starting group,” Spoelstra said.

Kevin Love: Leaving Cavaliers Was “Incredibly Hard”

March 9th, 2023 at 10:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love ended his time with the Cavaliers after nearly nine seasons when he accepted a buyout last month, but leaving Cleveland wasn’t an easy choice, he tells Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Love, who signed with the Heat, talked about the decision to move on after facing his former team for the first time Wednesday night.

“Professionally, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do without question,” Love said. “I think you guys know how much I love Cleveland and Ohio. All the fans there have always supported me and the team. Naturally, winning there makes it bigger than guys like myself, Kyrie (Irving), Bron (LeBron James). Even here I look up and see the championship banners and I’m like, ‘That’s special.’ I go back to Brecksville and I’m like, ‘We did that. We really did that.’ That was incredibly hard to do after eight and a half seasons.”

Although Love still feels a strong attachment to Cleveland, he wanted to find a situation where he could still play. Love had been out of the Cavs’ lineup since January 24, missing several games due to lower back pain and then being pulled from the rotation when Dean Wade returned from injury.

Love wasn’t effective this season and it became harder for coach J.B. Bickerstaff to find minutes for him. The 34-year-old forward shot just 38.9% from the floor in 41 games and was a glaring liability on defense as rival teams targeted him in the pick-and-roll. A lingering thumb injury also limited his effectiveness.

“I think it was a really tough decision for him to take me out of the lineup,” Love said of Bickerstaff. “I think they wanted to go young and stick with those guys, especially Ricky (Rubio) and Dean getting back from injury. They wanted to get the guys more minutes. But the natural frustration is you want to be out there, you want to have those conversations in the locker room, you want to be in those timeouts, those type of situations.

“I think it like all came so fast for me and there wasn’t any prospect of me going back out there and playing — and I wanted that. I was hungry for that. I was foaming at the mouth for that. Those were really tough conversations, but those are ones that I’m grateful they had with me so I was able to find something else and find a place where I could be happy and play.”

According to Fedor, Love reached out to Wade after finalizing his buyout to let him know there was no animosity and to encourage him to take advantage of his opportunity. He also talked to Rubio, his teammate in Minnesota before they reunited in Clevland, about taking over as the team’s veteran leader.

Love remains close to his former teammates and is still on their group text chat, Fedor adds. He greeted several of them before Wednesday’s game and said it’s an odd feeling to see them on the opposing sideline.

Winding up in Miami was an unexpected development for Love, who was hoping to retire in Cleveland. Now he’s adjusting to a new team that could potentially meet the Cavs in a playoff series.

“That’s in my mind and my vision, I thought it would be Cleveland without a doubt, especially after last year and the start of this year,” Love said. “Now you’ve got to put that in the rearview. It is tough after eight and a half years, moving in the middle of the season and still living out of a hotel, but in terms of welcoming me with open arms and a class organization, the Miami Heat have been just unbelievable. I can see why they have that rich history and have had so much success because they have been so good to me.”

Latest Injury Updates On Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love

March 8th, 2023 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat guard Kyle Lowry will miss his 14th consecutive game due to left knee soreness when Miami hosts the Cavaliers on Wednesday, but there’s still optimism he’ll return before the end of the season, and perhaps even within the next week, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. In other Heat injury news, Kevin Love (right rib contusion) has been upgraded to probable, so there’s a good chance he’ll be available to face his old team on Wednesday.

Love Questionable To Play Vs. Cavs

March 7th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat play Kevin Love‘s former team on Wednesday but it’s uncertain whether the veteran power forward will suit up. He’s listed as questionable against Cleveland due to a rib contusion, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Love missed the Heat’s two-point win over Atlanta on Monday.