If the Miami Heat are to win what has been an elusive fourth championship banner, they will need more luck than they had last season.
Largely because of their inability to stay healthy, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has named 35 different starting lineups throughout the 2023-24 season. Expecting every player to be available for all 82 games is unrealistic, if not foolhardy. Still, the Heat can’t continue to fail because their best players aren’t on the court.
Miami Herald insider Anthony Chiang provided Update on injuries to two players who started last season: Terry Rozier and Nikola Jovic.
Rozier, who the team acquired in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets last season, has missed the entire 2024 NBA Playoffs with a neck injury. Brought in to bring firepower, a play-initiator and a pick-and-roll operator to the backcourt, the 30-year-old is critical for Miami to maximize its potential.
“I’m currently able to play 5-on-5,” Rozier told Chiang. “But I’m participating in all the activities on the court, I’m playing a little 3-on-3. So I think in the next couple of weeks I’ll move up to 5-on-5. I feel very good.”
Jovic, a first-round pick in 2022, is a little further behind in his rehab process. He feels “close to full fitness.” However, the nature of his injury plays a role in how the Heat approach his rehab process. The 21-year-old suffered a minor fracture in his foot while preparing for the Paris Olympics this summer.
“We make sure my foot is okay after every training session because the injury I suffered is obviously not a joke and we really don’t want any new problems with it,” Jovic says. “So during training camp, I wouldn’t say I’m going to sit out or anything, but of course I just want to make sure everything is okay. If something starts to hurt, I’ll probably have to step away.”
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