If the Miami Heat are going to capture what’s been an elusive fourth championship banner, they’ll need better luck than last season.
Largely due to their inability to stay healthy, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra 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. Nonetheless, the Heat can’t keep coming up short because their best players aren’t on the floor.
Miami Herald insider Anthony Chiang has provided injury updates on 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, missed all of the 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 key to Miami maximizing its potential.
“Where I’m at right now is just about fully, fully, fully cleared to play 5-on-5,” Rozier told Chiang. “But I am doing every on-court activity, playing a little bit of 3-on-3. So I figure in the next couple weeks, I’ll be graduating to 5-on-5. I feel great.”
Jovic, a late first-round pick in 2022, is a bit further behind in his rehab process. He feels “almost fully healthy.” However, the nature of his injury is playing a role in how the Heat approach his rehab process. The 21-year-old sustained a minor foot fracture while preparing for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
“We’re making sure that my foot is good after every practice because the injury I had is of course not a joke and we really don’t want any new problems with it,” Jovic relays. “So during training camp, I wouldn’t say I’m going to sit down or anything, but of course you just want to make sure that everything is good. If something starts hurting by any chance, I’ll probably need to step away.”
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