- Two-way Heat signee Derrick Walton Jr. has already spent at least 22 days with the big league club, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. The new contract format permits players to spend 45 games total with the NBA squad and the rest with a team in the G League.
- It’s reasonable to picture Heat president Pat Riley showing an interest in Paul George if he were to be made available by the Thunder. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel discussed the possibility in a question-and-answer feature with readers.
After undergoing an MRI on Sunday, Heat forward James Johnson has been diagnosed with right ankle bursitis, the team announced (via Twitter). Johnson, who won’t travel with the Heat during this week’s road trip to Boston and Atlanta, is expected to miss the next seven to 10 days, according to the club. That timetable would put him on track to be out for at least four games, if not more.
The Heat now have five players on the shelf with various injuries, but it seems unlikely that the team will receive a hardship provision to add an extra player to its roster. Justise Winslow appears to be getting close to returning, and Johnson’s injury shouldn’t be a long-term issue. A hardship exception can be granted if four or more players have missed at least three games apiece and will continue to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
James Johnson may be the latest addition to the Heat’s long list of injured players, writes Ira Winderman of The-Sun Sentinel. Johnson will have an MRI today to determine the extent of a lower-leg issue that forced him to leave Saturday’s game. He is in the midst of another productive season, averaging 10.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 28 games, and an extended absence would be a significant blow to a team already reeling from injuries.
The Heat have dealt with a plethora of injuries this season but, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes, the team is slowly but surely making progress. Hassan Whiteside, for example, has started doing on-court work for the first time since being sidelined eight games ago.
While there’s still no timetable for Whiteside’s return, Heat fans can take solace in the fact that head coach Erik Spoelstra seems convinced that Rodney McGruder will return to the court by the end of the season.
“I will not answer [in more detail] because he will read it and take it as major progress and then start banging on my door and say I’m ready to play,” the Heat coach said. “He’s out of the boot and doing more work, all non-impact at this point.”
Finally, there was hope that Justise Winslow would be able to return within the week for the Heat. The forward received optimistic MRI results after injuring his knee on Wednesday. Spoelstra, however, pumped the brakes on that one saying that he wouldn’t commit to that timetable. Winslow is currently limited to bicycle and pool work.
The Heat haven’t publicly expressed an interest in bringing Dion Waiters off the bench but that hasn’t deterred the 26-year-old from advocating for his role as a starter anyway. Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post writes that Waiters views himself as a starter in the NBA.
“I’m a starter in this league, man, that’s who I am. We’re going to nip that in the bud right now. I’m not coming off no bench,” the guard said.
Waiters argues that he’s never enjoyed a reserve role and only reluctantly accepted it during previous stops in his career. Over the course of his six-year-career, Waiters has started nearly half of his games in the NBA.
There’s more out of Miami this morning:
- The Heat are in a holding pattern with Hassan Whiteside‘s knee injury, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports. “There is no time table, let’s make no assumptions about that,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s doing a lot better. He’s been working out two, sometimes three times a day.”
- A lingering tendon injury in his shooting elbow continues to plague Dion Waiters. As a result, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes, he’ll experiment with a shooting sleeve for the first time in his career.
- The Heat like what they see in Bam Adebayo but aren’t about to hastily ship Hassan Whiteside out of town to facilitate his long-term development. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel discusses the two big men in a question-and-answer feature with readers.
James Johnson re-signed with the Heat on a four-year, $60MM deal over the summer and recently spoke with Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders to discuss how great it is to have a long-term contract.
“It really meant everything to me,” Johnson said of landing that four-year deal. “To be in a situation in my life to overcome so much, and to finally get something like that where it’s long-term, where it’s somewhere I really want to be too, it was just all-in-all the best scenario.”
Johnson bounced around the league during his first eight seasons, spending time with the Raptors (two stints), Bulls, Kings, and Grizzlies before finding his way to South Beach. He has seen many NBA franchises from the inside and he believes the Heat’s culture sets them apart.
“Just their want-to, they’re no excuses, act like a champion on and off the court, and just that mental stability of always teaching you, not just drills, not just coaching just because they’re called coaches,” Johnson said. “They really inspire, they really help out, and it makes you want to be in that work environment.”
Many players chase stats or role as they look to cash on a new contract. Johnson explains how having a long-term deal at the age of 30 puts him in position to simply focus on winning.
“I got paid, so there’s no pressure of playing for the money,” Johnson added. “It’s really playing for the wins, playing for your teammates, and playing with a pure heart, not going out there with any agendas, not going out there looking to live up to something that everybody else wants you to live up to. For me, it’s just gelling with our team and making sure our locker room is great like I was mentioning. Go out there and compete and trust each other.”
The Heat experienced some déjà vu during their game against the Nets in Mexico City on Saturday as former champion Chris Bosh was in attendance for the team’s 101-89 victory. It was a welcome sight for many of Bosh’s former teammates and coaches, including Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel writes.
“We’ve been in touch. He looks good,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “His family, his kids are doing well. I love CB. He’s Heat family for life but man it’s strange. You see him and it’s like you go back to 2012 just like that. You realize how fast times goes by in this league.”
Bosh has not played in nearly two seasons after his issue with blood clots was ruled career-ending following a medical review by the NBA and the players’ union earlier this year. Bosh reached a unique agreement with the Heat in July where his salary would longer count against the team’s salary cap after he was waived.
We noted last month that Bosh was “keeping his options open” regarding his future as an active player. However, given his medical complications, it remains a longshot that an NBA team will give him a chance to resume his career.
Check out other Heat news below:
- Also from the Sun Sentinel’s Shandel Richardson, Heat forward Justise Winslow has taken a demotion to the bench in stride and is finding success in that role. “I didn’t really take it as a bad thing or a good thing,” Winslow said. “For me, I just see it as an opportunity to be even more of a playmaker with that second group especially with the great spot up shooters we have in Wayne [Ellington] and Tyler [Johnson].”
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes that Erik Spoelstra thrives under stability with the Heat, something David Fizdale and other recently dismissed coaches have not been afforded. Spoelstra has been the head coach in Miami through the era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Bosh, and in recent years during a rebuilding stage. He feels that teams will need patience to compete and that stability with coaches is critical.
- The Heat entered this season hoping that their 30-11 second-half record last year was more indicative of their true talent level than their 11-30 first half. So far though, they’ve essentially split the difference, with an 11-13 mark. As the club struggles to get above .500, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald explores whether it was a misstep to give lucrative, long-term deals to James Johnson and Dion Waiters.
Dion Waiters has shown improvements to his game but Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra wants to see his guard take further steps to improve his all-around game, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes.
“I really like the progress he’s making,” Spoelstra said of Waiters. “I know his shooting numbers aren’t showing it right now, not necessarily his turnovers. I think those will come down. I think his shooting percentage will come up because he’s starting to understand different reads, different coverages, the responsibility of having to make plays for our basketball team.”
Waiters, 25, is enjoying another solid season in Miami after he enjoyed a breakout campaign last season. Waiters signed a four-year, $52MM deal to remain with the Heat. While the improvements are noticeable, Spoelstra added that Waiters needs to maintain his focus throughout each game and not lose focus.
“Now, the other side of that is helping him improve all the other 45 minutes of the game offensively, which he is coming a long way,” Spoelstra said.
Below you can read more news out of the Miami Heat organization:
- In his Ask Ira column, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel addressed the Heat’s decision to start both Bam Adebayo and Justise Winslow. While neither man is a scoring threat, Spoelstra prefers to replace injured players with “someone who least impacts the overall rotation.” Thus, it allows the Heat to start with one lineup and gradually mix in other players throughout the game.
- In another installment of Ask Ira, Winderman breaks down the Heat roster and examines why it has been difficult for the team to achieve consistency.
- December 15 will be the first day teams can trade players who were signed during this past offseason. While the Heat have not made a December trade in their 30+ years of existence, Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel breaks down the likelihood of Miami swinging a deal and which players could be on the trading block.
Having missed the Heat’s game on Wednesday in New York, veteran center Hassan Whiteside appears set to be sidelined for at least another week or two of action. The Heat have issued a press release announcing that Whiteside, diagnosed with a left knee bone bruise, will undergo rehab on that knee over the next “one to two weeks.”
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra initially downplayed the seriousness of Whiteside’s injury, but the center contradicted his coach’s assessment earlier this week, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel detailed. While Whiteside didn’t speculate on whether it has affected his play this season, he said that the bone bruise – which he suffered in the Heat’s regular season opener – had been “really” bothering him since opening night.
“You know, I sat out, I missed them games, I came back, and it’s still bothering me,” Whiteside said. Asked if the pain in his knee is worse when he runs, jumps, or absorbs contact, Whiteside replied, “Everything, man, everything.”
The injury is a concern for the Heat, who are already missing Rodney McGruder and Okaro White, and are off to a 10-11 start this season — they’re 2-4 without Whiteside in their lineup. It’s possible Whiteside will be ready to get back on the court within the next couple weeks, but the 28-year-old says he won’t return until he’s fully healed, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets. It’s not clear how long that will take.
In the meantime, Kelly Olynyk and rookie Bam Adebayo should see increased roles, while little-used bigs Jordan Mickey and Udonis Haslem could earn a few minutes too.