The health status of Miami Heat forward Luol Deng has been in question over the past six games, with a hamstring injury keeping him off the court during that time. However, Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald is reporting that Deng is expected to play in the team’s Wednesday night road contest against the Charlotte Hornets.
While Deng is officially listed as questionable, he was quoted in a tweet by Skolnick as saying that he should play in the game:
Luol Deng: "It looks like I'm going to play."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) December 8, 2015
That comment came after the team went through a Tuesday morning practice, and was the first of three rapid-fire tweets by Skolnick. The next focused on Deng’s belief that he could have helped Miami in the smaller lineup they used in last night’s 114-103 loss to the Washington Wizards:
Luol Deng says he watched last night and thought he could have helped in small lineup, especially on closeouts & switches
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) December 8, 2015
That was then followed by Deng stating that his hamstring appeared to weather the practice. However, Deng indicated that a final decision would likely be made after the team’s shootaround on Wednesday:
Luol Deng says there were no issues with the hamstring today, and will see how it feels in Charlotte, but as of now, he intends to play.
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) December 8, 2015
Deng’s absence from the lineup has elevated Gerald Green to the starting lineup, while the duo of rookie Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson has seen more time on the court to pick up the slack.
The Heat has gone 3-3 in Deng’s absence, and in the 13 games he’s played this season, he’s averaged 10.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, with both numbers being below his career averages.
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