The Miami Heat are hopeful that Victor Oladipo will return after he suffered a knee injury.
“He tweaked that area around that quad injury that kept him out for almost a full year,” said ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski of Oladipo’s injury and stint on the injured list. “It’s been precautionary in nature. They expect him back to play.”
Oladipo suffered the injury in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The fact that it was a non-contact injury scared the Heat and their fans.
There is currently no timetable for his return.
Oladipo, a two-time NBA All-Star, was acquired a few weeks ago from the Houston Rockets in return for Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk.
His acquisition gave Heat fans some tangible hope that, after a frustrating season, the team may have a real shot of returning to the NBA Finals.
Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, many key players on the team have been out due to injury or being placed in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
The Heat are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. With the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics catching fire, Miami may need to get hot itself in order to avoid the necessity of winning the play-in tournament to make the postseason.