The Miami Heat are expected to have Derrick Jones Jr. available for action for Sunday afternoon’s game in Brooklyn.
If he plays, it would be his first game since suffering an injured left hip last month.
Derrick Jones Jr. (hip) returned to practice today and is listed as probable for tomorrow’s game vs the Nets.
KZ Okpala (Achilles) will not play.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) November 30, 2019
Jones has missed 10 games as a result of the issue, which began when he left the Nov. 7 clash against the Phoenix Suns after playing just nine minutes. In his four games with the Heat this season, Jones is averaging 14.3 minutes per game, while scoring 7.0 points and grabbing 2.0 rebounds per contest.
The 22-year-old Jones came to the Heat after first seeing action as an undrafted free agent for the Suns. After splitting time between Phoenix and the franchise’s G League team, the Suns released him in December 2017.
The Heat signed him to a two-way contract weeks later.
Despite playing in only 14 games for the Heat during the 2017-18 season, Jones was re-signed by the team in July of last year. In 60 games last season, which included 14 starts, Jones averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
The hip problem for Jones is one of a number of injuries that the Heat have dealt with during the early portion of the 2019-20 season. Despite those concerns, the Heat have continued to win at an impressive rate.
The Heat are currently tied with the Boston Celtics for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference with a 13-5 mark. From a league-wide perspective, the Heat and Celtics are tied for the fifth-best record in the NBA.
Having won two of their last three games, the Heat will follow up their Sunday game with back-to-back road matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, respectively.
