Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters missed his third consecutive day of practice, due to “personal reasons.”
Although Waiters has been missing practice, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra expects the 27-year-old to play in the Heat’s preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
After having what he called the “best summer of [his] life,” Waiters has appeared in both of the Heat’s preseason games, averaging 13.0 points and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from three.
The Syracuse University product recently said that he knows why he hasn’t been starting, and it is because Spoelstra wants him to get into better shape. It is unknown if Waiters’ recent absence is due to this.
In three seasons with Miami, Waiters has averaged 14.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, while shooting 36.5 percent from three.
With the regular season starting in less than two weeks, it will be interesting to see what type of role Waiters ends up having in the rotation this season.