The Miami Heat have provided several injury updates ahead of their matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Miami has upgraded forward Nikola Jovic to questionable for the contest after he missed the last two games with an ankle injury. Overall, Jovic has not played in a game for the Heat since Nov. 24 against the Dallas Mavericks, due partly to rotation decisions.
Jovic opened the season as a starter for the Heat, starting the team’s first eight games. However, he was moved to the bench starting on Nov. 10 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Since then, Jovic’s minutes have been inconsistent, and he’s averaging just 18.2 minutes per game on the season, which is down from last season when he averaged 19.5 minutes per game.
A former first-round pick, Jovic is averaging 7.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game this season while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from 3-point range.
In addition to Jovic, Miami has also upgraded a couple other players for the matchup with Los Angeles. Big man Kevin Love is now probable for Wednesday’s matchup while guard Josh Richardson is listed as available.
Unfortunately, star Jimmy Butler is still questionable for this game after he missed Miami’s loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday.
Butler has appeared in just 14 games for the Heat this season. He is averaging 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The Heat are off to a slow start in the 2024-25 season, going just 9-10 through 19 games. They are currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
In the five games that Butler has missed this season, the Heat have gone just 2-3 and averaged less than 108 points per game.
Last season, Miami struggled in the playoffs – losing to Boston in the first round in five games – with Butler sidelined.
The Heat and Lakers are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST from Kaseya Center in Miami on Wednesday. Los Angeles enters this game with a 12-9 record, but it lost badly to the Minnesota Timberwolves in its last game on Monday.