Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, Rodney McGruder not on trip with Heat due to injuries
The Heat will continue to play with a shorthanded roster.
Justise Winslow (right thigh bruise), Josh Richardson (bruised left heel) and Rodney McGruder (left knee soreness) did not travel with the Heat on Friday to New York and are expected to be unavailable for the upcoming two-game trip. The Heat takes on the Knicks on Saturday before traveling to Boston for Monday’s contest against the Celtics.
Time is quickly running out for their returns, with just seven regular-season games remaining on the Heat’s schedule. Miami entered Friday in the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, just one-half game ahead of No. 9 Orlando.
Richardson was on the Heat’s bench in a walking boot during Thursday’s win over the Mavericks. It marked the first game he’s missed with the injury and just the third game he’s missed this season.
Richardson is averaging a team-high 16.7 points this season, with the Heat outscoring teams by 72 points in the team-high 2,523 minutes he’s played.
While Richardson’s injury just popped up, Winslow and McGruder have been out for more than a week.
Winslow has missed the Heat’s past seven games with a thigh bruise he suffered in the March 15 home loss to the Bucks. Miami is 6-4 this season in games Winslow has missed.
Before the injury, Winslow was one of Miami’s best and most reliable players with averages of 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists since Dec. 1 in a point guard role. He also owns a team-best plus-minus of plus-126 this season.
Asked about Winslow’s thigh bruise before Thursday’s win over the Mavericks, coach Erik Spoelstra said: “These things just take time. I don’t have an update on it. But the body will heal when it will heal.”
McGruder, who’s averaging 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists, has missed the Heat’s past six games with pain in his left knee. He’s missed eight games this season due to injury.
With Richardson, Winslow and McGruder out Thursday against the Mavericks, the Heat used its 25th starting lineup of the season (Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, Derrick Jones Jr., Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo). The 25 starting lineups is tied for the third-most used during a season in team history.
“Whether that happens again the next game, who knows,” Spoelstra said Thursday of inserting Dragic into the starting lineup for the first time since he returned in February from knee surgery. “Our team has been just a revolving door. It’s all hands on deck at this point.”
