Bradley back, but Dragic and Herro out. Who will be available for Heat vs. Nuggets?
There’s good news and bad news for the Heat.
The good news: The Heat will get guard Avery Bradley (health and safety protocols) back for Wednesday night’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The bad news: The Heat will be without guards Goran Dragic (left groin strain) and Tyler Herro (neck spasms) on Wednesday.
Dragic’s groin strain surfaced for the first time on Tuesday’s injury report after he scored 21 points in 33 minutes in Monday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Herro was ruled out for Wednesday’s contest just an hour before tip-off. It will mark the seventh consecutive game he has missed because of the injury.
Bradley’s return comes after he was forced to miss the past eight games. He has not played in a game since Miami’s Jan. 9 road win over the Washington Wizards.
During a recent appearance on Chris Haynes’ Yahoo Sports podcast, Bradley disclosed that he has been away from the team because he tested positive for COVID-19.
Bradley, 30, averaged 10 points while shooting 49 percent from the field and 44.8 percent on threes, 1.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in seven games this season before his COVID-19 diagnosis.
The Heat will also have two-way contract guard Gabe Vincent (right ankle sprain) available on Wednesday. He played in Monday’s loss to the Nets, but was listed as questionable on the injury report for Wednesday’s contest.
Along with missing Dragic and Herro, the Heat remains without Jimmy Butler (health and safety protocols), Moe Harkless (left thigh contusion), Meyers Leonard (left shoulder strain) and Chris Silva (left hip flexor strain) on Wednesday.
But Butler is moving closer to a return after clearing the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols on Monday, according to a league source, and has since been allowed to resume basketball activity.
Butler, who will miss his ninth consecutive game Wednesday, was a few days behind Bradley when it came to clearing protocols. That led to Bradley returning a few days ahead of Butler for the Heat’s matchup against the Nuggets.
The timetable for Butler’s return to game action will depend on his conditioning after two weeks away from the court. Following Wednesday’s contest, the Heat completes the back-to-back set with another home game Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers (8 p.m., Fox Sports Sun).
The Clippers have already ruled out Patrick Beverley (right knee soreness), Paul George (protocols) and Kawhi Leonard (protocols) for Thursday’s game against the Heat.
Miami has 11 available players against Denver on Wednesday: Precious Achiuwa, Bam Adebayo, Bradley, Udonis Haslem, Andre Iguodala, Kendrick Nunn, KZ Okpala, Kelly Olynyk, Duncan Robinson, Max Strus and Vincent.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 5:28 PM.
