Spoelstra enters protocols, and Butler, Tucker, Vincent, Dedmon out for Heat vs. Raptors
Kyle Lowry Day in Toronto will include Kyle Lowry. But Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and a chunk of the Heat’s rotation won’t be available.
Spoelstra will not coach in Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, continuing the trend of head coaches around the NBA missing games this season because of COVID-19 issues. This marks the first time Spoelstra has entered the league’s protocols this season, as the Heat was subject to a round of COVID-19 testing upon entering Canada on Sunday in order to return home because of U.S. restrictions.
The Heat declined to offer details on the specific reason behind Spoelstra’s absence.
Assistant coach Chris Quinn will handle head coaching duties for Spoelstra on Sunday. It marks the second time that Quinn has filled in for Spoelstra in recent days, as Spoelstra also missed the Heat’s March 26 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets as one of his two sons underwent a medical procedure.
The Heat also ruled out Jimmy Butler (left big toe irritation), Dewayne Dedmon (right ankle sprain), P.J. Tucker (left knee irritation) and Gabe Vincent (right big toe contusion) for Sunday’s game Scotiabank Arena on the second night of its final back-to-back of the season. Butler, Dedmon, Tucker and Vincent all played in Saturday night’s 127-109 win over the Chicago Bulls at United Center.
Two-way contract player Javonte Smart is away from the team and will not play.
The absences of Butler, Dedmon, Tucker and Vincent should create playing time for Martin, Markieff Morris and Victor Oladipo, who have recently fallen out of the Heat’s rotation. Martin received his second DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) of the season on Saturday, Morris has received four straight DNP-CDs and Oladipo has received three straight DNP-CDs.
The Raptors will have most of their rotation available on Sunday against the Heat, but forward OG Anunoby will not play because of left quadriceps contusion. Yuta Watanabe (left quadriceps soreness) also has been ruled out.
As for Spoelstra, he could be forced to miss most of the remaining games on the Heat’s regular-season schedule if he tested positive for COVID-19. The Heat has just one week left in the regular season before the playoffs begin on April 16.
Sunday’s matchup against the Raptors marks the end of a three-game trip for the Heat. Miami then returns home to host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday and Atlanta Hawks on Friday before closing the regular season against the Magic in Orlando on Sunday.
The quarantine period is five days for asymptomatic and vaccinated NBA players and coaches to return if testing data shows they’re no longer at risk to be infectious. If Spoelstra tested positive, his five-day quarantine period would run through Friday.
Sunday marks just the fourth game that Spoelstra has missed in his 14 seasons as the Heat’s head coach. He missed two games prior to this season because of the birth of his two sons, Santiago and Dante.
This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 1:44 PM.
