MRI confirms calf strain for Heat’s P.J. Tucker as playoffs near. The latest on his status
Among the top items on the Miami Heat’s to-do list during the final days of the regular season is to avoid injury.
Unfortunately for the Heat, it wasn’t able to accomplish that in Tuesday’s home win over the Charlotte Hornets. Starting forward P.J. Tucker left the victory early in the third quarter because of a right calf strain and never returned.
The Heat announced Thursday that an MRI confirmed a right calf strain for Tucker, 36, and he’ll be re-evaluated in a week. He’ll miss the final two games of the regular season: Friday against the Hawks at FTX Arena (8 p.m., Bally Sports Sun) and Sunday against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center.
The NBA playoffs begin in less than two weeks on the weekend of April 16-17.
“Obviously, it’s the big picture with Tuck and his health,” said Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn, who again handled head coaching duties for Thursday’s practice with Erik Spoelstra still away from the team because of COVID-19 protocols.
“He’s a big part of what we do defensively, especially. But also offensively, him being so selfless. He’s always playing for the team. He doesn’t always care how many shots he’s getting, which is a big factor on our team. So obviously, we’ll miss him these last couple games. But going forward, it’s more important that he get healthy.”
According to VeryWell Health, a grade 1 calf strain usually heals in seven to 10 days, a grade 2 calf strain takes about four to six weeks to heal and a grade 3 calf strain can take about three months to heal.
Tucker’s injury is considered to be a grade 1 calf strain or the least severe on that scale, according to a league source.
Another piece of good news for Tucker and the Heat is he’ll have at least five days off between Sunday’s regular-season finale and the start of the playoffs as the play-in tournament is being played. This will allow for Tucker to have nearly two weeks to recover from the calf injury he suffered on Tuesday.
Tucker’s three-point shooting, screening and solid defense have played important roles in the Heat’s winning formula this season, as he has started in 70 of his 71 appearances this season. He has averaged 7.6 points while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from three-point range, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season.
Despite shooting only 24.2 percent on threes since the All-Star break, Tucker still ranks 19th in three-point percentage among NBA players who have attempted at least two threes per game and have appeared in at least 25 games this season. That’s because Tucker shot an ultra-efficient 45 percent on threes in 52 games before the break.
The core four of the Heat’s starting lineup of Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and Tucker has outscored opponents by 107 points in 544 minutes together this season.
This is where the Heat’s depth comes into play, though, as it has forwards Caleb Martin (6-5, 205) and Markieff Morris (6-9, 245) who can fill in for Tucker (6-5, 245) if he’s not ready for the start of the playoffs. Martin has made 11 starts this season, and Morris just made his first start of the season in Sunday’s win over the Toronto Raptors.
“I think it’s what we’ve dealt with a lot of the season,” Quinn said. “Guys in and out, and people asked to play different roles depending on the game and the week. Caleb, obviously, brings more speed. He’s had a great year, really proved himself and then Kieff brings another veteran presence, physicality, size. So both of those guys have done well when they’ve gotten opportunities to play. I think we’ll continue to rely on them without Tuck.”
Whether the Heat sits others over the final two games of the regular-season could depend on if it clinches the Eastern Conference’s top playoff seed prior to the regular-season finale.
“We’ll obviously re-evaluate every day to see where we stand and what’s needed,” Quinn said. “But most importantly, today, tomorrow and going forward, we’re trying to build habits to get ready for the playoffs and to get ready to compete for a championship. That will be our mindset going forward.”
▪ For Friday’s game against the Hawks, the Heat listed Dewayne Dedmon (right ankle sprain), Haywood Highsmith (left hip flexor strain), Martin (right calf contusion), Morris (left hip flexor strain), Gabe Vincent (right big toe contusion) and Omer Yurtseven (non-COVID illness) as questionable.
Tucker is the only Heat player who has been ruled out.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 12:54 PM.
