Heat’s Larsson calls sprained ankle ‘freak accident.’ Also, what’s Heat’s approach vs. Pelicans?
Wednesday night didn’t go well for the Miami Heat at United Center.
Aside from a costly loss to the Chicago Bulls that essentially locked the Heat into 10th place in the Eastern Conference, the Heat also lost rookie guard Pelle Larsson to what he calls a “freak accident.” Larsson sprained his right ankle while going through his usual pregame weightlifting session on Wednesday and couldn’t play against the Bulls.
“I was lifting and just stepped and got my foot caught in something,” said Larsson, who will also miss Friday’s matchup against the Pelicans in New Orleans because of the ankle injury. “So I just stepped on a twisted ankle, and it doesn’t feel great.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he heard the commotion stemming from the pregame incident.
“I was right next door, so I heard it,” Spoelstra said. “It’s just one of those things, it was a freakish unfortunate deal. But that’s part of his normal routine. And we’ll continue to treat him and see how he responds.”
Larsson said he hurt his ankle while doing “some step downs from the bench.”
“It’s more frustrating than anything, especially when it happens off the court,” Larsson added. “It feels like you don’t have as much control. So it’s frustrating.”
After Friday’s game in New Orleans, the Heat closes the regular season on Sunday against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center. The Heat then begins the play-in tournament on either Tuesday or Wednesday in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs.
Larsson, 24, isn’t sure whether he will be ready to return from his sprained ankle for the next week’s play-in tourney. He underwent an X-ray and MRI on the ankle “to be safe and everything looks good.”
“Right now just going day by day, working with trainers and seeing how every movement feels one day after another,” said Larsson, who was selected by the Heat with the 44th overall pick in the second round of last year’s draft
Prior to being sidelined by the ankle injury, Larsson was in the middle of his best stretch of the season as a high-effort player who was establishing himself as one of the Heat’s top perimeter defenders. While starting six straight games in place of the then-injured Andrew Wiggins, Larsson averaged 10.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game during the six games leading up to Wednesday’s sprained ankle.
“I learned so much,” Larsson said of his rookie season. “I had no idea what to expect going in and we’ve been through a lot as a team, as an organization, everything for just one season. So I’m really grateful to experience all of that and get to know all these guys.”
Larsson also missed four games in December because of a sprained right ankle. He tweaked his ankle during practice that time.
“It’s the same ankle, so that’s similar,” Larsson said, comparing the two sprains. “But that was a little different. That was when we were playing and it probably was a little bit worse. But always got to be cautious with repeating stuff like that. Just making sure everything is looking good and 100%.”
THE HEAT’S APPROACH
Despite essentially being locked into 10th place in the East, the Heat is expected to play its regulars in Friday’s game against the Pelicans.
“We’re going to treat it the same in terms of our rotation,” Spoelstra said after the team’s morning shootaround Friday at Smoothie King Center. “I won’t scoreboard watch. We’re just focused on tonight and our business.”
The only Heat players ruled out for Friday’s contest in New Orleans are Nikola Jovic (broken right hand), Larsson (sprained right ankle), Kevin Love (personal reasons), Isaiah Stevens (right foot discomfort) and Dru Smith (left Achilles surgery).
While the Heat can still finish anywhere between eighth place and 10th place in the East, it’s going to need a lot of help to move out of 10th place in the final days of the regular season.
With the Bulls (37-43) having one fewer loss than the Heat (36-44) and also holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami after sweeping the three-game regular-season series, the Heat needs to win its final two regular-season games (at Pelicans on Friday and vs. Wizards on Sunday) and also have the Bulls lose their final two regular-season games (vs. Wizards on Friday and at Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday) to pass Chicago in the standings.
With the Hawks (38-42) having two fewer losses than the Heat but Miami holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Atlanta by virtue of a better division record, the Heat needs to win its final two regular-season games and also have the Hawks lose their final two regular-season games (at 76ers on Friday and vs. Orlando Magic on Sunday) to pass Atlanta in the standings.
If the Heat, Bulls and Hawks all finish with 44 losses, the Heat would still enter the play-in tournament in 10th place in the East because it holds the worst head-to-head record among the three teams at 2-5. In this scenario, the Bulls would close in seventh place and the Hawks would come in eighth place.
The Heat could be locked into 10th place in the East on Friday night regardless of the result of its game against the Pelicans. If the Bulls defeat the Wizards and the Hawks also beat the 76ers on Friday, the East’s play-in seeding will be locked in at No. 7 Magic, No. 8 Hawks, No. 9 Bulls and No. 10 Heat.
In this scenario, the Heat would face the Bulls in an elimination play-in tournament game in Chicago on Wednesday. The winner of that contest would advance to take on the loser of the Magic-Hawks game in either Orlando or Atlanta on Friday for the right to the East’s No. 8 playoff seed.
“Play hard, play your minutes hard, try to win the game,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said of the team’s approach entering Friday’s game in New Orleans. “That’s what we’re trying to do, ultimately.”
Whether the Heat changes its approach to sit some of its regulars for Sunday’s regular-season finale in Miami will likely depend on if moving up in the East standings remains a possibility.
“We’re still trying to play our style of basketball consistently, so I think these last two games can help us prepare for the play-in,” Herro said. “Obviously wanting to be healthy is important, I think just as important is to keep playing and pretty much keep rhythm and keep guys on the floor so we stay fresh.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM.
