A comprehensive injury report was made public by the Miami Heat prior to their Friday night game against Jayson Tatum and theBoston Celtics. Josh Richardson (foot) and Haywood Highsmith (knee) are out of the Miami game; however, Caleb Martin (knee), Duncan Robinson (foot), and youngster Jaime Jaquez Jr. (groyne) are all considered probable.
On Wednesday, the Heat and Celtics triumphed in their first games of the regular season. The former secured a 103-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons, while the latter triumphed 103-102 on the road against the New York Knicks.
Richardson played for the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans during the 2022–23 regular season before joining the Heat in the offseason on a team-friendly contract. During the 2018–19 regular season, the guard, who played his first four seasons in the NBA with the Heat, averaged a career-high 16.6 points per game.
Jaquez is yet another noteworthy offseason addition for Miami. In the 2023 NBA Draught, the Heat selected the former star player from University of California, Los Angeles with the 18th overall pick.
In his third season with the Heat, Martin is expected to contribute significantly to the team’s role-playing unit once more. However, he gave a lacklustre showing in Miami’s victory over the Pistons. In his twenty minutes of action, the six-foot-five forward managed just two points and made just one of his seven field goal attempts, including none of his three 3-point tries.
Robinson, on the other hand, had far greater success versus Detroit. In just 22 minutes, he scored 15 points while shooting 60.0 percent from the field and beyond the 3-point arc. On Wednesday, no player for the Heat scored as many points coming off the bench.
The Heat’s showdown versus the Celtics on Friday should excite fans. This matchup between two clubs who have previously faced off in the playoffs is expected to be fierce.
In the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat defeated the Celtics in seven games, yet in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, Boston defeated Miami in seven games.
