John Hefferon MD
2 min read • April 14, 2023
Posted in
Coming off a lackluster loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Heat will look to salvage a playoff series with a home victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Miami’s injury report has shifted slightly from the Atlanta matchup, with backup point guard Gabe Vincent a recent addition with a hip pointer.
Vincent and Kyle Lowry will both likely play through their questionable designations given the gravity of this matchup.
Lowry led the team with 33 points on 11-16 shooting on Tuesday despite being listed as questionable with left knee soreness before the game.
Vincent added 6 points on 2-6 shooting in 24 minutes on Tuesday.
Rookie forward Nikola Jovic is listed as out once again with back spasms. Jovic is not a big loss, as he averaged 5.5 points during the regular season.
Thanks – in part – to DeMar DeRozan’s daughter Diar, the Bulls scratched their way to an 18-point comeback victory over the Raptors.
They get another road contest for the chance to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round.
Their injury report is identical to Wednesday’s, with Lonzo Ball the only significant injury.
Without Lonzo Ball for a second straight season, the Bulls finished four spots below what they accomplished last season.
If Chicago can advance, they will get a chance to avenge last season’s playoff exit at the hands of the Bucks.
The health of Zach LaVine (24.8 ppg) and DeRozan (24.5 ppg) will be the key to any postseason run.
After a brutal loss to the Lakers, Minnesota gets center Rudy Gobert back from suspension for this win-or-go-home contest against the Thunder.
Gobert is dealing with the same ailment (back spasms) that partly led to his punch of Kyle Anderson, but should be able to play at near 100%.
Depending on location, back spasms can typically be treated with a heat pad before a game.
Jaden McDaniels (broken right hand) and Naz Reid (broken left wrist) remain out for the Timberwolves, thus there’s plenty of minutes available for Gobert against a Thunder team that ranked last in defensive rebounds allowed this season.
Karl-Anthony Towns is listed as questionable related to his Grade 3 right calf strain in November, but he has not appeared hampered lately.
Towns finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in 41 minutes Tuesday night against the Lakers.
Fourth-year pro Jaylen Nowell is the last injury of note for Minnesota, he’s listed as questionable with left knee tendinopathy. Nowell will likely play given that it’s an elimination game for Minnesota.
He contributed 9 points, a rebound and an assist in 13 minutes against Los Angeles.
Lanky Minnesota product Chet Holmgren will be notably absent from the Thunder’s chance to advance for a series against the Denver Nuggets.
Despite playing the entire season without the No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren, the Thunder clawed their way to the 10th seed over the Dallas Mavericks, Jazz and Trail Blazers.
They bested the Pelicans on Wednesday despite getting outrebounded by a margin of 48-38.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey shined through like they did all season with lines of 32/5/3 and 31/9/10 respectively.
Alexsej Pokusevski will miss this do-or-die matchup as will role player Kenrich Williams. Outside of that, the young Thunder are healthy and eager to advance to their first playoff series since 2020.
Written by John Hefferon MD
