The Miami Heat bounced back from a rough stretch with an impressive 125-120 home NBA victory over the Indiana Pacers, marking their second consecutive win. Despite recent struggles, the team has shown resilience—even in the absence of newly acquired forward Andrew Wiggins, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Head coach Erik Spoelstra provided an update on Wiggins’ status, offering some optimism regarding his return.
Speaking ahead of Miami’s matchup against the New York Knicks on Sunday, Spoelstra acknowledged the frustration surrounding the team’s recent injury woes. Jaime Jaquez Jr., who had been inserted into the starting lineup in place of Wiggins, suffered an injury of his own, further depleting the Heat’s depth. However, Spoelstra reassured that Wiggins’ return is on the horizon.
“We’ll get him back soon,” Spoelstra said. “He wants to be out there—he loves the competitive feel of these last couple of games—but we have to be smart about it. He’s been very diligent with his work, and we’ll get him back soon.”
Spoelstra on Jaquez’s injury
The Heat have faced their fair share of bad luck with injuries this season, particularly as they look to solidify their playoff positioning. With Jaquez now joining Wiggins on the injury list, Miami will need to lean on its depth until reinforcements arrive.
Spoelstra, however, downplayed the severity of Jaquez’s injury, praising his toughness. “Yeah, sometimes you can’t explain how things happen during a season,” Spoelstra said. “But he has great fortitude. He stays with it, he’s in good spirits. This one looked really bad on video, but he’s sprained his ankle so many times—he’s walking around okay. We’ll just have to see how he responds.”
How will the Heat adjust?
With the Heat dealing with multiple injuries, Spoelstra is expected to lean more on rookie Kel’el Ware, who will take on a crucial role moving forward. Spoelstra commended Ware’s ability to stay mentally sharp despite being thrown into high-stakes situations.
“I think it speaks to his competitive character, and he’s learning through a fire hose right now,” Spoelstra said. “These games have such context and meaning, and he’s not being gifted minutes—he’s earning them. There’s a lot that’s scouting report-related, competition-related, or tied to specific moments in a game, and he’s handled it really well.”
The rookie’s performance in the second half of Miami’s win over the Pacers stood out, proving that he can contribute meaningful minutes when called upon. “He could have easily let the moment get to him mentally, but he didn’t,” Spoelstra added. “Some young players do, but those were really important minutes, and there were valuable learning lessons from the first half.”
As the Heat push through their current injury setbacks, all eyes will be on Wiggins’ return and how the team navigates this stretch in the NBA playoff race.