Miami Heat May Lose A Key Piece For A While Due to A Fractured Hand

During his breakout season, where he finally gets a defined role as the Miami Heat’s sixth man, Nikola Jovic will face another setback to his career.

During the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks, Jovic collided with Kyle Kuzma and fractured his hand. At halftime, he went to get X-rays on his hand, which revealed a fracture on the second metacarpal. He was ruled out for the rest of the game. Before exiting, he finished with seven points and two rebounds on 75 percent shooting and 50 percent from three-point range.

Stephen Curry suffered a similar injury in 2019, which kept him out for a few months and required surgery. The Heat haven’t estimated how long Jovic will be out. He will visit a specialist later this week to determine his outlook on recovery.

Jovic spoke about his post-game injury and gave an update on how he was feeling.

“It happened in the first quarter,” Jovic explained. “As soon as I came in, I kinda bumped into Kuzma. I’m not sure exactly what happened. I just felt it hurt a lot, and I guess it’s broken. I wouldn’t say I was shocked because it kinda got swollen up quickly during the game. I just didn’t want to come out because we were doing good.”

HEAT VS. BUCKS TAKEAWAYS: TYLER HERRO’S 40-POINT NIGHT WASTED IN LOSS

The Miami Heat (26-29) blew another fourth-quarter lead as they fell to the Milwaukee Bucks (32-24) 120-113.

Here’s a look at four major takeaways from the matchup:

1. Tyler Herro has his third 40-point game of the season.

Herro finished with 40 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists on 44.4 percent shooting and 25 percent from three-point range. Herro’s playmaking and ability to react to many defensive coverages have been the most significant improvements in his breakout season. Another improvement is his ability to get to the basket more consistently. Herro converted on 13-14 from the free throw line.

2. Bam Adebayo’s offense continues to surge in his new power forward position.

Since moving to power forward alongside Kel’el Ware, Adebayo has returned to his All-Star form. He finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, and one steal on 62.5 percent shooting and made both attempts from three-point range. He also became second in Heat franchise history in rebounds as he passed Alonzo Mourning.

3. Andrew Wiggins has another solid performance for his new team.

Despite not replicating his late-game production against the Toronto Raptors, Wiggins still had a good overall performance. He scored 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists on 35 percent shooting and 20 percent from three-point range. This will essentially be the base of what fans can expect from him. He will provide elite defense and much-needed positional size, but his shooting may not be efficient consistently. He will look to build on this as the Heat face the Atlanta Hawks on the second night of a back-to-back.

4. Ware had his seventh double-double performance of the season.

Ware finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists on 60 percent shooting and missed both three-point attempts. As the Heat’s starting center, Ware’s consistency in his rookie season will only grow in time. However, his best asset has been his rebounding. After a four-game dry spell, Ware notched at least 10 rebounds for the tenth time this year.

MIAMI HEAT LEGEND ACCUSED JIMMY BUTLER OF INTENTIONALLY MISSING GAMES FOR REST

Focusing only on the results of each of the Miami Heat's deep playoff runs with Jimmy Butler as their leader, the team was successful without winning a championship.

However, a significant reason for the Heat's success in the 2023 NBA Finals was because they weren’t expected to make it as far as they did as a play-in team. While Butler's absence wasn’t the only reason they were in the play-in tournament, the best player's lack of playing time hinders most teams from rising in the standings.

Not reaching the minimum game requirement was one of the main reasons the Heat didn’t want to give Butler a max extension at 35. He missed 18 games in 2023 and missed 22 games in 2024, which resulted in two consecutive play-in berths. Butler was injured in their most recent play-in matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.

On Gil’s Arena Podcast, Tim Hardaway Sr. shared his thoughts on why he was so disappointed with Butler’s situation on the Heat ended before his trade to the Golden State Warriors.

“What I was mad with Jimmy is, you’re under contract,” Hardaway explained. “You're trying to get back at Pat, but you’re not getting back at Pat. You’re hurting your teammates. Them guys come in and work every day. They expect you to work every day, and you crying because he told you no.”

Hardaway later accused Butler of intentionally missing games despite not having a legitimate injury to keep him out.

“The only thing he wanted you to do is play more games,” Hardaway continued. “I don’t want to be in the play-in games anymore. I want to be in the playoffs and have a week off, and I want to prepare to be ready for our opponent. We would be fresh. Jimmy didn’t want to do that. Jimmy wanted to do what he continued to do and take games off. He wasn’t hurt. He was just taking games off.”

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at btownesjr@gmail.com or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook