MIAMI– When injuries plague the Miami Heat, coach Erik Spoelstra almost always presents the same three-word perspective.
“We have enough,” he says.
That theory is about to be tested — and will be the topic of Friday night’s NBA play-in tournament finals.
All four teams – Miami and Chicago in the Eastern Conference, New Orleans and Sacramento in the Western Conference – have serious injury problems in their clashes to decide the 8th place in the playoff bracket. Miami and New Orleans have home-field advantage on Friday; the winners will face No. 1 Boston and No. 1 Oklahoma City in the first round, starting Sunday.
The Heat will be without Jimmy Butler (sprained right lateral ligament) and Terry Rozier (neck) for the game against the Bulls, who had guard Alex Caruso suffer a sprained ankle in Wednesday’s win over Atlanta. Miami is hoping guard Duncan Robinson, who has missed 10 of the team’s last 15 games with a back injury, can play.
The Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson because of a hamstring injury in their game against the Kings, a team that has been without aspiring starters Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk in recent weeks due to injuries.
“We’re going to do this the hard way,” Spoelstra said. “This has to be the way now. Let’s rest, treat ourselves, gather and prepare for Friday and, once again, embrace these competitive challenges. We will be competitive in front of our fans and we will play a great game under Friday night lights and do it the hard way.
The Bulls-Heat game is a rematch of last year’s East play-in final, a game in which Chicago led by three with 3:47 left and was outscored 15-1 the rest of the way.
“I vividly remember that plane ride back home,” Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan said. “Everyone was just frustrated. That feeling sucked. I know that’s one thing that crossed my mind when I realized we were going back to Miami – not having the same feeling.”
Sacramento reached the West play-in final by defeating Golden State on Tuesday. New Orleans lost its chance to be the No. 7 seed in the West when it fell to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
EAST CONFERENCE
NO. 9 CHICAGO (39-43, 1-0) AT NO. 8MIAMI (46-36, 0-1)
Season series: Division, 2-2
Play-in appearances: 2nd for Miami (2023), 2nd for Chicago (2023).
At stake: The winner plays No. 1 seed Boston in the first round, a series that begins Sunday. The loser is eliminated.
Outlook: There they go again. Just like last year, it’s Chicago at Miami with the eighth seed in the East on the line in an elimination game. The Heat have major injury problems, with Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson sick, and the Bulls had to finish Wednesday’s game without Alex Caruso. No Bulls team has gone into the playoffs with a losing regular-season record since the 1986-87 team did so at 40-42. Miami reached the finals last season after 44 regular-season wins; this season, 46 wins might not even be enough for a playoff spot.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
NO. 9 SACRAMENT (46-36, 1-0) AT NO. 7NEW ORLEANS (49-33, 0-1)
Friday, 9:30 p.m., TNT
Season series: Pelicans, 5-0 (includes season tournament win)
Play-in appearances: 1st for Sacramento; 3rd to New Orleans (2022, 2023).
At stake: The winner plays No. 1 seed Oklahoma City in the first round, a series that begins Sunday. The loser is eliminated.
Outlook: One way or another, New Orleans will make history on Friday. Either the Pelicans will become the first team to go 6-0 in a season (without a playoff series) against an opponent since Denver vs. Minnesota in 1994-95, or they will become the second team in NBA history to go 49 -33 or better and not making the playoffs (joining the 1971-72 Phoenix Suns, who had a 49-33 record). The Pelicans will be without the injured Zion Williamson (hamstring) and the Kings will still be without Kevin Huerter (shoulder) and Malik Monk (knee). New Orleans has had 15-point leads in all five games (15, 17, 23, 41 and 50) and the Kings have led just one of the five matchups by more than nine points at any point.
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