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Victor Oladipo Won't Join Heat for 4-Game Road Trip After Suffering Knee Injury
April 9, 2021
Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo will miss at least the next four games due to the knee injury he suffered on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Heat announced Friday that Oladipo wasn't accompanying the team on its four-game road trip as he undergoes further evaluation.
Oladipo grabbed his knee after a dunk and had to be taken out of Miami's 110-104 win over the Lakers in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes.
Since joining Miami at the trade deadline, Oladipo has averaged 12.0 points and 3.5 assists through four games.
The Heat (27-25) are in a battle with the Charlotte Hornets (26-24) and Atlanta Hawks (27-25) for the fourth through sixth seeds in the Eastern Conference with 20 games remaining. Currently, the Hornets hold fourth with a .520 winning percentage, while the Hawks are in fifth by way of a better conference winning percentage. Staying in the stop six spots is crucial to avoid having a play-in for the playoffs.
Miami will play the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves on its four-game Western Conference road trip. The reigning Eastern Conference champions will return home on April 18 to take on the Brooklyn Nets.
Through stints with three teams—having started the year with the Indiana Pacers before heading to Houston in the deal that sent James Harden to Brooklyn—the 28-year-old is averaging 19.8 points on 40.5 percent shooting with 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn should see more time alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in Miami.