Will Heat’s Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr. miss rest of Vegas summer league? They hope not
Whether Miami Heat first-round picks Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. play again in Las Vegas Summer League remains to be seen.
Jovic, who was drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick last year out of Serbia, is dealing with a sore left foot that he injured during Saturday’s win over the Boston Celtics in Las Vegas.
Jaquez, who was selected with the 18th overall pick in last month’s draft, missed Saturday’s victory in Las Vegas with a left shoulder injury that he sustained in Wednesday’s summer league contest in Sacramento.
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“I think it’s unfortunate to be able to miss games because of injuries and little tweaks and things like that,” Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Caron Butler said.
Jaquez, 22, and Jovic, 20, were held out of practice on Sunday because of their injuries and there’s uncertainty whether they’ll be able to play in the Heat’s second Las Vegas Summer League game on Monday against the Phoenix Suns (6:30 p.m., NBA TV).
Jovic, who has scored more than 20 points in two of the Heat’s first three summer league games, hopes and expects to play on Monday despite his foot issue.
“He told me he felt extremely fine and he’s looking forward to the competition tomorrow,” Butler said Sunday of the message he received from Jovic. “So we’re just looking forward to having him out there.”
But Jaquez is less likely to play on Monday because of lingering discomfort in his left shoulder. An MRI revealed no structural damage, but Jaquez said “what happened was my muscles, they contracted to make sure my shoulder didn’t dislocate.”
“I’m just dealing with some muscle issues,” Jaquez added. “But it’s nothing too crazy. Nothing that our team can’t handle. That’s the positive going forward. I’m just taking it day by day to see how I’m feeling.”
When asked whether he’ll miss the rest of summer league, Jaquez made clear that he hopes to play before the Heat’s run in Las Vegas is over.
“I’m going to definitely try [to play],” Jaquez said Sunday. “I don’t want to sit out. But it’s not necessarily up to me. We got to see how my shoulder is feeling and what the staff thinks. It’s a day-by-day process. I’m feeling better today than I did yesterday. I’m still not all the way there, but it’s a process. We’re getting there.”
IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT DETAILS
The Heat was drawn into a five-team pool that also includes the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets for the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament.
Each of the NBA’s 30 teams will play four group play games — one game against each opponent in their group, with two at home and two on the road. Those games will take place every Tuesday and Friday in November and will count toward the regular-season standings.
The Heat’s home games in pool play will be against the Bucks and Wizards, with their road games in pool play coming against the Knicks and Hornets.
The winner of each of the six groups and two wild cards (the team from each conference with the best record in group play that finished second in its group) will advance to the knockout quarterfinal round.
The 22 teams not advancing to the quarterfinals will play two regular-season games in early December to fill the missing two games in its standard 82-game schedule.
Every game in the NBA’s in-season tournament will count toward regular-season stats and standings, except the championship game in Las Vegas on Dec. 9.
What’s at stake? The new NBA cup and bonus money for the quarterfinalists, semifinalists, runner-up and champion, with each player on the winning team of the tournament getting $500,000.
The semifinals and championship game of the event will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9.
