Injury updates on Heat’s Lowry and Yurtseven. Also, Spoelstra on additions of Love and Zeller
The Miami Heat reconvened for its first post-All-Star break practice on Thursday, but veteran guard Kyle Lowry and second-year center Omer Yurtseven are still not ready to make their returns.
Lowry (left knee soreness) and Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) will miss the Heat’s first game following the break on Friday against the Bucks in Milwaukee. Both players continue to move closer to their returns.
Lowry, who has missed the last six games because of his knee issue, did not practice on Thursday but there’s optimism around the team that he’ll be able to make his return to game action within the next two weeks. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra declined to offer a timetable for Lowry’s return, only noting that “he had a good week” during the break.
“I’m not going to get into the total specifics of everything. But he’s working and making sure that he’s healthy,” Spoelstra said when asked about Lowry following Thursday’s practice at Miami-Dade Arena before the team flew to Milwaukee for Friday’s game. “That’s the most important thing as we move forward.”
With six weeks left in regular season, Heat returns from break with plenty to figure out
Lowry has battled through left knee pain for the last few months. He missed two games because of left knee soreness in December, four games because of left knee discomfort in January and will miss his seventh straight game because left knee soreness on Friday.
Lowry, 36, was with the team for Thursday’s practice after not attending the Heat’s last few games ahead of the break because of what the team labeled as excused absences. He has started in each of the 44 games he has appeared in this season.
“He’s been able to grind through a lot of different pain and discomfort because he’s tough and he’s a competitor,” Spoelstra continued on Lowry. “And then when all of a sudden you have games, he’s going to put himself out there regardless if he’s feeling 100 percent or not. We want to get him feeling right and get him moving the way he’s capable of moving.”
As for Yurtseven, he’s still waiting to make his season debut after undergoing surgery on his left ankle in mid-November. He went through non-contact work during Thursday’s practice and played two-on-two with teammates following practice.
The next step for Yurtseven will be live and competitive five-on-five work with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, “in the next week or so.”
“It’s going to be South Dakota, play in Sioux Falls for a bit and then feel good and move on,” Yurtseven said. “Step by step.”
Yurtseven, 24, is expected to have an opportunity to earn a spot in the Heat’s frontcourt rotation when he returns. But he’ll face more competition than expected after the Heat’s recent additions of center Cody Zeller and forward Kevin Love.
“I think depth doesn’t hurt,” Yurtseven said when asked if he was surprised the Heat decided to sign Zeller and Love this week. “I’m sure they are building a team for the playoffs and everything, and the push that we want to do. So I’m just following the plan and the schedule that they laid out.”
Along with missing Lowry and Yurtseven, rookie forward Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction) also remains out for the Heat on Friday against the Bucks.
Heat guards Victor Oladipo and Tyler Herro, who both missed games before the break because of injuries, are expected to play in Milwaukee. Oladipo is not on the injury report and Herro is listed as probable for Friday’s game with a left knee contusion.
The Bucks listed superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as doubtful because of a sprained right wrist.
SPOELSTRA ON LOVE, ZELLER SIGNINGS
In his first opportunity to address the Heat’s two new faces, Spoelstra said Thursday that Love and Zeller “give us qualities at positions of need.”
“I think the fit just naturally works,” Spoelstra added. “Obviously, we’ll have to work through some things in real games. But yeah, I felt a boost today in the gym. Guys have great respect for both of them after battling against them over the years and what they can add to our group right now. Now we have some real depth all over the place.”
Spoelstra said the Heat’s interest in Love following his buyout agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers was a “no-brainer.” Spoelstra also revealed that one of the first things Love said to him was “that he thinks he can help our team with his passing and his vision, helping get guys open and easy shots.”
The Heat’s decision to sign Zeller came down to “making sure he’s healthy and ready,” according to Spoelstra. Zeller hasn’t played in a regular-season game since Jan. 10, 2022 after a knee injury cut his year short last season and he has been out of the league this season until joining the Heat this week.
“Different than live game action, but he’s definitely in shape,” Spoelstra said of Zeller. “You can tell he’s been working and he’s been a starter for a lot of years. I think this is really a great opportunity for him to just kind of reintegrate into the league, do it at a rate that makes sense and he can stay healthy because he’s a hard playing dude. He really competes on both ends of the court.”
