Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic suffered a reduced septum in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, playing only three minutes before exiting.
Though Jovic isn’t expected to miss any time with the injury. According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Heat are expecting him to play Friday against the Indiana Pacers, albeit with a mask.
Not long after Winderman’s report the Heat account tweeted Jovic wearing a mask during Thursday’s practice.
Jovic, 21, is currently listed as available in the Heat’s latest injury report, as is forward Haywood Highsmith (knee) and Tyler Herro (shoulder), who’s playing the best basketball of his career. Jimmy Butler, however, is expected to miss his third straight game with a sprained ankle suffered Nov. 8 against the Denver Nuggets.
Jovic is averaging 8.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals on 46.2 percent shooting, including 34.4 percent from 3-point range (3.2 3PA) and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line. The Miami Heat are also 1-3 in their current six-game road trip, with two games coming up against Indiana.
His ability to push pace and generate quick offense could be very important, with Indiana being the 8th-worst defense and the 9th-worst in transition. The Pacers also lack sheer size on the interior after Myles Turner with injuries to Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman, who are both out for Friday’s game.
It will be interesting to see if Jovic will be on a minutes restriction with the protective mask. There is no word on how long he’ll have to wear that mask, either, though conventional wisdom suggests he could wear it for at least the next 2-3 weeks.
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This is a developing news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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