MIAMI — Whenever the Miami Heat are affected by injuries, coach Erik Spoelstra almost always gives the same three-word perspective.
“We have enough,” he states.
That idea is about to be put to the test — and will be a key point in the NBA’s do-or-die finals of the play-in tournament on Friday night.
All four teams — Miami and Chicago in the Eastern Conference, New Orleans and Sacramento in the Western Conference — have serious injury concerns heading into their matchups to determine the No. 8 seeds on the playoff bracket. Miami and New Orleans have home-court advantages on Friday; the winners will face No. 1 Boston and No. 1 Oklahoma City in Round 1, commencing Sunday.
The Heat will be missing Jimmy Butler (sprained right MCL) and Terry Rozier (neck) for their 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 due to a hamstring injury in their game against the Kings, a team that’s been without would-be starters Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk in recent weeks due to injuries.
“We will do this the hard way,” Spoelstra said. “That has to be the path right now. We’re going to rest up, treat up, rally around each other up and get ready for Friday and once again, embrace these competitive games. It’ll be competitive in front of our home fans and we’re going to bring a hell of a game on Friday night lights and do this the hard way. That’s just the way the deal is right now.”
The Bulls-Heat game is a rematch of the East play-in finale last year, a game where Chicago led by three with 3:47 left and got outscored 15-1 the rest of the way.
“I remember that plane ride back home vividly,” Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan said. “Everybody was just frustrated. That feeling sucked. I know for me, that’s one thing that’s on my mind once I realized we were going back to Miami — to not have that same feeling.”
Sacramento got into the West play-in finale by ousting Golden State on Tuesday. New Orleans missed a chance to be the West’s No. 7 seed by falling to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 9 CHICAGO (39-43)
AT No. 8 MIAMI (46-36)
• Friday, 7 p.m., ESPN
• Season series: Split, 2-2
• Play-in appearances: 2nd for Miami (2023), 2nd for Chicago (2023).
• At stake: Winner plays No. 1 seed Boston in Round 1, series starting Sunday. Loser is eliminated.
• Outlook: Here they go again. Just like last year, it’s Chicago at Miami with the No. 8 seed in the East on the line in an elimination game. The Heat have huge injury issues with Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson ailing, and the Bulls had to finish Wednesday’s game without Alex Caruso. No Bulls team has gone to the playoffs with a losing regular-season record since the 1986-87 team did it at 40-42. Miami made the finals last season after 44 regular season wins; this season, 46 wins might not even be enough for a playoff berth.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 9 SACRAMENTO (46-36) AT
No. 7 NEW ORLEANS (49-33)
• Friday, 9:30 p.m., TNT
• Season series: Pelicans, 5-0 (includes one In-Season Tournament win)
• Play-in appearances: 1st for Sacramento; 3rd for New Orleans (2022, 2023).
• At stake: Winner plays No. 1 seed Oklahoma City in Round 1, series starting Sunday. Loser is eliminated.
• Outlook: New Orleans will either achieve a historical feat on Friday or become the second team in NBA history to have a 49-33 or better record and miss the playoffs. They will be facing the Sacramento Kings, who have had injury setbacks with Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk. New Orleans has held significant leads in all five previous matchups, while the Kings only led by more than nine points in one of the games.
