Getty The Heat will be without Dewayne Dedmon for the time being.
The Miami Heat will be down another starter for the near future.
The Heat announced on Friday, December 24, that Dewayne Dedmon — the team’s starting center — will miss no more than two weeks due to an MCL sprain injury.
“INJURY UPDATE: An MRI on Dewayne Dedmon today revealed a Grade 1-Plus MCL Sprain of the Left Knee. He is expected to miss 1-to-2 weeks.”
MRI results confirmed the injury for the 32-year-old after he injured his knee versus the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. Dedmon suffered the ailment when he planted his left onto the floor for a shot before crumbling to the ground.
“I felt like everybody else felt when he went down and slapped his hand on the floor,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Your heart sinks.”
The latest Heat news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Heat newsletter here!
Heat Missing Almost All of Their Big Men
The veteran center had become the starter after Bam Adebayo suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb at the end of November. Dedmon had started the past 12 games and was expected to remain the starter with Adebayo likely out until January.
With Dedmon sidelined, the Heat are now missing three of their four tallest players. Dedmon and the 6-foot-9 Adebayo and 6-foot-8 Markieff Morris are out due to injuries. Morris hasn’t appeared in a game since Nov. 8 when he was struck in the back by the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.
During Dedmon’s run as the Heat starter, the ninth-year center averaged 8.5 points and 8.2 rebounds on 57.1 percent from the field in 22.8 minutes per game. The Heat went 7-5 during Dedmon’s run as the starting center.
The Heat now face a real problem at the big man positions. Their remaining two healthy big men are 7-foot rookie Omer Yurtseven and the 41-year-old Udonis Haslem. Yurtseven played a season-high 25 minutes versus the Pistons and posted eight points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Haslem scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in 12 minutes in the win over the Pistons. The 19-year veteran has already appeared in seven games this season — more than the past two seasons combined.
“I might play 10 games but I don’t know what 10 games those are going to be,” Haslem said. “I have to prepare myself every night.”
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Tyler Herro — who was just three years old when Haslem made his NBA debut back in 2003 — was impressed by his elder teammate’s performance versus Detroit.
“He looked pretty good to me,” Herro said of Haslem. “He looked good. He’s obviously been in this for a while. He’s at the end of the bench for every game, but he’s ready to go every single night whether he plays or not.”
Kyle Lowry Out Due to COVID-19 Protocols
As if the Heat aren’t short-handed enough, they’ll also be without point guard Kyle Lowry.
According to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, Lowry entered COVID-19 health and safety protocols on Saturday, December 25. That means Lowry will likely be out for at least 10 days — which means he could miss at least six games.
The 35-year-old point guard is averaging 13.9 points and 8.2 assists per game in his first season with the Heat. He has missed just two games this season.
With Lowry out of the lineup, the Heat are now missing four of their five starters from the lineup. However, according to Winderman, Jimmy Butler and P.J. Tucker could make their returns on Sunday versus the Orlando Magic.