Heat Head Coach Drops Big Injury Updates Before Hawks NBA Play-In Battle

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jay Postrado | Last updated Apr 18, 2025 5:30 PM ET

A lot of weapons have stepped up for the Miami Heat since they locked in for their NBA Play-In Tournament run. Coach Erik Spoelstra just saw Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins pop off alongside Tyler Herro when they went up against the Chicago Bulls. Are more reinforcements set to come, or will they lose some guys?

There are three names that come to mind in the Heat's injury report before they face the Hawks: Nikola Jovic, Kevin Love, and Pelle Larsson. Coach Erik Spoelstra gave an update for each of them

The Heat head honcho gave quite a mixed bag of reports, via Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

First off, Larsson is expected to suit up in this NBA Play-In Tournament game.

“Each day is better. He had a great day, full contact yesterday. So he’ll be available again, and I think he’s further along than he was 48 hours ago," Spoelstra said.

The last time Larsson suited up was when the Heat won 117-105 over the Philadelphia 76ers in early April.

Next up on the list was Kevin Love. Spoelstra did not have much optimism about the veteran returning in time against the Hawks. He will likely not be playing.

Nikola Jovic, on the other hand, is expected to return in this game. Spoelstra had a great joy sprinkled with caution when talking about the young gun getting back out on the court.

“I’m anticipating he’ll suit up tonight, too, because he just wants to be there. Everything is part of that personality, guys just want to be out there. He’s checking all the boxes, he’s getting really close. I don’t know if he’ll be fully cleared tonight, but maybe I’ll use him as an inbounder," he said.

Will this squad be enough to book a ticket in the NBA Playoffs?

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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