Ahead of a Miami Heat game that was eventually postponed, a Wednesday night contest against the San Antonio Spurs, news broke that Gabe Vincent, P.J. Tucker, and the very first replacement player for the Miami Heat, Zylan Cheatham, were all set to be out in the NBA’s Health And Safety Protocols.
Before Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Wizards, it was reported that Max Strus would not be available to play against the Wizards but was seen doing his pregame routine before being pulled from the FTX Arena about an hour before the tipoff.
In accordance with the required replacement signings rule associated with the protocols, the Miami Heat have signed the big man, Aric Holman, from the Austin Spurs. With six players out in protocols, the Heat were required to sign three replacement players.
Holman joins Kyle Guy and Zylan Cheatham as the latest players under hardship deals for the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat are signing C Aric Holman of the G-League Austin Spurs to a 10-day hardship deal, sources tell ESPN. His best attribute today? Driving distance. He's on his way to San Antonio to meet the Heat and help them have 8 active players to avoid a postponement vs. Spurs.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 29, 2021
In his 14 games in the 2021 NBA G-League Showcase Cup, Holman averaged a total of 7.7 points, 2.0 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent behind the arc.
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The 24-year old former Mississippi State Bulldog standout went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. After his stint with the Lakers in the 2019 NBA Summer League, Holman was then signed by the Dallas Mavericks before being sent to their G-League affiliates, the Texas Legends.
Before joining the Austin Spurs this season, Holman played for the Ratiopharm Ulm of Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga.
After news of Holman’s signing though, things kept getting shakier for the Heat. For one, Jimmy Butler was, indeed, ruled out with a sprained ankle.
You still had Bam Adebayo, Dewayne Dedmon, Markieff Morris, and Victor Oladipo that are all out with injuries. Additionally, Duncan Robinson, Marcus Garrett, and KZ Okpala were all questionable to play as well.
That would lead to Wednesday night’s game against the Spurs being postponed due to the Miami Heat not having the required eight available players.
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Though they signed Guy and Holman before tonight’s matchup, they were still potentially short with regular injuries and new guys to enter the protocols.
After postponement, it was reported that the Miami Heat would also be signing Haywood Highsmith of the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s NBA G-League affiliate. That’s, in addition to moving forward with the similar 10-day hardship contracts to Guy and Holman.
The Heat plan to add G League guard Haywood Highsmith, as well as move forward with the similar emergency 10-day contracts to Kyle Guy and Aric Holman.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) December 29, 2021
Currently, Highsmith is averaging a total of 13.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and 1.9 assists per game in his 12 games with the Blue Coats. He is doing this while averaging 46.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from behind the arc.
The Miami Heat’s next game is on Friday against the Houston Rockets, where they are expected to have enough players. Perhaps Kyle Lowry can be cleared by then, while Jimmy Butler should also see himself returning from a sprained ankle that he was able to close the contest on in Tuesday’s win.