The Miami Heat finally got their first win of the season on Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors. After dropping their first two contests of the year to the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics, respectively, they would be able to close the door against the team from beyond the border.
Though they would get enough from all the guys they had available to get that win, when you think about potential wins down the line, it really makes one turn their attention towards the guys that weren’t available to them in their first win of the year.
Without Victor Oladipo for the first two games of the season and after an already limited preseason for him, nonetheless, he wouldn’t play against Toronto in the first matchup on Saturday.
Now, with the “first” being the operative word, the Miami Heat will face off against Toronto again on Monday, with Oladipo also apparently set to be out.
No change on Heat injury report for Monday vs. Raptors:
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) October 23, 2022
Victor Oladipo, Out, Left Knee; Tendinosis
Omer Yurtseven, Out, Left Ankle; Impingement
That leads right to the biggest question for Victor Oladipo this season.
The Miami Heat are no strangers to managing a player’s injury and associated minutes. When it comes to Victor Oladipo, how will that look this season?
Biggest Question For Victor Oladipo: How many games worth of action can he give the Miami Heat this year?
The answer to this one will be key. Now, the Miami Heat are pretty deep without Oladipo in the mix but become lethally so when you can plug him into that second unit with the likes of Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, and others.
Can you imagine that? Well, that all that may ever happen on a consistent basis provided the next set of details.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Oladipo has a really serious concern to address. And for him, it’s, unfortunately, another knee situation.
"Unfortunately, Oladipo has been diagnosed with a “chronic condition characterized by the degeneration of collagen in the tendons” in his other knee"
And that’s the big issue here. That’s why this is his biggest question for this season.
For a guy that has only played in 12 games since coming over to Miami in the middle of the season before last, getting him on the floor is key. The waiting game isn’t often a fun one, but hopefully, Oladipo’s contributions will be worth it.