Heats Derrick Jones Jr being put on a stretcher here at the Miami-Indiana game. Hit the court tough and was holding his neck after.
The Heat later on revealed that Jones had suffered a neck stress after going through an MRI, CT concussion and scan test. Jones will be re-evaluated over the weekend, days before the team is set to face the Pacers in the very first round of the NBA playoffs.
On a day that implied little for the Miami Heats playoff position, the team may have lost a rotation player to a significant injury
Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. left Fridays game versus the Indiana Pacers on a stretcher after running into a moving screen from huge guy Goga Bitadze. Jones remained down for several minutes with an apparent neck injury.
Derrick Jones Jr. exits with neck injury.
Jones was eventually given a neck brace and brought out by medical personnel on a stretcher.
INJURY UPDATE: After an MRI, CT scan and concussion test, the HEAT announce that Derrick Jones, Jr. has suffered a Neck Strain.
Jones, Jr. will be re-evaluated again over the weekend.– Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 15, 2020
Jones had experienced the most significant moment of his professional career earlier this year with his controversial win in the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, besting Aaron Gordon in an overtime battle for the title. With the Heat, Jones was balancing 8.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per video game getting in Friday, ranking eighth among players currently on the group in minutes per video game with 23.4.
The 44-29 Heat were currently locked into facing the 45-28 Pacers in the first round, though Fridays win gave the Pacers the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage. Obviously, home court is essentially meaningless in the NBA bubble, so staying healthy was the bigger concern.
Game 1 is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
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Heats Derrick Jones Jr being put on a stretcher here at the Miami-Indiana video game. Strike the court hard and was holding his neck after. Has actually been down for a number of minutes.
