Miami Heat guard Norman Powell will not play in Sunday’s contest against the Indiana Pacers. Unlike the past three games, where he was listed as questionable before being made available, the Heat have decided to sit him out for the finale of their current three-game road swing.
The reason for his absence is an upper respiratory illness this time, in contrast to the back spasms he had been dealing with in previous games. This will mark Powell’s ninth missed game this month. He sat out the first seven games due to a groin strain, returned for three contests, then missed the Mar.22 matchup against the Houston Rockets with a calf injury. After playing three more games, he will once again be sidelined against the bottom-dwelling Pacers.
Powell’s role has gone through multiple changes after a strong start to his Heat tenure. Much of that has to do with the guard being unavailable during crucial stretches, along with the emergence of Pelle Larsson, who has started in each of his last 30 games. Overall, Powell has missed 19 games this season due to various injuries. He is still valuable to the team as they aim for a deep postseason run. He is averaging 22.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists this season.
Mediocre Stretch of Play Has Miami Heat Searching for Answers Amid Tight Playoff Race
The Miami Heat have been stuck in a mediocre stretch of play, going 4-6 in their last 10 games. On Friday, they suffered another collapse against the Cleveland Cavaliers, losing 149-128.
As a result, the Heat have slipped to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, tying with the Charlotte Hornets at 39-35. However, they hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series against the Hornets 3-1.
They are just half a game behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic and two games behind the seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers. With only eight games remaining, the Heat need to turn their trajectory around quickly. If they don’t improve soon, they risk slipping further down the standings and potentially falling back toward tenth place once again.
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