Caleb Martin returns to the Miami Heat lineup against the Brooklyn Nets.

 

 

Caleb Martin of the Miami Heat will play tonight against the Brooklyn Nets after missing the previous ten games due to a knee injury.

Caleb Martin of the Miami Heat is likely to play tonight against the Brooklyn Nets.

Martin had missed the previous ten games due to a knee injury sustained when playing against the Detroit Pistons in the season opening. He will fill in at both forward spots.

The Heat and Nets square off for the second of four meetings this season. Brooklyn defeated Miami 109-105 earlier this season on Nov. 1. During the regular season, the Heat are 78-59 all-time against the Nets, including 42-26 at home and 36-33 on the road. Tyler Herro (ankle), Jamal Cain (G League), and RJ Hampton (G League) all out for the Heat. Armoni Brooks, Armoni (G League), Noah Clowney, Keon Johnson, Ben Simmons (back), Cam Thomas (ankle), Dariq Whitehead (ankle), and Jalen Wilson (G League) are all out for the Nets.

 

 

“I’m just learning as I go,” Heat forward Jaime Jaquez says of his development. I’ve been playing this game my entire life. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I knew I’d be ready when the opportunity arose. That’s why I went to college for four years to prepare for this, so I’d be ready and confident in my talents.”

Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat, a Sports Illustrated Fan Nation program. He’s been covering the NBA since 2010.

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The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets have announced significant injury news ahead of their Thursday meeting.

The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets disclosed some significant injury news ahead of their Thursday, Nov. 16 meeting.

Forward Caleb Martin (knee) will be available to play for the Heat on Thursday, bringing back an important piece of their rotation.

 

 

Martin has only played in one game this season, the season opener against the Detroit Pistons. In that game, he had two points on 1-of-7 shooting, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 19:30 of playing time.

The 28-year-old was a huge piece of Miami’s rotation last season, playing 29.3 minutes per game, and he had a major role in the playoffs as well to help the Heat advance to the NBA Finals.

As for Brooklyn, the team ruled out multiple key players for Thursday’s matchup. Cam Thomas (ankle) and Ben Simmons (back) will both miss Thursday’s game. Simmons could be sidelined for some time with his injury.

The Nets also won’t have Armoni Brooks, Keon Johnson, Noah Clowney, Jalen Wilson and Dariq Whitehead. Those players are all on G League assignments.

Thomas is a major loss for the Nets, as he’s averaged 26.9 points per game in the eight games that he’s played in this season. A pure scorer, Thomas is shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from 3-point range.

The Nets will likely rely heavily on Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Spencer Dinwiddie to pick up the slack in the scoring department until Thomas is able to return.

For the Heat, it will be interesting to see how Erik Spoelstra configures his rotation with Martin back in the fold. It’s possible that rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. could see his minutes dip even though he is playing well.

The rookie has played over 30 minutes in three straight games for Miami. Haywood Highsmith and Duncan Robinson could also see slight dips in their minutes to get Martin back up to speed.

Regardless, the team will be much deeper with such a key player returning.

The Heat and Nets are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Thursday night in Miami.